The Potential of Medicinal Plant Cultivation as an Endogenous Development Strategy-AR Munteanu- ERM Thesis

The potential of medicinal plant cultivation as an endogenous development strategy

-A study based in Chitwan District, Nepal-

Author: Adina Roxana Munteanu

First Supervisor: William Critchley

Second Supervisor: Jetske Bouma

Local Supervisor: Dharma Raj Dangol

Illustration on the cover:

Some medicinal plants popular amongst cultivators, from left to right Aloe vera; Ocicum sanctum, Matricaria

chamomilla, Cymbopogon citratus.

Title: The potential of medicinal plant cultivation as an endogenous development strategy -A study based

in Chitwan District, Nepal-

Keywords: medicinal plant cultivation, Nepal, development

A thesis submitted for the master degree in “Environment and Resource Management” at Vrieje

Universiteit Amsterdam; Faculty of Life and Earth Sciences, De Boelelaan 1085-1087 1081 HV

Amsterdam.

July 2010

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Dedicated to:

my mother, who taught me to appreciate every stage in life &

my grandmother, who hardwired the love for land in my soul

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Acknowledgements

Writing this thesis gave me the opportunity to visit Nepal, an experience that I treasure and that made me a

better researcher but also a better person. Many people helped me to succeed in writing this paper, and I

would like to thank them as I could never have done any of this, without their support and encouragement.

First, I would like to thank my advisor, William Critchley for his optimist tone and continuous support.

Thank you for being such an inspiration and for giving me courage to start this research. If I do take the

academic path, I only hope that I can be half the teacher and advisor that you have been to me.

I would also like to thank Sabina Di Prima, for all the hard work on the field and the valuable advice. You

endured the Chitwan heat to help me learn and give me confidence that I can do a good research, and for that

I am be indebted to you. Thank you for being, for a few days, my Didi.

I want to express my gratitude towards Dharma Raj Dangol, the local supervisor for his continuous support

on the field. Thank you for receiving me as a student in your university, for helping me build a network of

people that helped me with my research. Thank you for your patience and readiness to help every time. Many

thanks to all the other professors and university staff that helped me during my stay in Chitwan, you made my

stay enjoyable.

I would also like to express my thanks to Jetske Bouma, my second advisor, for providing me with invaluable

advice and comments on my research.

I’ve also been fortunate to find group of great friends in Chitwan. They are the students who helped me with

primary data gathering and translation: Kiran Baral, Dipak Bhattarai, Deepak Raj Joshi, Ananta Subedi and

Roshan Subedi. Not only you helped me overcome the language barrier, worked with me since sunrise till

after sunset, travelled with me until there was no road anymore but you also taught me about the culture and

the Nepali way.

Moreover, I am deeply grateful for the kindness and willingness to help of all the people I interviewed for my

research. Some farmers like Shyam Hada, Nawaraj Adhhikari, Dambar Gurung, Komal Sapkota, Manoj

Chaudhary gave me a deep understanding of the local context for which I am truly grateful. Many thanks to

all my un-named teachers from Chitwan.

Finally, I would like to thank my dear friend and fiancé, Alex Lefter for the continuous support during the

entire process of writing this thesis. You gave me the strength to succeed. Thank you!

There are many more people that contributed to this journey and research. Thank you all, and I hope this

paper will prove that I deserved your support!

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Preface

This report is the final thesis for the “Environment and Resource Management” master programme at Vrieje

Universiteit Amsterdam. The research was conducted between April 15th and June 15th 2010 in Chitwan

District, Nepal. The report was completed in the Netherlands in July 2010.

The research was carried out under the supervision of William Critchley and Sabina di Prima from CIS-VU.

Jetske Bouma, from IVM, was the second supervisor. Dharma Raj Dangol, associate professor at Institute of

Agriculture and Animal Science of Tribhuvan University, Rampur, was responsible with external supervision.

Although the main purpose of this report is to obtain a master degree, it is hoped that the research per se has

value as well. Parts of this report will be distributed to all the parties that solicited information such as

farmers, NGOs, and government agencies.

Photographs used in this report were taken by the researcher if not stated otherwise. Permission to quote and

use the data was requested and received from all the people that mentioned in the report.

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Executive Summary

In Nepal, medicinal and aromatic plants collecting and trade are centuries-old businesses and they provide

people from rural areas with an important source of income (Olsen & Helles 1997). Therefore, medicinal

plant cultivation, as an alternative to wild harvest, can provide income while at the same time helping the

conservation efforts.

In the scientific literature, there is very little mention of medicinal plant cultivation as a source of income.

Moreover, no studies on medicinal plant cultivation in the study area were found. Therefore, the field of

medicinal plants cultivation in Nepal was identified as a research gap. This study aims to fill this research gap

by gathering information on medicinal plant cultivation and cultivators and by assessing to what extent this

activity can lead to development.

The study area was shaped by the fact that Rampur, Chitwan District was the starting point of all travelling

and by the transportation facilities. Due to the lack of good roads, poor bus schedules, most of the time the

only reliable means of transportation was the motorbike. Out of the 37 village development committees in

Chitwan District, only 11 are represented in the sample: Bachhayauli, Dibyanagar, Fulbari, Gunjanagar,

Jagatpur, Korak, Kalyanpur, Mangalpur, Meghauli, Saradanagar, and Shaktikhor.

Primary data was collected between 15th of May and 13th of June 2010 in Chitwan and Ghorka Districts. Data

was gathered from individual farmers that cultivate medicinal plants, community forest user groups,

cooperatives and private companies but also from those that do not cultivate medicinal plants.

According to the medicinal plants cultivators, having a good network of other cultivators is important for

gathering information on cultivation practices and market. Most of the farmers have less than five years of

experience in this activity which proves that this activity quite new in Chitwan District. Moreover, taking into

account the cooperatives and the CFUGs that just started cultivation, medicinal plants cultivation seems to be

a rapidly expanding activity. However, only farmers that are part of a network seem to be able to increase the

cultivation area in time.

The main driver for starting medicinal plants cultivation is income generation followed at a certain distance by

the healing properties of the plants. The necessary investment per katha/season is mostly less than Rs 3,000

for an individual farmer. However, the income generated by this activity cannot sustain the household. On

average the contribution of medicinal plants cultivation is 37% of the household income, and most

households rely on at least one more source of income other than medicinal plants.

Moreover, the fact that no farmer relies exclusively on the income generated by the medicinal plants and that

most of the farmers start with a small area is proof those farmers are risk averse and that they need

confirmation of the viability of an activity before investing.

Only companies have the financial power to process medicinal plants and therefore they get a higher share of

profit.

For most cultivators the most important problem is the market, due to the unbalanced supply and demand,

which results in fluctuating prices and the lack of transparency of information on the market.

Considering the findings from the non-cultivators survey, traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is a

relatively unimportant factor in the decision to start cultivation of medicinal plants. Income is the main driver

of starting this activity followed by the understanding of the importance of medicinal plants. Moreover,

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people that are willing to start this new activity realize that they need trainings, market knowledge, and

approximately Rs 3,000 as the initial investment.

The main product of the conducted research is presented in chapter seven, in the form of a project based on

the endogenous development framework and the previously presented findings and analysis. The reasons for

creating such a project are the recognition of the potential of medicinal plants cultivation as a income

generating activity but also a conservation opportunity. From a donor’s perspective, an agency such as

Compass that is willing to follow the endogenous development approach, this type of project creates the

opportunity to involve people and put them in charge of their own development.

The aims of the project are to promote small-scale community-based cultivation; as processing and medicinal

plant marketing relieve pressure from wild sources but also to introduce best practices for wild medicinal

plant collection and sustainable collection levels. The main objectives of this project are improving

livelihoods, conserving and improve local knowledge and practice, preserve the medicinal plants species, and

advocate for an enabling environment with the policy makers. In the next paragraphs, all these objectives are

elaborated on.

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List of abbreviations

CFUG(s) community forest user group(s)

CVIL Crystal Vision International Limited

DADO District Agriculture Development Office

DoF Department of Forests

Ecoscentre Ecological Services Centre

FORWARD Forum for Rural Welfare and Agricultural Reform for Development

FUG Forest User Group

GEF Global Environmental Facility

IAAS Institute of Agricultural and Animal Science

ICIOMD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

INGO(s) International Non-Governmental Organization(s)

MAP(s) Medicinal and Aromatic Plant(s)

MLD Ministry of Local Development

MPC Medicinal Plants Cultivation

NGO(s) Non-Governmental Organization(s)

NTFP(s) Non-Timber Forest Product(s)

Rs Rupee

VDC Village Development Committee

VU Amsterdam Vrije Univestiteit Amsterdam

SWAN Social Welfare Association of Nepal

SECARD Nepal Society for Environment Conservation and Agricultural Research and Development Nepal

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Glossary

Bigha - unit of land area (1.5 bigha= 1 ha)

Cultivator - a farmer that intends or that is involved in the cultivation of medicinal plants.

Endogenous development - development based mainly, though not exclusively, on locally available

resources, local knowledge, culture and leadership, with the openness to integrate traditional as well as outside

knowledge and practices. It has mechanisms for local learning and experimenting, building local economies

and retention of benefits in the local area.

Farmer - any person that owns land and practices agriculture.

Indigenous or local knowledge - knowledge generated, used and developed by people in a certain area. It is

not limited to indigenous peoples and can include knowledge originating from elsewhere that has been

internalized by local people through local processes of learning, testing and adaptation. It forms the basis of

the art of identifying, combining, unfolding and protecting local resources. It is rooted in and stems from

local practices, hence it is specific to the local context and often gender specific.

Katha - unit of land area (20 katha = 1 bigha)

Contents

Page 1 of 60

Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 4

1.1. Medicinal Plants ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Health Benefits of Medicinal Plants ........................................................................................................................ 4

1.2 Problem Statement ................................................................................................................................................... 6

1.3. Research Question .................................................................................................................................................. 6

1.4 Limitations ................................................................................................................................................................. 7

1.5 Thesis Outline ........................................................................................................................................................... 8

Chapter 2: Background ....................................................................................................................................................... 9

2.1. Recent History ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

2.2. Economy of Nepal ............................................................................................................................................... 10

2.3. Cultural Aspects .................................................................................................................................................... 10

Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................................ 12

Chapter 4: Methodology ................................................................................................................................................. 16

4.1 Description of Study Area ................................................................................................................................... 16

4.2. Data Collection ..................................................................................................................................................... 17

4.2.1 Primary Data Collection ................................................................................................................................18

4.2.2 Secondary Data Collection ............................................................................................................................19

4.3 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................................................... 19

4.4 Ethical Considerations .......................................................................................................................................... 20

Chapter 5: Findings .......................................................................................................................................................... 21

5.1. Medicinal Plants Cultivation ............................................................................................................................... 21

5.2. Community Forest User Groups ....................................................................................................................... 26

Gyaneshwor Community Forest ............................................................................................................................27

Baghmara Buffer Zone Community Forest .........................................................................................................27

Jankauli Buffer Zone Community Forest .............................................................................................................27

Mangaledevi Community Forest ............................................................................................................................28

Satyadevi Community Forest..................................................................................................................................28

5.3 Cooperatives ........................................................................................................................................................... 29

Praja Cooperative .....................................................................................................................................................29

Swyabhiman Cooperative ........................................................................................................................................29

Prasiddi Cooperative ................................................................................................................................................30

Fulbari Cooperative .................................................................................................................................................30

Balgum Women Group ...........................................................................................................................................30

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5.4. Individual Cultivators .......................................................................................................................................... 31

5.5. Non-cultivators ..................................................................................................................................................... 38

Chapter 6: Analysis and Discussions ............................................................................................................................. 43

6.1. Cultivator Profile .................................................................................................................................................. 43

6.2. Business Profile..................................................................................................................................................... 45

Brief Market Analysis ...............................................................................................................................................45

SWOT Analysis.........................................................................................................................................................46

Chapter 7: Recommendations for Project Design ...................................................................................................... 48

Objectives...................................................................................................................................................................... 48

Target ............................................................................................................................................................................. 49

Implementation ............................................................................................................................................................ 50

8. Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................................... 54

Suggestions for further research ................................................................................................................................ 54

References .......................................................................................................................................................................... 56

Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................................................... 59

Contents

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List of Tables

Table 1 The 12 leading countries of import and export of MAP material classified as pharmaceutical plants in

order of average trade volume for the period of 1991-2003. ........................................................................................5

Table 2 Matrix ranking exercise with the Fulbari group ............................................................................................. 22

Table 3 Matrix ranking exercise with the Prasiddi cooperative group ...................................................................... 23

Table 4 Matrix ranking exercise with the healers group .............................................................................................. 25

Table 5 Matrix ranking exercise with Crystal Nepal group ......................................................................................... 26

Table 6 Stated criteria for choosing the species to cultivate ....................................................................................... 41

Table 7 Correlation matrix for the explaining variables .............................................................................................. 43

Table 8 SWOT Analysis of the business of medicinal plants cultivation ................................................................. 47

Table 9 The stakeholders in MPC and their stakes ...................................................................................................... 52

List of Figures

Figure 1 Activities in supporting endogenous development ...................................................................................... 13

Figure 2 Location of Chitwan District in Nepal ........................................................................................................... 16

Figure 3 Location of data collection sites in Chitwan District ................................................................................... 17

Figure 4 Age/sex distribution of the cultivators .......................................................................................................... 31

Figure 5 Ethnicity of the medicinal plant cultivators................................................................................................... 31

Figure 6 Size of the personal network of cultivators ................................................................................................... 32

Figure 7 No of grown plants in homegarden................................................................................................................ 33

Figure 8 Individual farmers initial investment in medicinal plant cultivation (Rupees) ......................................... 34

Figure 9 Percent of total income generated through medicinal plant cultivation ................................................... 35

Figure 10 The number of additional sources of income, other than medicinal plants cultivation ....................... 36

Figure 11 Sources of income, other than medicinal plants cultivation ..................................................................... 36

Figure 12 Age/sex distribution of non-cultivators ...................................................................................................... 38

Figure 13 Ethnicity of non-cultivators ........................................................................................................................... 39

Figure 14 No of plants grown in the homegarden ....................................................................................................... 39

Figure 15 Reasons for starting the cultivation of medicinal plants ........................................................................... 40

Figure 16 Perceived needs for the start of commercial cultivation of medicinal plants ........................................ 40

Figure 17 Willingness to invest in medicinal plant cultivation per katha .................................................................. 41

Figure 18 Reasons for not starting medicinal plant cultivation.................................................................................. 42

List of Annexes

Annex 1: Medicinal Plants

Annex 2: Survey Data

Annex 3: Focus Groups Transcripts

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Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter starts by presenting some general things about medicinal plants. The second subchapter is

dedicated to the problem statement and the following to the research question that this study tries to answer.

