Plants have been one of the most important sources for medicines
and essentials oils since the beginning of human civilization
. During the early days, forests met the need of these plants
. The forests are gifted with a treasure of Medicinal and Aromatic
Plants species. Tribals for curing different ailments use many
of these products, which form a part of minor forest produce.
Some of these plant species along with the other plants introduced
into India have large demands in the national and international
markets. The raw as well as processed products of these plants
are used in a wide range of consumer products like perfumes, soaps,
medicines, cosmetics, food products, flavours etc.
Medicinal plants are natures's wonderful gift to mankind and are
involved in India's ancient heritage of traditional systems of
medicine viz. Ayurveda, Sidda and unani. There has been increasing
trend in the awareness of the utility of medicinal plants in the
health care management. The people are now aware that medicinal
plants provide safer approach in solving the problems of health
and disease, rather than using synthetic chemicals, which cause
harmful health hazards. Therefore, there is increasing demand
of plant based and pharmaceuticals in the world.
The Aromatic plants posses Odiferous and volatile substances,
which are extensively used in perfumery, food flavoring, cosmetics
and allied industries. Some of these have Antibacterial and germicidal
properties. Andhra Pradesh has ideal climate both in Plants and
high altitude areas for cultivating a variety of crops
Advantages
of these crops :
|
Low
incidence of pests and diseases. |
|
Not
eaten by cattle and other animals. |
|
Higher
net returns per unit area . |
|
Crops
can be grown in degraded and marginal soils. |
|
Longer
shelf life of end products. |
|
Foreign
exchange earning potential. |
Disadvantages
of these Crops:
| |
Lack
of Standardized Agro technology or cultivation packages. |
| |
Absence
of any established sources for supply genuine, viable and
good quality planting. |
|
Data
on economic aspects is far fetched. |
|
Marketing.
|
