Country has Tk 100cr market for medicinal plants

But due to lack of training and coordination among the producers, traders, industrialists and government agencies, this sector could not develop at the desired level.

Realising the facts, botanists, herbal traders and farmers have united themselves under an umbrella named 'Association for Medicinal, Aromatic & Dye Plants Development of Bangladesh' which was officially launched at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium yesterday.

There is a market for about one hundred crore taka medicinal plants only in Bangladesh, and rural people can reduce poverty through their plantation on commercial basis, said Dr Ferdousi Begum, executive director of Development of Biotechnology & Environmental Conservation Centre.

The annual demand for medicinal plants across the globe is equivalent to 62 billion dollars which would go up to 5 trillion dollars by 2050, she said quoting a statistics of World Health Organisation.

"The soil of Bangladesh is very fertile for cultivating these plants. Moreover these grow everywhere around the houses, on the courtyards and at any barren places. You do not need to cultivate the land needed to produce other crops," said Dr Ferdousi, president of the newly-formed association.

"Dye and aromatic plants can also be used in food items, which would protect us from harmful affects caused by chemicals," she said, adding, " These plants can also save our bio-diversity that is on the verge of extinction today."

Dr Ferdousi said the existing marketing system is largely responsible for wrong impression about herbal medicine. Only scientific usage and systematic marketing policy can change people's perception.

There is also no infrastructure for developing the herbal medicine, she said, adding that there is not a single processing unit, storage or marketing chain for these plants.

Ameer Hossain, a herbal plant trader from Moulavi Bazar, said Natore, Tangail, Moulovi Bazar and some parts of Chittagong Hill Tracts are presently producing medicinal plants and at least one processing unit should be there to maintain quality and export abroad after meeting the local demand.

Afaz Uddin Pagla, a pioneering medicinal plant farmers of Lokkhipur in Natore, also spoke on the occasion.

Under his direct patronisation, at least three to four thousand people in nearby 16 villages are now engaged in the cultivation of herbal plants.