Subchapter 1.4 shortly presents the limitations of the research process while the last subchapter presents the

outline of this study.

1.1. Medicinal Plants

This subchapter presents generalities about the health benefits of medicinal plants followed by some

information on the world market of medicinal plants parts and some of the projects that aim to conserve

medicinal plants species worldwide.

Health Benefits of Medicinal Plants

Out of the 422,000 plant species documented worldwide, around 12.5% are reported to have medicinal value

(Rao et al 2004). The World Health Organisation estimates that almost 80% of the population of developing

countries still use traditional medicine derived from plants for treating human diseases (de Silva, 1997).

Nepal is ranked ninth among the Asian countries for its floral wealth as more than 9,000 species of flowering

plants are estimated to exist on its territory. Among the total flora of Nepal about 10% of species are reported

to have medicinal and aromatic properties (Bhattarai & Ghimire; 2006). In Nepal, about 85% of the

population relies on the herbal remedies (Dani 1986).

According to Rao et al (2004), about 25% of the drugs in modern pharmacopoeia are derived from plants and

many others are synthetic analogues built on prototype compounds isolated from plants. Since Nepal is a

region with a significant number of medicinal plant species, this potential should be exploited by creating an

opportunity for people to improve their livelihoods. Several studies (Dobriyal et al., 1997; Lacuna-Richman,

2002; Bussmann et al., 2007) documented the use of medicinal plants as alternative source of income for

underprivileged communities.

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Trade

The tendency to use medicinal plants is expected to raise globally, both in allopathic and herbal or traditional

medicine (FAO, 1994). The causes for this upward trend are population dynamics, increasing popularity for

‘natural-based, environmentally friendly products’, increasing trend towards self-medication, renewed interest

of companies in isolating useful compounds from plants, and marketing strategies by the companies dealing in

herbal medicine are some of the other contributory factors enlisted by Lewington (1993). As many related

botanical products sold as health foods, food supplements, herbal teas, and for various other purposes related

to health and personal care, trade in medicinal plants is likely to continue to expand.

Currently, about 100 species of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) from Nepal are internationally traded.

More than 95% of the roughly estimated export volume of 10,000-15,000 tons per year is harvested from wild

populations (Amarya, 2000). Most of the trade is in raw materials (barks, leaves, tubers, roots, and fruits) and

less in semi-processed products such as essential oils (Olsen and Bhattarai, 2005).

MAPs are gathered by rural harvesters in forests and then sold along usually well-established marketing chains

to the cities on the plains (Olsen and Bhattarai, 2005). As large quantities of MAPs are traded in developing

countries, much of this is unrecorded in official statistics or poorly documented resulting in typically little

awareness among decision-makers of the significance of the trade to the healthcare and economies of their

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people, or about problems of unsustainability and the harmful impacts of wild collection on natural habitats

(Hamilton, 2004).

One of the main sources of MAP trade data is the United Nations Statistics Division, New York. Since 1962

this institution has been compiling foreign trade figures of almost 180 countries nowadays in the

COMTRADE (=commodity trade statistics) database. The goods are classified according to the

internationally agreed Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). For the purpose of this study we are

interested in the 292.4 ‘Plants and parts of plants ( including seeds and fruits) of a kind used primarily in

perfumery, in pharmacy, or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purposes, fresh or dried, whether or not cut,

crushed or powdered.’. Unfortunately, only authorized members have access to the COMTRADE database, and

for the exemplification of the trade statistics, the literature review was the only available source.

Table 1 The 12 leading countries of import and export of MAP material classified as pharmaceutical plants in order of average trade volume for the period of 1991-2003.

Country of

import

Quantity

(tonnes)

Value (USD) Country of

Export

Quantity

(tonnes)

Value (USD)

Hong Kong 59,950 263,484,200 China 150,600 266,038,500

USA 51,200 139,379,500 Hong Kong 55,000 201,021,200

Japan 46,450 131,031,500 India 40,400 61,665,500

Germany 44,750 104,457,200 Mexico 37,600 14,257,500

Rep. Korea 33,500 49,889,200 Germany 15,100 68,243,200

France 21,800 51,975,000 USA 13,050 104,572,000

China 12,550 41,602,800 Egypt 11,800 13,476,000

Italy 11,950 43,006,600 Bulgaria 10,300 14,355,500

Pakistan 10,650 9,813,800 Chile 9,850 26,352,000

Spain 9,850 27,648,300 Morocco 8,500 13,685,400

UK 7,950 29,551,000 Albania 8,050 11,693,300

Malaysia 7,050 38,685,400 Singapore 7,950 54,620,700

Total 320,550 930,524,400 Total 368,100 847,980,800

Source: Lange (2006) quoting COMTRADE database, United Nation Statistics Division, New York

Lange (2006) analyzed the foreign-trade statistics of 110 countries of the commodity pharmaceutical plants

(HS 1211 or SITC.3 292.4, respectively) for the period 1991-2003 and drew several conclusions. First, the

trade in pharmaceutical plants is dominated by only few countries as the first 12 countries make up ca 80% of

both the exports to and the imports of the world market. Secondly, the major markets are in the developed

countries, while the bulk of the botanicals are exported from developing countries. Finally, source countries

export mainly raw plant material, often of wild origin; the benefit for it is relatively low. The processing, i.e.

the value-adding takes mainly place in consumer countries and trade centres.

Moreover, the same study of Lange (2006) warns about the lacks of statistics in the MAP trade. He argues that

knowledge of the features of the (international) trade in botanicals is essential for assessing the trade’s impact

on the plant populations concerned and required for conservation concepts and measures that have to meet

future supply and the provisions of species conservation.

Increasing pressure on wild plant resources creates the need for serious conservation efforts including

development of cultivation techniques. Lewington (1993) mentions that serious over-exploitation of many

medicinal plants has already occurred. Moreover, conservation of medicinal plants is receiving increased

attention in view of resurgence of interest in herbal medicines for health care all across the globe (Franz, 1993;

Gupta et al., 1998).

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Medicinal Plants Conservation Projects

Institutions such as The World Bank, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Global Environment

Facility (GEF), and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) have programs

that aim to preserve medicinal plants species and indigenous knowledge on them. The aims of these types of

projects are related to species conservation, sustainable resource management, indigenous knowledge of the

medicinal plants preservation, improvement of livelihood for local people.

On example of a project is ‘The Medicinal Plants Conservation Project’ supported by UNDP, GEF and

Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency. Launched in January 2003, the project aims to eliminate the root

causes of biodiversity loss and the threats to the conservation and sustainable use of wild medicinal plants in

Egypt and St Katharine Protectorate. This project aims to promote the economic values of medicinal and

aromatic plants to provide the motivation for conservation management and at the same time facilitating the

development of a national policy and legislative framework.

Moreover, in 2005 in India, UNDP initiated the ‘Conservation of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Knowledge

for Enhancing Health and Livelihood Security’ project that is implemented in nine states. The major goals of

this project include biodiversity conservation, revitalization of local health traditions, generation of rural

livelihoods and South-South cooperation. The project aims to mainstream conservation strategies for

medicinal plants and application of local health traditions into existing programmes of the forestry and health

sectors. By 2007, an operational manual for sustainable management of medicinal plants designed for state

governments has been developed, while the identification of medicinal plant conservation areas and traditional

herbal medicinal knowledge registers are in progress.

In addition, the ‘Cultivation of sage and other medicinal plants’, implemented in Albania by GEF and the

Farmers’ Association of Shkrel, aims to decrease the pressure on natural populations of medicinal plants by

wild collection through cooperative cultivation of medicinal plants.

Finally, ICIMOD manages the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Program in Asia which has as main objective to

improve resource conservation and livelihood security in rural and marginalized communities through

strengthening the linkages between stakeholders within the MAPs production to consumption chain. Under

this project, since 2006, the Ethno Botanical Society of Nepal has implemented projects on medicinal plant

inventory, identification of hotspots and community based conservation strategies.

1.2 Problem Statement

In Nepal, medicinal and aromatic plants collecting and trade are centuries-old businesses and they provide

people from rural areas with an important source of income (Olsen & Helles 1997). Therefore, medicinal

plant cultivation, as an alternative to wild harvest, can provide income while at the same time helping the

conservation efforts.

In the scientific literature, there is very little mention of medicinal plant cultivation as a source of income.

Moreover, no studies on medicinal plant cultivation in the study area were found. Therefore, the field of

medicinal plants cultivation in Nepal was identified as a research gap. This study aims to fill this research gap

by gathering information on medicinal plant cultivation and cultivators and by assessing to what extent this

activity can lead to development.

1.3. Research Question

The main question that this study tries to answer is ‘To what extent could medicinal plants cultivation be

an endogenous development strategy in Chitwan district, Nepal?’

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In order to provide an answer the main question stated above, the following issues were investigated:

Is medicinal plants cultivation a rare or common phenomenon?

Who are the main actors on the medicinal plants market in Chitwan?

Which species of medicinal plants are cultivated in Chitwan area?

How much income does the cultivation of medicinal plants generate for Chitwan farmers?

Is medicinal plants cultivation the main activity or just an extra source of cash for the farmer?

Are the farmers growing what the market demands?

How many people could be involved in a programme based on medicinal plant cultivation?

How much could medicinal plant cultivation contribute to the household income?

The number of medicinal and aromatic plants species used in Chitwan area is significant, however, this study

will mention only those species that are commercially cultivated. Moreover, although the knowledge of uses of

medicinal plants is essential for the understanding of the importance of these plants, this area is not part of

the current research due to its complexity and size.

1.4 Limitations

Time and Resources Constraints

The time allocated for the fieldwork was 9 weeks, since April 15th to June 15th 2010. Because the local context

did not allow for agroforestry research, which was the initial idea for the research, 3 weeks were spent

designing a new research topic and work plan, further limiting the time for actual data gathering. Moreover,

during the months of May and June local students had their exams and were not available as translators, which

resulted in a new cause for delay of primary data gathering.

This research was entirely funded by the researcher and therefore the budget was limited to a few hundreds of

euro, out of which the travelling costs represented more than half.

Language

The official language in Nepal is Nepali and therefore the process of primary data collection was done with

the help of translators. Five translators were employed in the process, with differences in quality of their

English and understanding of the research topic. Overall, I feel confident that the data gathering process was

not affected by the different capabilities of the translators, as triangulation of information was a constant

objective in all the interviews and focus groups. However, although the translators were specifically instructed

to translate just what the researcher and interviewee were saying, at times they had to give supplementary

information to the interviewee and therefore the researcher cannot guarantee that the answers given were not

influenced but the translator or that some information got lost or distorted.

Climate

Chitwan has a subtropical climate. The months of April, May and June are the hottest of the year. During this

period, the average minimum temperature is around 26 degrees Celsius while the maximum reaches usually 35

degrees Celsius. However, due to the humidity, the perceived temperature is higher. Therefore, the climate

had a clear impact on the schedule of research. During the morning and late afternoon farmers were not

available to talk as they were busy working in the field.

Transportation

The infrastructure in Nepal is poor as most of the roads are not paved and busses do not have reliable

schedules. This lead to significant loss of time while travelling. For the purpose of data gathering the

motorcycle was the most used means of transport as it saved time, but it was also the most expensive one.

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Due to poor infrastructure, the researcher was unable to reach five Community forest user groups in Korak

Village Development Committee (VDC), in the hill area of Chitwan District. According to the District Forest

Office (DFO) officer, these communities can be reached only after a six hours of walking, as there are no

roads that motorcycle can use.

Electricity and Internet Access

Nepal relies mostly on hydropower and due to limited capacities and growing electricity demand; the

electricity supply is not continuous. During the dry season, the electricity is limited to a few hours a day – four

to five hours with electricity with five to six hours gaps in between.

Internet is available only when there is power, but the speed limited to 50 kb/sec, which lead to delays in

gathering information when using the internet.

1.5 Thesis Outline

Chapter two presents some background information meant to help the reader understand the context of the

location where the research took place. The information intends to give information that also is needed in

order to grasp the context of the recommendations in the last pages of this report by presenting a short recent

history of Nepal and making a sketching the economic profile of the country.

Chapter three reviews the literature on development and describes the theoretical framework adopted in this

study. There are many ways of defining ‘endogenous development’ and this section will give the complete

definition that the analysis chapter will work with.

Chapter four presents the methodology that was employed during the processes of data collection and data

analysis. This section gives details on how the research project took place and describes the types of gathered

data.

Chapter five present the findings of the research. The first subchapter is dedicated to the information on

medicinal plant cultivation through focus group discussions. In addition, the second and third subchapters are

dedicated a particular type of medicinal plant cultivators, community forest user groups and cooperatives.

Moreover, the forth subchapter is about the individual cultivators while the last one is dedicated to non-

cultivators.

Chapter six, analysis and discussions creates the profile of a medicinal plants cultivator as it results from the

findings presented in the previous chapter and also tries to sketch the profile of the medicinal plants

cultivation business.

Chapter seven presets the sketch of a theoretical project conserving medicinal plants cultivation for the

purpose of income generation that could be designed keeping in mind the theoretical framework descried in

chapter three. This chapter also includes the recommendation of the researcher when designing such a

project.

Finally, chapter eight contains the conclusions, including suggestions for future research.

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Chapter 2: Background

In order to provide some background information on this research, this section supplies the reader with

information on the country were the research took place. The below information is meant to help the reader

to grasp the context of the research and study area.

Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a 26.4 million people1, landlocked country in

South Asia. Bordered by China in the North and India in the East, South, and West, Nepal is very diverse in

terms of both its geography, ranging from the Himalayan mountain range in the North to wide grasslands in

the South. Moreover, the demographics are as diverse as the landscape as Nepal is the home to dozens of

languages, with Nepali being used as lingua franca. Hinduism is the religion of 80% of the population, while

Buddhism is the second most important belief, being practiced by about 11% of the country’s population.

Nepal is dividend, from an administrative point of view in 75 districts. Each district is further divided in

village development committees (VDCs) which are the lower administrative part of Ministry of Local

Development (MLD). A VDC is further divided into wards, the number depending on the population of the

district, but the average number is nine wards. According to the MLD website2, the purpose of village

development committees is to organise village people structurally at a local level and creating a partnership

between the community and the public sector for improved service delivery system.

