Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Monday launched a new project to boost the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants.
Sangma also inaugurated a processing unit of essential oils here on this occasion.
"The Rs 18-crore 'Aroma Mission' will ensure that agriculture and allied sectors get due importance and the farmers their benefits," he said.
It is important for any government to think about development of all sectors so that the growth curve moves in the right direction, the CM insisted.
"People in this state have used medicinal and aromatic plants for generations to cure various ailments and diseases. It's about time we share this knowledge with the rest of the world," Sangma said, insisting that "institutions like CSIR- CIMAP should carry out more researches in the field".
Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) is a frontier plant research laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Sangma also asserted that broomsticks and bay leaves will now be categorized as 'Agro Forestry' items so that "farmers can easily engage in the sale of these products".
Additional Chief Secretary and Agriculture Production Commissioner K N Kumar, who was also present here, said Meghalaya has vast stretches of wastelands, where cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plantations can be encouraged.
Kumar also maintained that lemon grass and citronella plant cultivation will be taken up on 50-acre plots in every district of the state.
Depending on the response of the farmers, the government will decide if it would want to expand the area of cultivation for citronella and lemon grass, he added.
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