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Medicinal plants hold huge prospects

Christine Wanner
Medicinal plants such as garlic, mint, curcuma, and neem can boost Bangladesh's economy, if planted in larger scale even only in backyard gardens.
The market for medicinal plants are estimated to beTk 100 million of which Bangladesh presently imports 90 percent herbal materials from India
The outlook of a quick financial benefit and the encouragement of Development of Biotechnology and Environmental Conservation Centre (DEBTEC) have convinced some landowners and farmers to increase space of their herbal backyard gardens. Not being sure of the success, theycailltan"experirnent''.
The idea itself has grown in a backyard garden of Ferdousi Begum, the executive director of DEBTEC.
"I feel that with the project it is possible to generate income, to conserve endangered medicinal plants and the vanishing knowledge of Indigenous’ people about the treatment of headache, cough, cold, fever and dysentery with herbal medicine," Ferdousi said.
She said if the government and donor agencies come forward
Bangladesh should be able to become self-reliant and save foreign currency by producing the import-substitute herbal plants.
"But the fanners are yet to treat the medicinal plants as cash crops. In Sylhet, Rajshahi and Chittagong divisions, DEBTEC encouraged six projects. Some of these projects started two years back but the concept is still to gain popularity. Only 100 people have been convinced about the idea of enlarging their gardens, to use their precious land for plants such as mint, ginger, garlic, curcuma, gillah, bohera or aloevera," Ferdousi said.
"it never occurred to me to plant the herbs on commercial basis," says Lowrence who comes front Madhupur. "That is an unusual thing to do. Of course, I have always grown medicinal plants for my own use."
Lowrence started the 'experiment' few months back and dreams of making a handsome earning in near future by selling the plants and rawmaterials for herbal medicine.
But till now, Lowrence relies on banana plantation. In the hilly area of Chittagong Hill TYacts, he owns 100 hectares of land. In the past years he has witnessed the negative effects of insecticides both on land
fertility and his own and the tree workers' health.
"Knowing about the positive effects of medicinal plants, encouraged by DEBTEC and governmental bodies, I dared to start the plantation of the plants: ginger, tulsi, ashok and, most importantly neem," he said.
If the experiment turns out to be viable, Lowrence will venture into commercial plantation, targeting to grab a slice of the wholesale market in Dhaka. In case the project fails, Lowrence will continue to grow bananas.