2.1. Recent History

According to the CIA world fact book3, in 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule

by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a

multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. Six years later, an insurgency led by

Maoist extremists broke out. The ensuing ten-year civil war between insurgents and government forces

witnessed the dissolution of the cabinet and parliament and assumption of absolute power by the king.

According to the same source, several weeks of mass protests in April 2006 followed by months of peace

negotiations between the Maoists and government officials, culminated in a peace accord and the

promulgation of an interim constitution, in November 2006. Following a nation-wide election in April 2008,

the newly formed Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a federal democratic republic and abolished the

monarchy at its first meeting the following month. The Constituent Assembly elected the country's first

president in July. The Maoists, who received a plurality of votes in the Constituent Assembly election, formed

a coalition government in August 2008, but resigned in May 2009 after the president overruled a decision to

fire the chief of the army staff.

In May 2010, the researcher witnessed a six days nation-wide strike called by the Maoist party that asked for

the demission of the current government. According to the New York Times4, Maoist leaders gave up the

protests after a rally of approximately 20,000 professionals in the capital that called for an end to the strike

and for the progress in the nation’s stalemated peace process.

1 2007 data from Central Bureau of Statistics http://www.cbs.gov.np/ 2 http://mld.gov.np/eng/ 3 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/np.html 4 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/08/world/asia/08nepal.html


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2.2. Economy of Nepal

According to the World Bank statistics5, Nepal is occupies the 193rd position in 2009, with a gross national

income (GNI) per capita of 1,180 USD, calculated using purchasing power parity model. According to this

model, Nepal is one of the least developed countries of the world having a lower than average level of GNI

per capita. Moreover, according to the National Planning Commission (2007) around 31% of the population

is below the poverty line.

Nepal relies heavily on foreign aid. According to Library of Congress6, Japan is Nepal’s largest bilateral

aid donor, while the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are the largest multilateral donors. The

expected the ratio of total foreign aid to gross domestic production 2009/10 to reach 6.05% (National

Planning Commission, 2007).

According to the National Planning Commission (2007), agriculture accounts for about 33% of GDP. While

most of the population is employed in agriculture, the sector rests mostly on crops grown in the Terai region

such as tea, rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, and root crops.

Industrial activity, which constitutes around 8% of GDP, mainly involves the processing of agricultural

products, including pulses, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain, while the services sector is closely tied with the

tourism industry. The latter has been growing in recent years, although it is a small sector, just 1.4% of GDP,

due to the political tensions.

Over the past 15 years from 1991, remittances became a big factor in supporting both the local economy and

people’s livelihood, rreaching 12.03% of GDP percent in July 2005 (Gaudel, 2006). The first example of

remittances came from the Gurkha soldiers who serve in the Indian and British armies. More recently, Nepali

citizens move to India, the Gulf countries and Malaysia in search of work (Gaudel, 2006).

According to the data on website of the Central Bureau of Statistics7, in terms of its relationships with the

exterior, the country has close ties with India, which accounts for about half of both imports and exports. In

2007, Nepal had a trade deficit of approximately 1billion US dollars, with exports mainly consisting of carpets,

clothing, leather goods, jute goods, and grain. Main imported goods include gold, machinery and equipment,

petroleum products and fertilizer.

Nepal has considerable potential for development through tourism, hydropower, and agriculture. However,

poor infrastructure and political instability have been hampered investment, both domestic and foreign.

2.3. Cultural Aspects

A thorough analysis of Nepal’s ethnic groups is complicated due to the sensitive nature of ethnic and

linguistic identity. Moreover, the few studies on the subject do not use the same terminology (Gurung, 1996).

Ethnicity, in the broadest sense of the word, refers to the national origin. In Nepal the classification of

ethnic groups is much more complex. Following the territorial unification of the country in 1789, the

government created national caste systems that stipulated a place for each of those groups (Levine, 1987).

Today’s ethnic mix represents the way people created their identities based on the language they speak,

national origin, region, language, religion, and caste system. In the 2001 population census8, there are 103

5 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/datastatistics/resources/gnipc.pdf 6 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Nepal.pdf 7 Foreign Trade and Balance of Payments 1997/98 -2006/07, CBS 8 Population Distribution by Cast/Ethnic Groups and Sex for Nepal, 2001, CBS


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ethnic and caste categories as declared by the respondents. The government acknowledges, however, that

these categories are provisional and arbitrary.

Such a diverse ethnic mix means also great language diversity. Nepal’s 2001 population census9 listed 92

languages spoken as mother tongues, and an uncertain number of languages were categorized as

‘unknown.’ Nepali is the most common mother tongue, spoken by 48.6% of the population and the most

common second language.

9 Population Distribution by Mother Tongue and Sex for Nepal, 2001; CBS

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Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework

In the scientific literature, the concept of ‘development’ is used in a number of ways as each author focuses on

different aspects. This section will present a short literature review on the topic of endogenous development,

which is the particular instance of development that this study is concerned with.

A classic view on economic development is that the rate of growth of gross domestic product (GDP) is the

expression of economic development (Lucas, 1988). The correlation between income level and rate of growth:

the poorest countries have the lowest growth, the wealthier the next and the middle-income countries

(developing) the highest.

Based on the neoclassical framework of Solow-Denison, Lucas (1988) develops a system of differentiated

equations that model the economic behaviour based on a series of assumptions on population growth,

physical and human capital, trade, and migration of the labour force. Although the solution of the model

imitates some of the main features of economic behaviour, the model does not incorporate the fact there is no

growth pattern, which all economies follow.

Maillat (1998) makes the distinction between development ‘from above’ and development ‘from below’ or

bottom up. The first is based on a priori existence of a form of growth that is disseminated according to a

process of spatial division of labour from motor regions towards the peripheral regions while the latter implies

no redistribution of growth from strong regions; shifting the focus from redistribution to resource creation.

For Maillat (1998) a theory of endogenous development or constructed development, should explain how a

region could generate wealth through a creation process using specific resources. For Maillat (1998),

endogenous development is the interaction between innovative milieu, localized productive system, and urban

system.

Ray (1999) reflects on the meaning of development seeking an alternative to the dominant model in which

economic expansion, job creation, and trade competitiveness. For him the principle of endogeneity means

local ownership and sense of choice in how to employ those resources. He brings the concept of endogenous

development in a western context, of local agency operating by local interests while addressing direct

relationships between local territories and the extra local institutions in the context of globalisation.

Compas10, an international network that implements development programmes, tests and improves

endogenous development methodologies, has a different definition of this concept that includes both

economic and social aspects. According to Haverkort et al (2003), endogenous development is understood as

based mainly, but not exclusively, on locally available resources (such as land, water, vegetation, knowledge,

skills and competencies, culture, leadership and the way people have organised themselves). Moreover,

endogenous development integrates both traditional and outside knowledge, the latter as complementary to the

first. Another characteristic of endogenous development is the mechanisms for local learning and

experimenting, building local economies and retention of benefits in the local area. The main actors in endogenous

development are the locals with their own self-determined traditional organisations and leaders but also more

recent civil organisations. Finally, endogenous development does not imply isolation as it may use some

opportunities provided by globalisation.

In the following paragraphs, the Compas framework of endogenous development is presented. All of the

paragraphs below are based on the Haverkort et al (2003). This framework was chosen because of its

multidisciplinary approach. The researcher considered that this framework was suitable because it included the

most important perspectives of development: social, economical and cultural.

10 www.compasnet.org

Chapter 3: Theoretical framework

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In the chapter seven, this framework of endogenous development will be applied to the activity of medicinal

plant cultivation as researched in the field and a project based on this activity will be sketched. In this chapter

the researcher will argue the potential of medicinal plant cultivation as an endogenous development strategy in

Chitwan District, Nepal.

The Compas framework distinguishes six different types of resources:

natural resources (land, ecosystem, climate, plants animals);

human resources (knowledge and skills, local concepts, ways of learning, teaching and experimenting);

produced or human-made resources (buildings, infrastructure and equipment); economic-financial

resources (markets, incomes, ownerships, price relations, credit);

economic-financial resources (markets, incomes, ownerships, price relations, credit);

social resources (family, ethnic organisations, social institutions and leadership);

cultural resources (beliefs, norms, values, festivals and rituals, art, language, lifestyle);

Figure one represents the main concepts of the Compas framework: the local use of resources and key aspects of

supporting endogenous development. The latter shall be explained in the next paragraphs.

Figure 1 Activities in supporting endogenous development

Source – Haverkort et al (2003) page 32

1. Building on locally felt needs

Local values differ from those used by national governments or international development agencies and

therefore the general goals for endogenous development vary. These goals may be poverty reduction,

diminished ecological exploitation, increased equity and justice, or cultural and spiritual goals. On the other

hand, variables such as sex, social position or age influence the definition of the needs.


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2. Improving and complementing local knowledge and practices

The aims of endogenous development are revitalising, enhancing, and complementing in-situ development of

indigenous knowledge and practices. Although local knowledge has its limitations, intra-cultural learning, and

dialogues can improve it.

3. Increasing local control and enhancing the dynamics of local knowledge

Local control and decision-making, based on the local mechanisms to take decisions within the local context,

are main goals of endogenous development. Therefore, traditional authorities play an important in managing

internal power conflicts, balancing gender issues and providing leadership. Subcultures, defined by differences

in gender, class, caste, ethnic subgroups, age, geographic origin, religious affiliation, language, education,

wealth and power inevitably lead to different needs and objectives, may pose a challenge to these authorities.

4. Identifying development niches in the local and regional economy

Endogenous development promotes the initiatives based on the specific ecological and cultural characteristics

of each locality that can generate additional income or contribute to well-being, as understood by local people.

Moreover, these initiatives should tap local opportunities by stimulating the production, processing and

marketing of region-specific products. The process of identifying and creating market possibilities for local

products on the regional, national or even the international market is crucial.

5. Selective use of external resources

Sometimes local knowledge and resources have their limitations, therefore combining them with specific

external inputs can improve their potential. Some external inputs are in the form of specific product but also

loan facilities, advisors, teachers, different production processes. However, the decision to use these external

sources should consider the local alternatives, the sustainability of external resources, the possibilities for

reproducing and maintaining external resources and the risks involved.

6. Retention of benefits in the local area

Sometimes, the external development initiatives aimed at profits taken away the benefits from the community.

Indifferent to what is the development situations, either production and processing of local food, village-

based tourism, employment creation for the rural youth, each opportunities to keep the benefits of new

economic activities in the local area need to be explored.

7. Exchange and learning between cultures and religions

The exchange of experiences and worldviews between rural people, farmers, field staff, managers, and

researchers can lead to fruitful cross-cultural exchange, learning, and cooperation.

8. Learning and capacity building

Learning is not a neutral transfer of data; it involves conceptual frameworks that are related to worldviews and

values. Any external knowledge transfer should be made considering the biases of western culture and the

local values and worldviews.

9. Networking and strategic partnerships

Synergies and partnerships at regional, national, and international processes can support endogenous

development. Such activities are: linking NGOs with similar agendas, creating strategic alliances between

relevant government agencies at local, regional and national level, participation in international forums, co-


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opting funding bodies in projects, advocating for policy changes or research programmes, and building up

partnerships with commercial, political or religious organisations.

10. Understanding forms of knowing, learning and experimenting

In international cooperation the understanding of the basic concepts of the various indigenous knowledge

forms is important. Traditional forms of knowledge are based on different paradigms than those in the

western culture. These differences in theories, models, typologies, concepts and problem definitions manifest

themselves in everyday life as well as and in the philosophy of science.

Medicinal plants cultivation is a subject that could be investigated from different perspectives. For example,

from an ethno-botanical perspective, the research would focus on the indigenous knowledge of the uses of

the plants. Moreover, from an anthropological point of view a researcher would be interested in the

indigenous knowledge aspects while from an economic perspective the focus would be on the income

generation potential of this activity.

The main reason for choosing the above defined concept of endogenous development as a working

framework is because the researcher has an economics background. Another consequence of this fact is the

focus of the study on the economic aspects of endogenous development such as building on locally felt needs,

identifying development niches in the local and regional economy, selective use of external resources and

retention of benefits in the local area.

Moreover, aspects such as learning and capacity building, understanding forms of knowing, learning and

experimenting, exchange and learning between cultures and religions are investigated but not on a full scale as

the researcher does not have all the necessary social sciences information.

This paper tries to prove that using the endogenous development as a starting point, a program based on

medicinal plants cultivation has the prerequisites of success because it is an activity based on local resources,

uses local knowledge, is part of the local culture an requires minimum external inputs. In the analysis chapter

we will return to this topic.

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Chapter 4: Methodology

This chapter describes the methodology applied in this study. The first subchapter describes the study area

while the second one gives details about the data collection and data analysis processes. The last subchapter

presents some ethical considerations.

4.1 Description of Study Area

The research area is Chitwan District, one of the 75 districts of Nepal. The main reason for choosing Chitwan

district as the study area is the fact that The Institute of Agricultural and Animal Science (IAAS), part of

Tribbhuan University, hosted the researcher. Therefore, Rampur, where IAAS is located, became the

headquarters of the researcher and the starting point of the research process.

The Chitwan Valley lies in the Inner Terai region which is mainly flat area surrounded by hills. During the

early 1950s, almost two thirds of the forest area was cleared with the purpose of eradicating malaria. However,

in 1953, after the floods and landslides in the hill area, this USAID supported programme gained a new

dimension. The government encouraged migration of the hills populations towards Terai area, where the land

they cleared and cultivated became their property in time (Shrestha et al 1993). The major flux of emigrants

was from neighboring districts such as Ghorka, Dhading, Tanahu, Kaski, Lamjung and Baglung (Barber et al,

1997).

The ethnic mix in Chitwan is made up by the indigenous population, the Tharus, Darai, Bote and Kumal and

several hill populations such as Gurung, Tamang, Magar, Limbu, Rai, Thakali Chepang, Chetri and Bahun

(Ghimire and Bhat, 2003; Barber et al, 1997).

Chitwan District, located in the central part of Nepal, as figure two shows, is part of the low-lying Terai Area.

Figure 2 Location of Chitwan District in Nepal


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The district’s administrative centre is in Bharatpur, the seventh largest city of Nepal with a population of

117,16211. Bharatpur is a commercial and service centre of central south Nepal and major destination for

higher education, healthcare, and transportation of the region. Smaller centres are Sauraha, a village with many

tourist facilities and Meghauli, which used to be have good tourist revenues that ceased when the regional

airport was closed.

