Uttarakhand - Department of Land Resources

Herbal and Medicinal plants : Uttarakhand has observed an increase in the area under
cultivation of aromatic and medicinal plants. This positive attitude of farmers towards
aromatic plant cultivation is because of the high returns from this crop. Intercropping of
aromatic plants with food grains can also help diversify the income basket for small and
marginal farmers. Farmers can derive huge benefits by diversifying into the cultivation of
aromatic plants. These benefits have been generated with the help of the Herbal
Research and Development Institute (HRDI) that works on aromatic plants used in
cosmetics, soaps, and perfumes. Although the productivity of land in the hills is very
low, there is a huge demand and ready market for aromatic plants. The HRDI has
identified areas in selected hill regions where these crops can be grown and adopted a
clustered approach that includes production and processing.
There is huge commercial value in the oils and essences extracted from aromatic and
medicinal plants. Aromatic plants like lemon grass, citronella, palmarosa, chamomilla,
tulsi, geranium, naramotha, Japanese mint, khuas, and marigold are used extensively in
the cosmetics industry. The main problems are the high cost of processing and the
difficulty of getting buyers to the processing units. Oil extracted from plants is not linked
with the pharmaceutical industry because of low production. Since limited quantities of
aromatic and medicinal plants are produced, buyers are not able to establish linkages.
There is scope for medicinal plants and medicinal trees like tejpatta, amla, harad, and
bahera are being planted. There is high demand for ritha but the forest department has
not taken any initiatives. For medicinal plants, support prices by the government are
required because of long-term plantation. To increase production and productivity it is
important to establish the cluster approach and low-cost processing. Forest cooperation
has made 3-4 mandis where auctions take place. No government initiative has been
taken in the case of aromatic plants. There is a great deal of potential for the
development of these crops in the hill regions without much heavy investment. The
HRDI has tried to install processing units among the clusters of farmers close to their
farms. The institute also has storage facilities where farmers can store their oil extracts
if they are not sold at an appropriate price in the market. There is a need to take
appropriate measures for improving productivity and production of herbal and medicinal
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