AYUSH and Ayurveda: The Business of Traditional Medicine
Medicinal Plants and the Farmers Behind Them
Herbs such as ashwagandha, turmeric and tulsi are grown by farmers, and demand from firms creates rural income and quality challenges.
AYUSH products begin in fields and forests.
What is grown
Turmeric, ashwagandha, aloe vera, amla, tulsi and many other plants are cultivated or collected from the wild.
Rural income
Contract farming and buy-back arrangements can give farmers stable prices.
Wild collection
Overharvesting from forests can endanger species, so cultivation and sustainable collection are encouraged.
Support
The National Medicinal Plants Board promotes cultivation and conservation.
A farmer agrees to grow ashwagandha for a company and sells at a pre-agreed price.
Overharvest threatens some species.
- Herbs are farmed and collected.
- Contract farming can stabilise income.
- Wild collection risks overharvest.
- A national board promotes cultivation.
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