According to the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO) statistics12, there are 463 register

cooperatives in Chitwan District, out of which 31 are for agriculture, 15 for vegetable farming, 9 for

beekeeping and 3 for fish farming. The rest are not related to any type of agricultural practice.

The study area was shaped by the fact that Rampur was the starting point of all travelling and by the

transportation facilities. Due to the lack of good roads, poor bus schedules, most of the time the only reliable

means of transportation was the motorbike.

In figure three, the green dots represent the locations of primary data collection, more precisely the location

of all the taken interviews. Out of the 37 VDC in Chitwan District, only 11 are represented in the sample:

Bachhayauli, Dibyanagar, Fulbari, Gunjanagar, Jagatpur, Korak, Kalyanpur, Mangalpur, Meghauli,

Saradanagar, and Shaktikhor.

As the arrows indicate, the Satrasaya and Korak locations are a little outside the current map. Moreover,

Satrasaya is outside the Chitwan, in Ghorka District.

Figure 3 Location of data collection sites in Chitwan District

4.2. Data Collection

In order to answer the research question mentioned in the introduction of this study (subchapter 1.3), both a

literature review and fieldwork were necessary. The initial literature review helped to refine the research

question and to organise the primary data collection process.

11 2005 data from the census, Central Bureau of Statistics 12District Agriculture Development Office publication


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The consulted literature mainly consists of articles from international and peer-reviewed journals. However,

for the design of the surveys, the researcher used information from various national publications available at

the IAAS library and mentioned in the Bibliography.

4.2.1 Primary Data Collection

Primary data was collected between 15th of May and 13th of June 2010 in Chitwan and Ghorka Districts. The

data collection process is based on participatory methods and techniques such as semi structures interview,

group discussions, informal meetings, and observations. These methods were chose because they are relevant

for this type of research, mainly because initially there was very little information about the status quo of

medicinal plant cultivation in the study area.

The fieldwork started with the identification of farmers and community forest user groups that cultivate

medicinal plants. The local supervisor, Dharma Raj Dangol, provided the names of two farmers and two

communities forest user groups that cultivate medicinal plants. The snowball technique was applied to find

out the rest of the farmers and CFUGs that are part in this study. Some of the farmers were able to provide

contacts of others that cultivate medicinal plants commercially. However, the difficulty in applying the

snowball techniques was the fact that in Nepal there are hardly addresses in the form of street number and

postal code. When farmers did not own a mobile phone, it was quite difficult to find the person. In some

cases, the researcher did not succeed in finding the person by using just the name and VDC. There was also a

case when only the farmer the researcher was searching for turned out to be deceased.

In addition, in order to find CFUGs that cultivate medicinal plants, the researcher inquired at the District

Forest Office (DFO) in Bhatapur. The forest officer provided information about seven CFUG that received

trainings on cultivation of medicinal plants from DFO. Unfortunately, most of these communities are 6 hours

walking distance from any road practicable by motorbike.

The main method used for data collection was the semi-structured interviews. Different surveys were

designed for cultivator (farmers, CFUGs, cooperatives) and non-cultivators. The semi- structured interviews

were designed based on the discussions with key informants and the literature review.

The main purpose of the surveys was to give the researcher a chance to elicit the opinions of the interviewees.

The researcher was present at all the interviews. When necessary, the order of questions in the questionnaire

was adjusted according to the storyline of the respondent. Whenever the time allowed, the researcher asked

clarification questions. During the surveys and interviews, people mentioned many medicinal plants. The

complete list of the plants mentioned by the farmers can be found in Annex 1.

As the research sphere evolved expanding, the surveys provided many answers but also raised many more

questions that could have not been anticipated at the initial moment, just from literature review. For the sake

of consistency, the researcher kept the same survey but asked the farmers many more questions to clear the

picture and improve the storyline.

Some of the farmers were eager to show their time farms, so the researcher documented a few transect walks.

The main purpose of the transect walks was to learn about the local technology and practices of medicinal

plant cultivation. Although these aspects are not the focus of the research, such qualitative data supported a

better understanding the context of the research. In total, the researcher did more than a dozen transect walks

with farmers. The farmers were generally proud of their field and as they felt comfortable, they spent more

time with the researcher. Moreover, they spoke freely and usually gave additional information, unrelated to the

semi-structured interview but still relevant for the research.

Group discussions were held between 9th and 13th of June 2010. Two main rationales justify organising focus

groups. Triangulation of information was the first motivation. The second reason is that a group can provide


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rankings that are more reliable and a different kind of information such as history of the group. When it

comes to subjective decisions, for example choosing the most profitable medicinal plant, group’s decisions are

more reliable than individual ranking mainly because a joint assessment usually includes more information. In

the survey for farmers, the individual answers differ as some of the farmers had less or simply different

information than others on medicinal plants cultivation. Moreover, a group perspective represents a relative

truth as each group operates using different criteria. Although the plants are the same, their utilisation similar,

and their cultivation process more or less the same, the process of decision-making is different for each group

as different factors and interests drive it.

Five local assistants who worked as translators facilitated primary data collection. They were bachelor or

master students at IAAS. Because time is a scarce resource, the researcher had to work with several

translators. No student could afford to spend the entire period with the researcher on the field as they were

during the exam period and then on holidays. Moreover, working with more people helped the research, as

different working styles were suited in different situations.

The background of the researcher is economics, which means that her experience in conducting interviews

and focus groups as a research tool was quite limited. Therefore, she designed short questionnaires short with

simple questions. The approach to doing research was ‘learning by doing’ and therefore the quality of the

interviews and surveys has a positive dynamic.

Since interviewing people is not an exact since, the cross checking of information was an objective throughout

the interviews. Whenever three or more respondents gave the same answer, the information is considered

correct.

4.2.2 Secondary Data Collection

Secondary data was also collected in order to back up or explain some of the findings and results of the

primary data analysis. More specifically, the theoretical framework was constructed based on the peer-

reviewed articles from journals. The description of the study area is based on both international and Nepalese

journals.

Local sources of data were NGOs (SECARD13, SWAN14, FORWARD15, ANSAB16) and governmental

agencies such as District Agriculture Development Office (DADO), District Forest Office (DFO),

Department of Plant Resources (DPR). In order to collect these resources, the researcher scheduled

interviews with representatives of these organisations and institutions during the months of May and June

2010.

Finally, some of the information presented in this study comes from grey sources like internet sites.

Specifically, Annex one is the product of both books mentioned in the Bibliography but also specialised

internet sites.

4.3 Data Analysis

The collected data are both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The qualitative data is presented in a

narrative way using a thematic approach. Moreover, selected quotes reinforce conclusions or provide

illustrative examples. Some of the questions are grouped so that they form a more coherent answer, with more

value added.

13 www.secardnepal.org 14 www.swannepal.org 15 www.forwardnepal.org 16 www.ansab.org


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Surveys supply several data types, such as categorical, multiple frequencies, ranked data, scaled data, binary

variables. Some of the open-ended questions were coded for the purpose of analysis into categorical data.

The quantitative data is analysed using some descriptive statics such as frequencies, distributions, and

correlation. For each of the analysis performed, the sample was adjusted to include all the valid answers.

Event thou sometimes there are less than 30 observations, the analysis is still worthwhile, even though the

results can be regarded as highly specific.

The Eviews software was used to make a linear regression analysis that tries to explain how the decision to

cultivate medicinal plants is influenced by variables such as age of the farmer, sex, family size, owned land

area, and level of education. For this purpose, a linear regression model is proposed and then estimated by

ordinary least squares (the independent variable estimator is obtained by minimizing the sum of squared

distances between the actual data points and the values given by the linear approximation).

4.4 Ethical Considerations

All the respondents grated the permission to be quoted in the final report. The used quotes are not taken out

of their original context and are used in the spirit the respondent intended. However, in order to respect their

privacy, Annex 2, which presents the surveys data, does not contain the names of the survey respondents.

The topic of research did not raise any sensitive issues. The income question was a little difficult in the sense

the not many kept records or knew exactly how much they were gaining. The surveyed contained a question

about the total income of the household. Even thou in the pretesting of the questionnaire this did not seem to

be an issue, during the survey many farmers did not respond to this question, either because they felt

uncomfortable or simply because they did not know. Therefore, the researcher adjusted the question, asking

about the percentage of total income generated by medicinal plants cultivation. Moreover, the researcher tried

to find out whether the income per katha is higher/same/lower than before.

During the entire process of surveys, the researcher kept thorough records of field observations. Overall, the

researcher is confident that the reported events in this report represent accurately the reality in the field as it

was observed.

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Chapter 5: Findings

This section presents the findings from the surveys and focus groups. The first subchapter presents the

findings that refer to the medicinal plant cultivation according to the farmers and healers, based mostly on the

focus group data. The second and third subchapters are dedicated to a special type of medicinal plants

cultivators: community forest user groups and cooperatives.

The forth subchapter presents the data from the farmer’s surveys while the last subchapter lists the most

important findings from the survey dedicated to non-cultivators.

As an important note, at the moment of research, in June 2010, the exchange rate was 84 Rupees per one

euro.

5.1. Medicinal Plants Cultivation

This subchapter describes the activity of medicinal plants cultivation. The next paragraphs present the data

gathered during the focus groups conducted during the period of starting June 9th until 13th 2010.

The four focus groups were organised for the purpose of triangulation of already collected information but

also for gathering of new data. The participants of the first group were members of the organic cooperative in

Fulbari that has been experimenting with medicinal plant cultivation, but intends to start commercial

cultivation this year. The second group was a cooperative established last year that started the plantation

process this year and will be able to sell most likely at the beginning of next year. The third group was made of

traditional healers, which were certainly the most experienced people when it comes to medicinal plant

cultivation – as they had the most knowledge and longest history of cultivation. The last group consisted of

farmers affiliated to a company named Crystal Nepal.

The reason these groups were chosen is the fact they are representative types of cultivators of medicinal plants

in Chitwan. Their experience with medicinal plants cultivation varies from almost none at all to proficient.

However, all the groups have less than five years experience in commercial cultivation of medicinal plants.

The most relevant information provided by these groups is presented in the following pages. For more details

on all the focus group discussions, please check the transcripts in Annex 2.

5.1.1. Fulbari Group

The ‘Organic Agricultural Production Cooperative’ in Fulbari is dedicated, as the name states, to organic

farming. In 2007, the cooperative started the process of certification for organic agriculture. An agreement to

sell organic products exists between the cooperative and One World Alc, company managed by Shyam Hada.

Along with vegetables, this company is interested also in medicinal plant cultivation. For this reason, the

farmers have been conducting trials in the past four years. The first trial involving black sesame (Sesamum

indicum) failed as the plant does not grow well in the region. After this experiment, farmers became more

reluctant to cultivate non-traditional crops. Because Shyam Hada is interested to buy medicinal plants from

farmers, he promised that in case the medicinal plant harvest is wasted he will provide compensation until the

level of income generated through rice cultivation on an equal land area.

During the last four years, a few members of the cooperative have been making shy trials with four medicinal

plants. The farmers planted small plots in highland and lowland. This year the cooperative has a nursery with

four species: tulsi, kurilo, sugandwal, and amala.

During the focus group, the farmers were asked to rank the previously mentioned plants according to criteria

they consider relevant. The plants are given a rank from one to four, one being the best according to a

Chapter 5: Findings

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specified criterion. Table 2 below presents the results of this exercise. The criteria are ordered from most

important to least important, as specified by the group.

Table 2 Matrix ranking exercise with the Fulbari group

Criterion

Plant

Tulsi Kurilo Sugandwal Amala

Easy to grow 2 4 3 1

Drought resistance 3 2 4 1

Marketing possibility 2 2 2 1

Profitability 1 2 2 2

Good for the environmental 1 4 3 2

Health benefits 1 4 3 2

Multiple uses 1 3 4 2

Manure requirement 4 2 3 1

Diseases and insects 1 3 2 4

Access to seed 1 3 2 4

Technical knowledge 1 3 4 2

Time to maturity 1 3 2 4

Storage 1 2 3 4

‘Easy to grow’ refers to the fact that the cultivation process is not complicated meaning that the knowledge

involved is not so specialized. Amala is has the best rank because as it is a tree, after being planted it just needs

watering from time to time. Kurilo however is much more labour intensive, involving transplantation, constant

weeding, and watering.

‘Marketing possibility’ refers to the easiness to sell. Amala received the best rank because it is an appreciated

medicinal plant on the local market and at the same time is not extensively cultivated. Tulsi and kurilo are quite

popular medicinal plants among the cultivators and their supply is likely to be higher on the market.

Due to the preoccupation with organic farming and its benefits, this group is a very environmentally

conscious. This is why they chose a ‘good for the environment’ criterion when comparing the plants.

According to local knowledge and religious belief, tulsi is considered good for the environment as it releases

more oxygen.

Tulsi was ranked best under the ‘Access to seeds’ criterion as each farmer can grow the seeds on their own

farm. Sugandwal was ranked second as it can be easily propagated using the roots of the plant. The other two

plants received lower ranks because it is more difficult to secure good quality seeds.

With ‘technical knowledge’ criterion, the group referred to the knowledge they have acquired through trials. It

should be noted that more people have more information about tulsi cultivation as it is traditionally grown and

worshiped in every Hindu home.

‘Time to maturity’ refers to the period from planting to harvest and is a very important criterion to keep it

mind as it directly affects the profitability of the plant. Tulsi requires the least amount of time, as it can be

harvested more or less four mounts after transplantation. Sugandwal requires seven to eight months, while

kurilo needs at least two years. The worst rank was give to amala, as it requires around four years before it

gives fruits, which are the valuable part of the plant from medicinal point of view

Finally, considering the ‘storage’ criterion, the plants that allow for a longer storage time were ranked better.

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 23 of 60

Perceived risks and problems of medicinal plants cultivation

The farmers in this group mentioned that the most difficult problems that medicinal plants cultivation raises

are the market, storage, and trainings. Considering that the market is the most commonly mentioned problem

among the medicinal plants cultivators, this cooperative has the advantage of having an agreement with a

company. However, dependency on one buyer is not a very reassuring situation for the group. The farmers

heard about farmers that were unable to sell their products even though they were part of Crystal Nepal

network. With this experience in mind, the group is planning to search for more buyers when they manage to

have a stable production.

