Confederation for Ayurvedic Renaissance- Keralam (CARe Keralam), a project initiated by Department of Ayush under the Development of AYUSH Industry Cluster Scheme, recently entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with farmers consortium set up by the State Medicinal Plants Board (SMPB) and horticulture department of Kerala, to procure medicinal plants from them. Under the MoU, all the basic raw materials needed for the production of ayurvedic drugs will now be procured and supplied directly by CARe Keralam to avoid the exploitation of small and medium scale manufactures.

The main aim of this MoU which was signed on July 24 is to ensure availability of high quality raw material to all the manufacturers in the state for manufacturing traditional medicines. To promote the growth of industry as well as the interest  of the farmers there will be frequent meeting with all the stakeholders to discuss and deliberate over the requirements of the industry with the cultivators, so as to address various issues faced by them.

Realising the need to promote cultivation of medicinal plants in the state and yielding to the long standing demand of Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers Organisation of India (AMMOI), the health minister of Kerala, V S Sivakumar who is also the chairman of SMPB, recently prompted SMPB to set up this consortium. This consortium consists of farmers from across the state who are interested in cultivating medicinal plants as per the requirements of the manufacturers.

The main idea behind setting up this consortium is to ensure a platform to all the farmers so as to showcase and sell their products through a single entity to the interested manufacturers. This will not only provide a level playing ground to all the farmers as they will get to sell the raw materials at an affordable price but it will also trigger and encourage other farmers as well to enter this segment.

According to Dr Ramanathan Devaraj Iyer, a member of SMPB, this initiative will be beneficial for both the industry as well as the farmers as industry will be able to get access to high quality products while the farmers will be get proper due for cultivating the same without any undue interferences. Dr Iyer who is also the  general secretary of AMMOI and director of CARe Keralam informed that the industry is also very supportive of this programme as it will help in addressing one of the major issues of the manufacturers of getting access of quality based raw materials for their end products.

With a view to keep a tab on the annual consumption, demand of all the medicinal plants and to allow a proper pricing policy of these raw materials the consortium members have decided to have frequent meetings with the other in every two months. Dr Iyer pointed out that if this initiative goes as planned and if it meets all the expectations then it can also play a major role help in bringing down the price of the ayurvedic drugs in the market safeguarding patients interests.