Storage is the second most important problem because medicinal plants, particularly tulsi in this case, must be

dried in shade. The temporary storage problem was the reason why some of the farmers that were initially

attracted to medicinal plant cultivation to give up. The president of the cooperative, Chandra Adhikari, insists

that farmers should not worry about storage, because Shyam Hada promised to buy the tulsi plants soon after

the harvest.

The last problem mentioned referred to the lack of trainings on medicinal plant cultivation. This group is

particularly aware of the importance of trainings because they had several on organic farming practices. The

participants mentioned that they learned about medicinal plants cultivation during two excursions to Shyam

Hada’s medicinal plants farm in Ghorka District organised by the cooperative and supported by SECARD17.

These excursions gave 45 farmers the chance to see how plants are being cultivated and talk to an experienced

farmer. Moreover, Shyam Hada visits Fulbari on regular basis and helps with the problems concerning the

organic production.

5.1.2. Prasiddi Group

A group of farmers from several VDCs initiated the ‘Prasiddi Medicinal Plants Cooperative’ with the purpose

of medicinal plant cultivation. This cooperative has an agreement with a company, Aloe Nepal, for the

cultivation and selling of ghiukumari (Aloe vera).

During the focus group, the farmers were asked to compare ghiukumari with their traditional crops using

criteria they consider relevant. The plants were given a rank from one to four, one being the best according to

a specified criterion. Table 3 below presents the results of this exercise. The criteria are ordered from most

important to least important, as specified by the group.

Table 3 Matrix ranking exercise with the Prasiddi cooperative group

Plant

Criterion Rice Maize Wheat Vegetables ghiukumari

Daily consumption 1 3 2 1 4

Market possibility 1 3 2 4 5

Profitability 3 5 4 1 2

Seed availability 1 1 1 1 2

Manure requirement 2 3 5 1 4

Type of land 3 1 2 3 4

Labour requirement 3 4 5 1 2

Drought resistant 4 3 1 5 1

17 Local NGO that has several projects dedicated to improving rural livelihood – www.secardnepal.org

Chapter 5: Findings

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‘Daily consumption’ refers to the fact that the crop is edible. The ranking indicates that rice and vegetables are

the most important crops for the diet of the participants. Maize is cultivated for the purpose of animal

feeding, and therefore indirectly contributing to the food production while ghiukumari is ranked last because it

cannot be consumed.

Vegetables are considered most profitable as they sell easily. However, until now the farmers of the

cooperative were using inorganic fertilizers and pesticides for the vegetables, but when they will switch to

organic farming (ghiukumari soil must not be contaminated with inorganic substances) vegetables will stop

being the most profitable crop. Ghiukumari is ranked second considering the expected benefits.

The participants mentioned that they have their own seeds for the crops they grow, and because they had to

buy the ghiukumari seedlings they ranked it lowest.

According to ‘manure requirement’ criterion vegetables and rice require the lowest manure inputs while

ghiukumari and wheat need the highest.

Maize received the first ranked for the ‘type of land’ criterion because it can be cultivated in any type of soil

while ghiukumari seems to have more specific requirements.

Vegetables are ranked fist according to ‘labour intensive’ criterion because they require the least labour inputs.

The farmers specified that ghiukumari needs weeding by hand because no tillage is permitted, but on the other

hand it needs planting only once in five years, therefore they ranked it second, before rice which is quite an

easy crop to cultivate. Maize and wheat are considered to be the most labour intensive crops.

The participants appreciated ghiukumari as the most draught resistant crop because it can survive long periods

with small amounts of water. On the other hand, rice and vegetables are the most sensitive crops to water

inputs.

5.1.3. Healers Group

In 2002, the National Trust for Nature Conservation initiated the ‘Biodiversity Conservation Centre’

programme with the purpose of preserving the indigenous knowledge of the traditional healers and the

conservation of medicinal plant species. Through this program was founded the ‘Chitwan Tharu Traditional

Knowledge and Skill management committee’, an organisation that gathered all the local healers and made

them the members of one organisation. With the help of the trust, the healers started to cultivate medicinal

plants instead of harvesting them in the wild. A nursery and a clinic for poor people, where the healers

provided their services, were also established.

As the healers travel around to visit the patients who are unable to travel, it is quite difficult to gather a larger

group a focus group discussion. For this reason, only five healers attended this discussion.

The group was asked the following question: ‘If you would have the land and financial resources, what plants

would you chose to grow? According to which criteria would you chose these plants?’

Table 4 below presents the results of this exercise. The healers chose the plants according to their knowledge

and experience and they ranked them one to four, one being the best according to a specified criterion. The

criteria are ordered from most important to least important, as specified by the group.

Chapter 5: Findings

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Table 4 Matrix ranking exercise with the healers group

Plant

Criterion Harro Barro Amala Kurilo Sarpaganda

Cures most diseases 2 3 1 4 5

Multipurpose 2 1 3 4 5

Fruits first 3 3 3 1 2


Easy to cultivate 1 1 1 2 3

Grows fast 4 3 5 1 2

Water requirement 1 1 1 3 2

Storage time 2 3 4 1 2

Labour intensive 2 2 2 1 1

Manure requirement 1 1 1 3 2

For this group the most important criteria were ‘cures most diseases’, ‘multipurpose’ and ‘fruits first’ while

profitability of the plant occupied the fourth place. The low ranking of profitability is also explained by the

fact that the healers do not sell the plants, they produce medicines which most of the time are a combination

of plants.

The difference between the ‘fruits first’ and ‘grows fast’ criterion is important from a healer’s perspective

because different parts of the plants – such as the bark – are used, not just the fruits.

The group gave little explanation on the above-mentioned criteria. Although they were happy to share their

knowledge on medicinal plants, these people were not use to this type of exercise. The hot weather and time

of day were factors that lead to a shorter discussion.

5.1.4. Crystal Nepal Group

Crystal Nepal Ltd is a company founded in 2004 with the purpose of medicinal plant cultivation. The

company has its own farms where it cultivates herbs but also purchases medicinal plants from individual

farmers affiliated to its network. The company offers an initial training on cultivation to the member farmers

and a promise to buy the medicinal plants at an agreed price, usually lower than the market price.

Crystal Nepal collects and processes the medicinal plants and sells the final packaged products to a different

company, Crystal Vision International Limited18 (CVIL). The latter company does as main business the selling

of the finished products through a network marketing scheme. The farmers affiliated to CVIL – meaning they

sell the company’s products – get a better price when selling their plants to Crystal Nepal compared to

farmers that are not members of the marketing network.

The decision making processes is quite interesting in the Crystal Nepal network. The administrative board of

the company decides the species to be cultivated and the quantity. Then, the local branches of the company

organise meetings with farmers where each chooses what plant he/she can grow and in what quantity.

The farmers affiliated to this network have a more homogeneous knowledge on the plants they cultivate, but

rarely other knowledge on different plants.

During the focus group discussion, the farmers were asked to compare the plants they cultivate according to

their own criteria. The group ranked the plants one to four, one being the best according to a specified

18 http://www.crystalvisioniltd.com

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 26 of 60

criterion. Table 5 presents the results of the ranking exercise. The criteria are ordered from most important to

least important, as specified by the group.

Table 5 Matrix ranking exercise with Crystal Nepal group

Plant

Criterion Tulsi Godtarpe Camomile Lemongrass

Health benefits 1 2 3 4

Profitability 2 4 1 3

Easy to cultivate 1 4 3 2

Storage time 1 4 2 3

Water requirement 3 2 4 1

Labour intensive 4 2 3 1

Environmental health 1 4 2 3

Multiple uses 1 4 2 3

Manure input 3 1 4 2

For this group the most important criteria when comparing the plants were ‘health benefits’, ‘profitability’,

‘easy to cultivate’ and ‘storage time’. The farmers mentioned the CVIL logo ‘Health, Wealth and Creativity for

Humanity’ and said that this is the reason why they chose ‘healing benefits’ as the most important criterion

when comparing the plants. Moreover, the health benefits of tulsi are the most significant because, if taken

every day, tulsi prevents 38 types of diseases.

Camomile is the most profitable because the essential oil extracted costs almost Rs 30,000/litre (€360/litre)

while the flower is worth Rs 600/kg (€7/kg). With a price range between Rs50 to 60/kg, tulsi is the second

most profitable plant.

Storage time is an important criterion because it directly affects profitability of the plant. The farmers

mentioned that they store the tulsi while its market price is low, and when the price recovers, they sell it to the

network or elsewhere.

The water requirements of the plant can be the limiting criterion for some farmers. The water requirements of

the camomile represent the main cause for the small area on which this plant is cultivated at the moment

‘Multiple uses’ – refers in this context to the fact that the plant is used as ingredient in more products. It is

easily notable that tulsi and camomile are the most versatile and used plants.

5.2. Community Forest User Groups

Community forestry is in essence the transfer of land and land rights from government to people in order to

achieve sustainability of the natural resources and improve livelihoods of rural households. The people that

are part of community forestry programmes are organised in community forest user groups (CFUGs), which

are defined as the groups of people residing in forest vicinities that are entrusted to manage, conserve and

develop the forests and utilise the products from a particular area of forest (Acharya et al; 2004). In addition,

the CFUG membership is on a household basis.

According to professor Dharma Raj Dangol, a key informant for this study, the selling of non-timber forest

products (NTFPs) including medicinal plants is one of the income sources of CFUGs. The seven CFUGs

presented shortly below were found applying a snowball technique.

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 27 of 60

Gyaneshwor Community Forest

Location: Mangalpur VDC, Chitwan District

Size: 280 ha

Members: 1,600 households

Sources of income: tourism, selling of firewood, selling of sandstone

MPC starting date: 2007

Cultivated species: kurilo

Area: 1.5 ha

Person in charge: 43 women organised in three groups

External organisation that

provided assistance

BISEP-ST19- provided the seed and money for the labour.

According to Danda Pani Bhatta, current president of the CFUG, the project failed because the final product

could not be sold, as it was of poor quality.

Baghmara Buffer Zone Community Forest

Location: Bachhauli VDC, Chitwan District

Size: 215 ha


Sources of income: Tourism, firewood and timber sell, medicinal plant cultivation


Cultivated species: Harro, Barro, Neem, Gothapre, and other 20 more medicinal herbs

Area: 5 ha

Person in charge: Employees of the CFUG, the healers’ group


provided assistance

The Nature Conservation Trust- program : Biodiversity Conservation Centre

– they gave technical support, trainings and money

Since 2008, the Biodiversity Conservation Centre does not support the nursery anymore. Some members of

the current management of the CFUG are not interested in preserving the medicinal plant nursery because the

income from tourism is much more easily obtained. For 3 years in the nursery there have not been any

planting activities.

Jankauli Buffer Zone Community Forest

Location: Bachhauli VDC, Chitwan District

Size: 59.3 ha


Sources of income: Firewood sell, tourism, medicinal plant cultivation


Cultivated species: Kurilo, ginger, turmeric

Area: 4 ha

Person in charge: 4 employees working 50 days/year


provided assistance

NGO WBC Nepal – provided technical support and seedlings

19 http://www.bisepst.org.np/new/index.html

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 28 of 60

According to Mr Phaguna Mahato, employees of the CFUG, medicinal plant cultivation is an activity that

generates an income of Rs50,000 annually. The community planted many neem and amala trees in the forest

but at the moment these are young and are not exploited yet.

Mangaledevi Community Forest

Location: Shaktihor VDC, Chitwan District

Size: 101 ha

Members: 135 households

Sources of income: No sources of income at the moment – awaiting permission from DFO to

exploit the forest; As future source of income: exploitation of the sal tree

(Shorea robusta) for timber.


Cultivated species: kurilo, tejpata; amala; gurjo;

Area: More than 3 ha

Person in charge: When necessary 5 people per day, from the members of the community, by

rotation; These people are not paid for this work.


provided assistance

none

This CFUG is in the process of establishing, still awaiting permission from the District Forest Office to

exploit the forest resources. For this reason, no medicinal plants were sold yet.

Satyadevi Community Forest

Location: Korak VDC, Chitwan District

Size: More than 100 ha

Members: Around 100 households

Sources of income: Selling of firewood and timber


Cultivated species: rittha; chiuri; tespata; khayer; kahulo.

Area of the nursery: Less than 1 bigha

Person in charge: When necessary a few people, members of the community which are not

paid for their work;


provided assistance

District Forest Office (DFO)

Mrs Dilli Manga Tamang, member of the CFUG, declared that the DFO extension workers visited their

community and gave three trainings about medicinal plant cultivation to around 30 people and helped their

community establish a nursery.

The DFO has a campaign to promote income generation activities involving NTFPs. Mr Babu Ram Upreti,

Assistant Forest Officer, declared that the DFO has organised trainings in other 6 CFUG in Korak and

Lother VDCs, located in the Eastern part of Chitwan, in a hill area which is quite inaccessible due to lack of

infrastructure. Since 2008, the DFO owns a nursery which has at the moment, around 500,000 seedlings that

will be distributed to the CFUGs. The District officer also told us that the DFO plans to distribute annually

this amount of seedlings to encourage medicinal plant cultivation in the hill area.

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 29 of 60

The District Forest Office is focusing at the moment on its trainings on CFUGs. However, during the

fieldwork the researcher found a farmer that although interested in medicinal plant cultivation and had a

nursery, could not attend the trainings, as he was not part of the staff of the CFUG. In order to train people

that clearly show interest, the DFO should give open access to everybody to attend the trainings.

5.3 Cooperatives

This subchapter will present a short profile of the five cooperatives that cultivate or harvest medicinal plants:

Praja; Swyabhiman; Prassidi; Fulbari and Balgum women group. Although a women group is not the same

thing as a cooperative, the structure is similar enough and therefore, for the purpose of this study, we

assimilate the women group to the cooperatives type.

Praja Cooperative

Location: Shaktikhor VDC, Chitwan District

Members: 375 members

Start of medicinal plant

harvesting activity:

2000

Harvested species: amala; barro; harro; rittha; chiuri; gurjo

Buyers: One World Alc, which also helped the cooperative with the process of

certification for sustainable harvest of medicinal plants in the wild20;

Ghorka Herbal Ltd.

This cooperative is the most significant actor on the medicinal plants market compared to all the below

cooperatives according both to its experience on the medicinal plants market and to the volumes it collects

and sells (18 tons of medicinal plants products per year). The cooperative is destined exclusively to the

Chepang ethnic group. In order to become a member a person has to pay a fee of Rs50/year.

This cooperative is clear example of success. If in 1997, the initial investment in the Praja Cooperative was the

fee of Rs6,250 now the cooperative owns assets of Rs2,5 mil.. The current sources of income of the

cooperative are collection and selling of honey, selling of medicinal plants, selling of ginger and mustard oil.

Swyabhiman Cooperative

Location: Sardanaghar VDC, Chitwan District

Members: 50 farmers


Cultivated species: ghiukumari, tulsi, lemongrass

Buyer: Easy Multitrade International ltd (EMI)

In 2009, the cooperative was established with the purpose of cultivating medicinal plants. The cooperative has

an agreement with Easy Multitrade International Ltd21 (EMI) for tulsi and lemongrass. Since March 2010, the

20 According to The International Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and. Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP) 21http://www.emi.com.np/main/

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 30 of 60

cooperative have started ghiukumari cultivation on one bigha in Bisayanagar. The land was rented for 5 years at

a rate of Rs1,100/katha/year.

EMI is a network marketing company that sells products based on medicinal plants. It is in direct competition

with Crystal Vision International Limited as both act on the same market segment and offer approximately the

same kind of benefits to their members.

Prasiddi Cooperative

Location: Jancaulli VDC, Chitwan District

Members: 48 farmers


Cultivated species: ghiukumari

Buyer: Aloe Nepal Ltd – provides trainings and seedlings;

Prasiddi cooperative is actually a spin off from the Swyabhiman cooperative. As the latter cooperative grew

incorporating more VDCs, some of the members decided that coordination of members could be improved if

the cooperative splits in two using a geographical criterion.

The members of the cooperative started planting ghiukumari seedling on their own land starting this year. The

cooperative has a contract for the selling of the plants with Aloe Nepal Ltd.

Fulbari Cooperative

Location: Fulbari VDC, Chitwan District

Members: 6 farmers

MPC starting date: 2007 ( trials)

Cultivated species: amala, kurilo, tulsi, sugandwal;

Potential buyer: One World Alc – provides propagating materials and trainings;

The main activity of the cooperative is organic farming. Starting with 2006, the cooperative has a ten years

agreement with One World Alc for organic farming certification and purchase of products. Shyam Hada is

actively promoting medicinal plant cultivation in Fulbari, encouraging farmers to take it up, and offering

technical support.

Balgum Women Group

Location: Narayansthan VDC, Baglung District

Members: 25women


Cultivated species: tulsi


provided assistance

One World Alc and Social Welfare Association of Nepal (SWAN) an NGO

ofer technical assistance and trainings;

Formed six years ago, the women group has as main activity the cultivation of vegetables for own

consumption but also for income generation. According to Mrs Jeevan Subedi, the leader of the women

group, understanding the importance, and knowing about the healing properties of the plants motivates the

group to take up the tulsi cultivation. At the moment, the activity of tulsi cultivation is in its initial phase, the

Chapter 5: Findings

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group performing a trial a small plot of land to see if tulsi grows well in their area. She also declared that the

group does not expect significant income from tulsi cultivation in the first year.

5.4. Individual Cultivators

This subchapter presents the findings from the surveys of cultivators. In this study, ‘cultivator’ means any

person that has been cultivating or intends to cultivate (he/she already made some investment in the

cultivation of medicinal plants).

For this section, a sample of 28 farmers and private companies’ representatives will be used as primary data.

The results of the survey will be presented thematically, sometimes grouping questions in order to create a

clearer image. Moreover, because there are cases in which not all answer were given or the question was

inappropriate, each analysis will be based on the number of available answers.

Among the surveyed cultivators, there were 17 men and 11 women. The age and sex distribution of the

sample of cultivator is the one depicted in the graph below. Most responders were between 36 and 65 years

old. There were only two people older than that and four people younger.

Figure 4 Age/sex distribution of the cultivators

Figure 5 represents the ethic mix of the cultivators that were surveyed. Brahmins dominate the sample, maybe

due to the fact that Brahmin is one of the higher castes and is more educated. The second largest ethnic

group, at a considerable distance from the first, is the Tharu, who are the indigenous people in the Terai area

of Nepal. This sample is not representative for Chitwan District.

Figure 5 Ethnicity of the medicinal plant cultivators

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

25-35

36-45

46-55

56-65

66-80

Number of people

Age group

Female

Male

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Brahmin

Tharu

Gurung

Dalit

Kumal

Chepang

Chhetri

Gharti

Newar

N/a

Number of people

Ethnic group

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 32 of 60

5.4.1. Networking

The farmer-farmer communication is likely to be a significant factor when it comes to stating medicinal plant

cultivation. Some farmers became part of a certain network because their neighbour is also one. In addition,

many farmers had help from an organisation regarding medicinal plants cultivation. The fact that 18 farmers

out of 28 surveyed are affiliated to an organisation, either a cooperative or a marketing network, is a clear

indication that organised groups have more power of persuasion. People are convinced more easily when they

have examples of success or at least the risk is shared.

Figure 6 depicts the size of the personal network of each surveyed farmer. Most farmers knew at least one

other farmer that cultivates medicinal plants while eight knew more than ten others. Moreover, 23 farmers out

of 28 stated that they share information about medicinal plants cultivation with other farmers.

Figure 6 Size of the personal network of cultivators

From a wider perspective, there are some important actors in the medicinal plants cultivation scene. One

example is Danda Pani Kafle, a farmer from Meghauli, who is a source of inspiration and knowledge for many

farmers. Six people mentioned his name, including professor Dharma Dangol and a functionary from the

DADO in Bharatpur. He is also member of two cooperatives (Prasiddi and Swyabhiman) which means that

even more farmers have the chance of meeting him.

Another example is Shyam Hada, manager of One World Alc, who has a significant sphere of influence, as he

creates links between cooperatives that harvest medicinal plants from the wild (Praja Cooperative) and organic

cooperative in Fulbari, the women group from Balgum and some individual farmers.

Finally, the Adhikari family is worth mentioning. Mr Nawarj knows a few dozen farmers who are members of

Crystal Nepal, while his wife Sita is a founding member of Crystal Vision because she added 2,200 new

members across the entire country.

5.4.2. Knowledge of medicinal plants

Most Nepali people have traditional knowledge about medicinal plants. Beside traditional knowledge, other

sources of information are trainings organised by different organisations: the government, NGOs and

companies: Crystal Nepal and Aloe Nepal.

The number of medicinal plants that a farmer has in his own homegarden is used as a proxy indicator of a

farmer’s traditional knowledge. For this analysis, two interviewees were excluded from the sample because

they were representatives of a company and their personal knowledge probably would not influence decisions

taken by the owner. Figure seven presents the number of plants grown by the 26 farmers in the sample. Most

of them – 76% - have in their home garden less than five species of medicinal plants. The researcher

appreciates that these people have a limited traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. However, people that

have more than six plants have medium knowledge while those that have more than 20 plants in their gardens

can be acknowledged as keepers of significant traditional knowledge.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

0

1-5

5-10

>10

Answers

No. of known farm

ers

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 33 of 60

Figure 7 No of grown plants in homegarden

5.4.3. Experience with medicinal plants cultivation

The experience farmers have with medicinal plants varies from less than a year to around 35 years. However,

farmers with more than 20 years of experience in medicinal plants cultivation are quite rare, only two in the

sample of 28. Very inexperienced farmers are also few in numbers – only five that have less than one year

experience. Most farmers (75%) have less than 5 years experience.

5.4.4. Motivation for taking up medicinal plant cultivation

Farmers were asked to give the reasons for taking up medicinal plants farming. ‘Income generation’ is

definitely the most important reason for starting this activity as 19 farmers (67%) out of 28 mentioned it. All

the other farmers placed income as the second most important reason, preceded by ‘healing properties of

medicinal plants’ (5 farmers), ‘environmental considerations and conservation of species’ (2 farmers) and ‘less

labour intensive than other crops’ (2 farmers). Other reasons mentioned as a second or third are: ‘making

environment and society better’ (1 farmer) and ‘because parents did’ (1 farmer).

5.4.5. Evolution of number of species and cultivated area

The researcher was very interested to learn if the farmers that have more than 3 years of experience with

medicinal plants cultivation are expanding the cultivated area and/or the number of grown species. Only 17

out of 28 farmers in the sample meet this criterion. Out of these 17, two farmers reduced the number of

cultivated species. One of them increased the cultivated area while the other one decreased it. Five farmers

increased the number of cultivated species while also increasing the land area dedicated to medicinal plants

cultivation. Four farmers changed neither the number of species nor the cultivated area. Two farmers increase

the number of species while maintaining the same area under cultivation.

The only visible trend seems to be among the Crystal Nepal farmers and three companies. These actors were

the only ones able to maintain or increase the cultivated area. This means that the increase of cultivated area

takes place only if the market is relatively stable.

The conclusion seems to be that there is no general trend and that the dynamics of cultivated area and

number of species should be analysed on a case-by-case basis, looking at the identity and the particular

situation of the farmer.

5.4.6. Initial investment in medicinal plant cultivation

There is a significant difference in the range of initial investment between farmers and companies. For the

three companies in the sample the initial investment excluding the cost of land was: Rs 20,800, Rs600,000 and

Rs500,000 while for the fourth one the information is unavailable.

0 5 10 15 20 25

1-5

6-10

>20

Answers

No of plants

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 34 of 60

For individual farmers the figures varies from less than Rs1,000 to Rs300,000. For most farmers the

investments consist of seeds or seedlings and are below Rs1,000. The graph below shows the range of the

amount invested for medicinal plants cultivation by individual farmers.

Figure 8 Individual farmers initial investment in medicinal plant cultivation (Rupees)

5.4.7. Annual expenses incurred during the cultivation of medicinal plants

All the farmers were asked whether they hire people to help with the cultivation and harvest of the medicinal

plants they grow. Only 12 out of 28 farmers answered that they do need to hire temporary or permanent

workers. The farmers said that they pay the temporary workers wages between Rs150 and Rs450/day

depending on the local labour market, type of activity (weeding, harvesting) and the difficulty of the work.

The average of the daily paycheque as calculated by the researcher considering all the answers of the farmers is

Rs266/day.

Considering the daily wage, one situation stands out. Mr Shyam Hada declared that currently he pays his

temporary workers with Rs400/day and that in the past he wanted to pay them more but the other villages got

upset because he was raising the market price for a day’s work.

When it comes to permanent workers, the situation is a little different; there is a significant variation in the

wages paid by private companies to permanent employees in charge of medicinal plant cultivation. For

example, in two farms, the permanent workers receive Rs4,000/month, while in a different farm the same

type of work is paid with Rs9,000/month. The conclusion that can be drawn from here is that the market is

not mature yet and there is a lot of asymmetry of information between employer and employee.

5.4.8. The income generated through medicinal plants cultivation

If medicinal plant cultivation is to be considered an endogenous development strategy, the first hypothesis

that has to be proved is that medicinal plant cultivation leads to increased income for the same land area.

Talking about income with the farmers was a little difficult in the sense the not many kept records or knew

exactly how much they were gaining. As this difficulty was anticipated, instead of asking for the total

household income, the researcher tried to find out how much of the total income is generated by medicinal

plant cultivation and whether the income per katha is higher/same/lower than before.

Out of the 28 surveyed farmers, 26 answered that their current income is higher or that they expect a higher

one per katha. The two exceptions are Shyam Hada’s company that is currently not profitable and a woman

that declared that the medicinal plants cultivation is simply not as profitable as other crops.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

< 1,000

1,000-3,000

4,000-5,000

10,000

20,000-25,000

150,000

300,000

Number of farmers

Initial investment (R

upees)

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 35 of 60

However, the picture of MPC’s contribution to the overall income is much more complex. Excluding those

who said their income is lower now, the farmers said that the income generated trough MPC represents

between 5% and 60% of their total income. For 13 farmers, the income from MPC is zero because they have

not sold yet any medicinal plants products.

The average income generated through MPC, as calculated by the researcher based on the sample, is around

37%. For eight farmers the income generated by the MPC is below 35% while in five cases the income is

above 50%. The two examples where the income is fully generated through MPC are two private companies

for which we could not speak directly to the owner. As mentioned above, Shyam Hada’s company is not

profitable while the fourth company has not yet sold any medicinal plants products.

From the distribution of the income generated MPC, it is clear that most farmers grow medicinal plants as a

strategy to diversify their sources of income. Those farmers that specialise in MPC are rare, only one planning

to increase MP cultivated area and totally give up other agricultural crops.

Figure 9 Percent of total income generated through medicinal plant cultivation

Regarding the income that can be generated from the cultivation of medicinal plants, Chandra Adhikari, the

president of the Fulbari cooperative, said that assuming a price of Rs80-100/kg for tulsi leaves and that the

harvest from one katha is 100 kg of leaves, the total income from tulsi cultivation is between Rs 8,550-

10,000/katha/season. In comparison, the income from rice cultivation for a farmer is Rs 3,000-

3,500/katha/season. Komal Sapkota, shareholder of Crystal Nepal, confirmed that a farmer could gain up to

Rs10,000/katha/season from medicinal plants cultivation.

5.4.9. Alternative sources of income

When asked what the sources of income of the household are, all the surveyed farmers mentioned at least one

other source of income besides the medicinal plants cultivation. The sample for this analysis includes all the

individual cultivators and excludes the companies. As figure 10 shows, the majority of the surveyed cultivators

(21 out of 23) declared one or two more sources of income. Only two farmers mentioned three other sources

of income besides the medicinal plant cultivation for their household.

When considering this sample, the correlation coefficient between the number of family members and

number of the household’s income sources is 0.003, meaning that there is no correlation between the two

variables. The explanation could be that most people in the household work in agriculture, as most people

said that another source of income is farming, or once the children grow and marry, they move out of the

parent’s house and form a new household. The researcher’s observations on the field confirm this hypothesis.

However, the sample is too small to make generalisations.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

0%

5%

15%

20%

35%

50%

60%

100%

No of farmers

Percent of income

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 36 of 60

Figure 10 The number of additional sources of income, other than medicinal plants cultivation

The mentioned sources of income, other than MPC, are usually the selling of agricultural products or farming,

jobs and pensions. In rare cases, there are remittances from the spouse that works abroad and four farmers

have incomes from a small business, usually a small shop. Figure 11 present the sources of income that

farmers mentioned besides medicinal plants cultivation.

Figure 11 Sources of income, other than medicinal plants cultivation

5.4.10. Processing of medicinal plants

The hypothesis that more processing of medicinal plants means a better margin of profit was tested on the

field. However, because only companies have the financial resources to purchase processing machinery, the

hypothesis was confirmed only in these cases. Moreover, most farmers just harvest and dry the plants in the

shade before they sell them.

Usually farmers apply the same type of processing to all the harvested plants. Excluding the nine farmers that

have not sold medicinal plants yet, most farmers (80%) treat all the plants the same, processing the entire

harvest the same way – that is drying and cutting. Four framers declared that they apply different techniques

for their harvest, processing less than 50%. For example, Usha Mathu sells ghiukumari in pots (which are not

processed at all) and prepared mixes of plants as medicine. Jagat KC, an ayurvedic doctor, is an example of

complete processing as he sells medicines made from mixes of plants.

All the farmers were asked if they knew the price difference between the raw and the processed MP products.

Because most (15) farmers just harvest and dry the plants, they could not answer this question. Only four

respondents could provide an example of the price difference between raw and processed products: 30-40%

to 6000%. According to Komal Sapkota, shareholder of Crystal Nepal, there is a range of 30-40% in the price

paid for the products that depends on the water content, which has to be between 2% and 7%.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

3 additional sources

2 additional sources

1 additional source

Number of farmers

Number of additional

sources of income

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

farming

pension

small business

remittances

ayurvedic medicine

Number of farmers

Source of income

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 37 of 60

Another example of price difference between raw and processed is given by Manoj Kumar Chaudhary,

farmer. He stated that only separating the seeds from the amala fruit (Emblica officinalis) increases the price six

times, from Rs50/kg to Rs3,000/kg.

Shyam Hada provided a different example of price difference in the case of ginger. Just dried ginger is sold

with €4/kg while the same ginger, if packaged in bags of 75g each, can be sold with €2/bag. This means a

500% difference in price.

5.4.11. Problems implied by the cultivation of medicinal plants

Like any other business, the cultivation of medicinal plants is not without its own problems. When it comes to

the problems that farmers have to face, we considered the answers of all 28 farmers. The sample represents all

types of problems during the different stages of the business, as some are experienced farmers while others

just started.

Most experienced farmers stated that the biggest problem is the market – meaning that is difficult to find a

buyer and that as the prices fluctuate seasonally due to unbalanced supply and demand, making the income

from the MPC unstable and unguaranteed. The two farmers in the sample that used to cultivate MP state that

the reason for giving up was the inability to sell the products.

Most farmers agree that a better market channel will be beneficial for their business. Information about prices

and buyers is crucial in this sense. The solution is an improved transparency of the market and more exchange

of information between sellers and buyers but also between farmers. In addition, taking into account that the

market with most potential is not the national but the international one, certification schemes would give the

farmers a chance to sell their products at better prices.

According to Komal Sapkota, shareholder of Crystal Nepal, prices of medicinal plants products fluctuate

considerably, up to 100%, according to unbalanced demand and supply. Storage is crucial in obtaining a better

price. The storage facilities allow sellers of MP products to obtain a higher price by being able to wait until the

prices go up again. However, very few farmers have the space and money to create storage facilities.

Remembering the Fulbari farmers, some of them gave up medicinal plants cultivation due to lack of storage

facilities.

The second major problem mentioned especially by those farmers that have less experience is the lack of

knowledge about the cultivation of medicinal plants. They are also the ones that say that for improving their

business trainings are necessary.

A different problem is the seed availability. Mrs Sita Dhargal said that although she obtained good revenues

from tulsi cultivation for two years in a row, she had to stop due to lack of good seeds. Moreover, in the case

of Gyaneshor CF the asparagus harvest was wasted because the product was not good enough to be sold.

Other problems mentioned by farmers are that chemical fertilizers and insecticides are prohibited as these

substances decrease the effectiveness of the alkaloids present in the medicinal plants (medicinal plant

cultivation must be organic). Therefore, farmers must use natural fertilizers, most of the time cow or buffalo

dung. The Fulbari community is mostly organic and they have access to much training about composting and

natural fertilizers. Therefore, this community will probably not have problems with fertilizers. However, other

farmers, like the members of the Prasiddi cooperative, have little or no experience with organic farming as

they are now planning to switch to organic farming at least for the area of land that they used for medicinal

plants. For the families that do not have enough dung, the natural fertilizer could become an additional cost.

Pests are usually a problem for crops. Fortunately, medicinal plants have little pests as these species secrete

their own substances that repel insects. However, for some species pests can be a problem. Danda Pani Kafle

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 38 of 60

a farmer from Meghauli and Chhandra Adhikari, the head of the organic cooperative in Fulbari, have already

developed organic insecticides and they share this knowledge.

Finally, another problem mentioned by farmers is the lack of time and labour force. For Manoj Chhaudari the

lack of time is a limiting factor for his medicinal plant business. Although he could be selling more products,

he cannot expand production because he does not have time and the kids can help only when they are not

busy with school.

To sum up, according to the medicinal plants cultivators, having a good network of other cultivators is

important for gathering information on cultivation practices and market. Most of the farmers have less than

five years of experience in this activity which proves that this activity quite new in Chitwan District. Moreover,

taking into account the cooperatives and the CFUGs that just started cultivation, medicinal plants cultivation

seems to be a rapidly expanding activity. However, only farmers that are part of a network seem to be able to

increase the cultivation area in time.


the healing properties of the plants. The necessary investment per katha/season is mostly less than Rs 3,000

for an individual farmer. However, the income generated by this activity cannot sustain the household. On

average, the contribution of medicinal plants cultivation is 37% of the household income, and most

households rely on at least one more source of income other than medicinal plants. Only companies have the

financial power to process medicinal plants and therefore they get a higher share of profit.

For most cultivators the most important problem is the market, due to the unbalanced supply and demand,

which results in fluctuating prices and the lack of transparency of information on the market.

5.5. Non-cultivators

After surveying partly the medicinal plant cultivators, the researcher found the need to ask people that do not

cultivate and try to find out what are the motivations for a hypothetical start of MPC and the perceived

necessary conditions for such and activity.

The researcher designed a questionnaire for non-cultivators meant to reveal prior knowledge of medicinal

plants, reason for a hypothetical start of medicinal plants cultivation and the reasons for not starting such a

activity. For this survey, the sample was random. The researcher tried to find as many men as women.

Moreover, a non-cultivator is, for the purpose of this study, a person that has not or does not commercially

cultivate medicinal plants.

Figure 12 Age/sex distribution of non-cultivators

Figure 13 presents the ethic mix of the sample. Brahmins dominate the sample because they represent the majority in the Fulbari and Mangalpur VDC were most of the surveys were made. The second largest ethnic

0 2 4 6 8 10

20-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

Number of people

Age group

Female

Male

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 39 of 60

group is the Gurung, closely followed by Chhetri and Dalit groups. This sample is not representative for the entire district.

Figure 13 Ethnicity of non-cultivators

5.5.1. Knowledge of medicinal plants

The hypothesis that the more traditional knowledge people have, the more likely they are to cultivate

medicinal plants, was explored in this survey. The number of medicinal plants that a farmer had in his own

homegarden is used as a proxy indicator of a farmer’s traditional knowledge. Therefore, people who had more

species in their garden can be considered more knowledgeable than those who do not grow medicinal plants.

Out of the 31 people who were surveyed, most of them grow medicinal plants in their homegarden, only five

do not. As in the case of the cultivators, the researcher appreciates that these people who have less than five

medicinal plants in their homegarden have a limited traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. However,

people that have more than six plants have medium knowledge.

The correlation coefficient between the number of medicinal plants that the farmer had in his homegarden

and the decision to start medicinal plants cultivation is 0.24. This means that the farmer’s knowledge of

medicinal plants is slightly correlated with his decision whether to start cultivation or not.

Figure 14 No of plants grown in the homegarden

Another proxy for people’s awareness of MPC is their knowledge about other people that cultivate MP. Out

of the 31 people who were surveyed, just six people knew other people that cultivate commercially the

medicinal plants. This means that in many communities MPC is not a common practice.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Bhramin

Gurung

Chhetri

Dalit

Newar

Darai

Number of people

Ethnic group

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

0

1

2

3

4

5

8

13

No. of farmers

No. of plants in homegarden

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 40 of 60

5.5.2. Willingness to start commercial cultivation of medicinal plant

As the main purpose of this survey was to find out if people are willing to start MPC, the next question was if

they would be willing to start MP commercial cultivation. Since during the previous interviews with the

cultivators the researcher found out that farmers are quite risk averse and that neighbours and the community

matter a lot when one takes a decision, this question was formulated in the following manner: ‘Let’s say that

your neighbour is commercially cultivating medicinal plants and that he /she is earning more money per katha.

Considering this, would you also start to cultivate commercially medicinal plants?’ Out of the 31 people, 13

(representing almost 42%) said that they would consider MPC.

The next questions tried to elicit the reasons for the beginning of MPC. The questioned was formulated like

this: ‘What would make you start cultivating commercially medicinal plants?’ Below, figure 15 states all the

reasons people gave as one of the reasons behind the start of MPC.

Figure 15 Reasons for starting the cultivation of medicinal plants

For those people that said that they are considering to start medicinal plant cultivation, the follow up question

was ‘If you start commercial MPC, what do you think would need?’

Figure 16 Perceived needs for the start of commercial cultivation of medicinal plants

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

More money

Knowing the importance of MP

Owning suitable land

Having technical training

Medicinal purpose

Seeing others succeed

Existance of the market

Own consumption

Available technology

Familly support

Organic farming

No of people who stated the reason

0 5 10 15 20 25

Irrigation

Propagating materials

Suitable land

Communtity involvement

Extra labour force

Money for initial investment

Market knowledge

Trainings on cultivation of MP

No of people who stated the reason

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 41 of 60

As figure 16 above shows, most of the responders consider that trainings on medicinal plants cultivation are

necessary in order to start medicinal plants cultivation. Second most quoted necessary facts for the beginning

of the new activity were market knowledge and money for initial investment. Moreover, some of the farmers

suggested that the medicinal plants cultivation activity should be introduced as a community activity rather

than an individual one, and they suggested that the entire community should be involved in taking this

decision.

5.5.3. Choosing what species to cultivate

The next question was about what species they would grow, the farmers answered either by stating the criteria

for choosing a certain species or by choosing a particular plant or plants. Four people chose to name a certain

species of plant like tulsi, camomile, kurilo, and neem.

Table 6 presents the frequencies of the criteria for choosing what species to cultivate. As expected, while most

people would start medicinal plant cultivation for income reasons they would choose the most profitable

plants. A definition of ‘most profitable’ was not elaborated, but most people find it easy to express the criteria

in these terms. Most farmers understood by profitable that there is demand or that the price is high. Once

more, it can be observed that risk adverse people stated that they would choose ‘those species that have been

proven to be profitable’.

Table 6 Stated criteria for choosing the species to cultivate

Criteria for choosing the species to cultivate

No of people

Most profitable 7

Compatible with land 2

Useful for health 1

Proven to have success 2

5.5.4. Financial resources

Another question that was raised in the survey was ‘How much do you afford to invest in medicinal plant

cultivation/ katha/year?’

From the survey among cultivators, the researcher concluded that the average amount for initiating the

cultivation of medicinal plants is around Rs3,000. The fact that seven peope are willing to invest the needed

amount is that these farmers have a good sense of the necessary investments. It can also be noted than only

four farmers can afford to invest over Rs 5,000 per katha.

Figure 17 Willingness to invest in medicinal plant cultivation per katha

0 2 4 6 8

0

<3000

3000

5000

6000

7000

Number of farmers

Amount of Rupees that

can be invested/

katha/

year

Chapter 5: Findings

Page 42 of 60

5.5.5. Unwillingness to start medicinal plant cultivation

There were 18 people that said that they would not consider MPC even though they could see their neighbour

making more money out of commercial cultivation. These people were asked to explain why they would not

cultivate medicinal plants under these conditions. Figure 18 below presents the respondents answers.

Figure 18 Reasons for not starting medicinal plant cultivation

It is important to note that seven people mention that they would not start cultivation because they lack the

knowledge. The second most important reason for refusing to cultivate medicinal plants is inappropriate land.

Those farmers that owned lowlands (that get flooded during the rainy season) use these lands for rice only.

These farmers did not considered the financial aspect of medicinal plants cultivation.

Two of the farmers stated that they do not remark any market for medicinal plants cultivation and mentioned

that is not possible to start the cultivation of a crop without market.

One of the farmers stated that the main reason for not considering the cultivation of medicinal plants is that

his land is barely enough to feed his own family and that it is clearly insufficient for medicinal plants

cultivation.

To sum up traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is a relatively unimportant factor in the decision to start

cultivation of medicinal plants. Income is the main driver of starting this activity followed by the

understanding of the importance of medicinal plants. Moreover, people that are willing to start this new

activity realise that they need trainings, market knowledge, and approximately Rs 3,000 as the initial

investment.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Food security

Prefer more secure incomes

MP not common activity

No MP market

Satisfied with current situation

Have heard of unsuccessful MPC

Not enough labor force

Own inappropiate land

Lack of MPC knowledge

No of people that stated the reason

Page 43 of 60

Chapter 6: Analysis and Discussions

This chapter contains the analysis of the results presented in the previous chapter. The first subchapter will

sketch a profile of a medicinal plant cultivator while the second subchapter will reiterate the research question

and will answer it using the framework of endogenous development, presented in the theoretical framework.

6.1. Cultivator Profile

This section tries to sketch the most important characteristics of the medicinal plant cultivator as it results

from the quantitative data that was gathered. However, given the limited number observations and the lack of

data on other variables that could influence the decision to cultivate, this section remains mainly exploratory

in nature and aims to provide avenues for reflection.

In order to analyze the decision to cultivate medicinal plants, 40 observations out of the total of 59 were used.

This sample contains the non-cultivators and those cultivators that, although they started cultivation, they

have not sold yet any products as all these farmers face the decision to start medicinal plants cultivation

recently. The experienced farmers that have sold medicinal plants products and continued cultivation were

excluded as they face a different decision, that of continuing or not the activity and they draw upon their own

experience when making this decision.

In the following paragraphs, it will be explained how the decision to cultivate medicinal plants is influenced by

variables such as age of the farmer, sex, family size, owned land area, level of education and number of

medicinal plants in homegarden as proxy for farmer’s traditional knowledge. For this purpose a linear

regression model is proposed and then estimated by ordinary least squares (the independent variable estimator

is obtained by minimizing the sum of squared distances between the actual data points and the values given by

the linear approximation).

Running the regression will all the above-mentioned variables, it was discovered that not all of them were

statistically relevant, having the p value higher than 10%. Therefore, the following variables were excluded in

the second regression model: age of the farmer, family size, and number of medicinal plants in homegarden.

It could be expected that a lower age would be expected to contribute to a positive cultivation decision (lower

risk aversion) and a bigger household to lead to a diminished willingness to attempt cultivation (priorities

more related to subsistence crops) while more medicinal plants present in the homegarden could be an

indication of more traditional knowledge.

In the final version, the regressors in the model, chosen based on expected theoretical relationships and

statistical significance reasons are:

A constant term, the y-intercept (needed for statistical reasons)

Farmer’s sex (dummy variable with 0 for male and 1 for female)

The surface of owned land (in katha)

The number of years of education (with 0 for ‘illiterate’ and 1 for ‘just literate’)

Table 7 Correlation matrix for the explaining variables

Sex Owned_katha Education

Sex 1.000000 -0.110395 -0.123893

Owned_katha 1.000000 0.300504

Education 1.000000

Chapter 7: Recommendations

Page 44 of 60

As the correlation matrix above shows, the correlations between the variables do not point out to any overlay

of information between the three explaining variables that would motivate excluding any one of them.

Consequently, the estimated regression model was the following: cultivation_decision = 0.404*ct - 0.409*sex +

0.006*owned_katha + 0.028*education. The statistical results of the regression model are presented in the table

below (as given by the EViews software printout).

Table 8 Results of the second regression model

Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Probability

Ct 0.404300 0.126890 3.186219 0.0030

Sex -0.409414 0.153649 -2.664601 0.0115

Owned_katha 0.006277 0.001737 3.613045 0.0009

Education 0.028170 0.013762 2.047036 0.0480

R-squared 0.275740

Adjusted R-squared 0.215385

Sum squared resid 7.170177

Judging by the goodness of fit statistic R2 (adjusted for the loss in the number of degrees of freedom implied

by additional variables) the regression model explains 21.53% of the variability in the decision to cultivate.

Though this may seem like a low measure, the way the regressors influence the decision variable is very

informative about what actually contributes to it. As such, the following relationships are confirmed:

Males are more inclined to attempt cultivation (negative coefficient of the Sex variable, with 0 standing for

males). This fact in influenced by the fact that 28 out of the 40 respondents were men and by cultural aspects.

Each time the farmer and his wife were present at the moment of the survey, the farmer would give his name

even though his wife might have been as involved in cultivation as himself.

A larger owned area leads to a higher willingness to attempt cultivation. As most of the farmers allocated the

land first to satisfy the food needs of the family, only those that have a ‘surplus’ of land might dedicate it to a

different crop such as medicinal plants.

Higher education leads to a higher willingness to attempt cultivation. As medicinal plants cultivation requires

some more involvement of the farmer when it comes to the marketing process, it is likely that farmers with a

higher degree of education are more willing to attempt such an activity.

While the values of the coefficients can be indicative of the magnitude of their influence on the independent

variable, a direct interpretation is difficult as the latter is a dummy, binary variable. Their standard error (the

standard deviation associated to their mean value), by being relatively small in percentage terms, indicates the

values are relatively stable, but then again, the sign is more informative than the values themselves. A similar

interpretation can be given by looking at the t-statistic (a function of the coefficient’s distribution reflecting its

range of variability), which is also relatively small.

The estimation’s probability values support that all explaining variables are significant at the 5% level (the

lower the p-value, the more statistically significant is the dependency, i.e. the less likely the chance of rejecting

the dependence hypothesis when it is true).

Although the farmer is willing to start cultivation of medicinal plants, external economic and political factors

play an important role. Even if the surveys did not include questions related to the economic situation of the

country or political stability, it is likely that the Nepali farmer acts just like any other businessman, taking into

account these factors when making a decision.


Page 45 of 60

However, the researcher found indirect proof that farmers do keep in mind the political arena when making

business decisions. In the focus group with the Crystal Nepal members, the farmers said that they expect

lower profits and sales this year due to the government intervention. After discovering that a network

marketing business was illegal, the government declared as illegal all the network marketing businesses,

including Crystal Vision International Limited. The company reacted by suing the government, but in June,

during the research, the court had not yet decided on the issue.

According to Nawaraj Adhikari who was in contact with several farmers of the network, farmers were quite

sceptical about the fast resolution of the conflict and were considering not planting medicinal plants in the

next season, or until the resolution of the conflict.

Moreover, the fact that no farmer relies exclusively on the income generated by the medicinal plants and that

most of the farmers start with a small area is proof those farmers are risk averse and that they need

confirmation of the viability of an activity before investing.

6.2. Business Profile

This subchapter aims to present a brief market analysis of the medicinal plants and a SWOT analysis of the

business of medicinal plants cultivation.

Brief Market Analysis

The goal of a market analysis is to determine the attractiveness of a market and to understand its evolving

opportunities and threats as they relate to the strengths and weaknesses of a specific company or in our case a

medicinal plant cultivator.

The size of the global unprocessed medicinal plants market is significant. If some of the international

transactions are well quantified as we have seen in the introduction of the study, the local market data is

scarce, so a correct estimation of the size of the Nepali national market is difficult. Looking at growth rate of

the international market between 1993 and 1998, Grunwald (1994) notes that the EU market experience an

8% increase while the Japan and South-East Asia had a growth rate of 15%. The increasing global demand for

medicinal plants is determined interest that the pharmaceutical industry which is looking for efficient

substances to combat disease, the rising popularity of the alternative medicines, expansion of the herbal

cosmetics industry and the dietary supplements that use primarily medicinal plants (Holley and Cherla, 1998).

Market profitability is difficult to estimate due to lack of data. Based on sample of farmers, the profit margin

of medicinal plants cultivation varies from 50% to 65% depending on the cultivated species. Considering the

five companies in the sample, that act on both national and international market, the profit range is higher due

to the fact that they are able to process the plants. However, no data is available at this point on the

companies’ profit margins.

The market for unprocessed medicinal plants products is a buyer’s market. Most suppliers are usually small

farmers that have little negotiating power with the buyer. Although there are no entry barriers for the

cultivators of medicinal plants, when it comes to processing industry, the machinery prices can become

restrictive factor.

The cost structure is different for farmers that are simple cultivators and for those that also process. In the

case of simple cultivation, most costs are related to the current expenses for labour, water, and fertilizers. For

companies, the main costs are the processing machinery, which also allow for a higher profit margin. The land

is part of the initial investment in both cases.

The distribution channels for the medicinal plants products start with the farmers. They either sell to other

villagers or to a company, which usually processes the primary materials and then packages and sell either to


Page 46 of 60

the national or international market. Large companies that produce medicinal plants based products usually

distribute them through specialized stores.

At present Nepal, imports Ayurvedic drugs of more than 15* 108 rupees and it is increasing with

approximately 25% each year22. There are more or less two hundred different brands of Ayurvedic drugs

produced by 30 private Nepali companies, (data is not reliable). Nepal imports from India from more than

150 Ayurvedic drug companies. However, a significant amount if not all raw materials of these Ayurvedic

drugs have their origin in Nepal, as also the scientific literature states (Olsen and Bhattarai, 2005).

As observed in the Narayanghat and Kathmandu, the pharmaceutical stores that sell only herbal based

products are not frequent. In the Narayanghat shopping area there were around eight some of which

dedicated exclusively to a brand. Two of the store were part of an ayurvedic school, and they even had their

own doctor. However, in Kathmandu, the natural products are distributed also in supermarkets.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis of medicinal plants cultivation as farmers and CFUGs that consider taking up medicinal plants

cultivation as an income generating activity.

Strengths. One of the notable plus of medicinal plants cultivation is that it requires low capital investment

while it can provide a good profit margin. At the moment the number of cultivators it may seem large, but

their potential to supply is limited as the cultivated areas are small.

Moreover, the business provides non monetary benefits for the farmer such as the possibility to consume the

plants he grows. Changing the crop, and giving the soil time to rebalance the nutrients, can be an extra benefit

of medicinal plant cultivation. Sesame is a nitrogen-fixating crop, and it can easily be combined with tulsi,

alternating seasonally.

Weaknesses. Farmers need technical knowledge to be able to get a good product. Information about

cultivation techniques is crucial in that sense. A good business is based on a good product. Trainings are

essential in this case.

Farmers that act on the local and international market have a different set of problems that those who sell

their products to an intermediary or a network. Those that have to compete on the international market find

that the competition is quite fierce while those limited to the national market have less competition. However,

on the national market there is a great risk that the brand is copied and reputation being affected.

The major opportunity for a cultivator and/or processor of medicinal plants is that the global market is

continuously growing. Certifying the product with the intention to export would be a good strategy at the

moment. If the product is of suitable quality, the producer needs minimum processing. For example, a

certified organic herbal tea can be sold at premium price while necessitating minimum processing.

Ayurvedic medicine is part of the governmental policies. There is a Department of Ayurveda as part of the

Ministry of Health and Population. The government has initiated in 1992 (2048) and Ayurveda health policy23

which, among other things, encourages herbs farming, production and enterprise of medicines in the entire

country.

Moreover, the government just released the policy for organic farming. Since medicinal plants cultivation can

only be organic, the cultivators should use governmental subsidies for the certification processed to certify as

organic producers.

22 http://www.ayurvedanepal.com/ 23 http://www.ayurvedanepal.com/


Page 47 of 60

The Department of Plant Resources (DPR) is a national governmental agency that supports the medicinal

plants sector. The department has testing facilities, which farmers can use and receive a certificate that states

the content of the essential oil or other plant extracts. Moreover, the department has been collecting technical

information on cultivation of medicinal plants. There are also trained personnel that could provide useful

information to farmers if they do some extension work.

Treats. The roads system is a major impediment for market growth. Even though a community has a big

potential of cultivation medicinal plants, the poor infrastructure can restrain the access of the intermediaries

who can no longer reach that certain community. Lack of infrastructure is a major concern when it comes to

market access in general.

Table 8 SWOT Analysis of the business of medicinal plants cultivation

Strengths Weaknesses

• Low investment

• Income generation

• Non monetary benefits

• Volatile prices

• Lack of technological knowledge

Opportunities Threats

• Increasing global and national market

• National policy on organic farming

• Ayurveda Health Policy

• Facilities by DPR

• DFO programmes

• Lack of infrastructure

• Political situation in the country

• Unstable business environment

• Significant competition on the national and

international market

Although the business of medicinal plants cultivations is a niche type, it has great potential. Overall, the

strengths and the opportunities are appreciated to be dominant over the weaknesses and treats.

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Chapter 7: Recommendations for Project Design

This section looks back at the research question -’To what extent could medicinal plants cultivation be

an endogenous development strategy in Chitwan district, Nepal?’ – and provides a detailed answer

based of the endogenous development framework.

The main product of the conducted research is presented in this chapter in the form of a project based on the

endogenous development framework and the previously presented findings and analysis. The reasons for

creating such a project are the recognition of the potential of medicinal plants cultivation as a income

generating activity but also a conservation opportunity. From a donor’s perspective, an agency such as

Compass that is willing to follow the endogenous development approach, this type of project creates the

opportunity to involve people and put them in charge of their own development.

The project design presented below excludes some of the chapters usually present such as financial details,

human resources, and a clear timeline. These parts are left out because they can be decided only when a

budget exists.

Objectives

The aims of the project are to promote small-scale community-based cultivation; as processing and medicinal

plant marketing relieve pressure from wild sources but also to introduce best practices for wild medicinal plant

collection and sustainable collection levels. The main objectives of this project are improving livelihoods,

conserving and improve local knowledge and practice, preserve the medicinal plants species, and advocate for

an enabling environment with the policy makers. In the next paragraphs, all these objectives are elaborated on.

Improving livelihoods

The majority of the population in Chitwan area is quite poor. Most people in the district are farmers and do

subsistence agriculture. Most of these people would welcome an activity such as medicinal plants cultivation

that could generate additional income in the form of cash would most like.

Looking back at the sample of surveyed individual farmers, cooperatives, and CFUGs, the major drive for

starting medicinal cultivation was more income or knowing the medicinal plants value. Moreover, aaccording

to the findings presented in previous chapter, medicinal plants cultivation does lead to increasing income on

the same land area. However, in order to achieve a better retention of the financial benefits of medicinal

plants cultivation, processing of the plants is necessary.

Conserve medicinal plant species

A medicinal plants based project should involve both the aspects related to cultivation and wild harvest

because both have influence on the conservation of species. Many of the species presented in the findings

chapter as cultivated are not in danger of extinction. However, the situation is reversed when it comes to wild

harvested species. Although the cultivation of medicinal plants leads to a decreasing pressure on the wild

population, cultivation should not be the only conservation measure taken.

Medicinal plants collectors should learn to harvest sustainably the wild species. The first step is creating

awareness of the medicinal plants importance and the danger of losing the species. Collectors have knowledge

on the habitat of the plants and they could contribute to the domestication of some of the species. The

collectors and cultivators should be able to share their knowledge.


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Conserving and improving local knowledge and practices

The Crystal Nepal network and the Fulbari cooperative are clear example of initiatives of improving

knowledge by trainings in the first case and experimentation in the second. By giving trainings to the farmers

that start cultivation of medicinal plants, the Crystal Nepal network not only insures a good harvest but also

improves the farmers’ knowledge. The network in clearly investing in the knowledge expansion process

because recently an ayurvedic doctor was hired to support the trainings but also processing of plants process.

The Fulbari cooperative is clearly experimenting with local resources, trying to find the best land for

cultivating medicinal plants, both from a fertility and water availability perspective. They are trying to include

medicinal plants cultivation in their portfolio of crops to diversify their income sources. Although only a few

farmers conduct trials, the entire group discusses and benefits from the acquired knowledge.

Finally, the traditional healers own a considerable amount of knowledge about medicinal plant uses. Their

knowledge should be documented and also passed on to the younger generations.

The project should create opportunities for people to share their knowledge and learn from each other. No

group has complete information on medicinal plants; therefore, discussion among groups could bring benefits

to all.

Advocating for a enabling environment

Even though the project benefits from a good design, the outcomes are still influence by external factors,

which cannot be controlled by the designers of the project. Some of these factors are the general state of the

national and world economy, the market regulations and policies, the business environment, and the legal

framework.

The project should create capacity among the actors and mobilize cultivators and collectors of medicinal

plants by creating organisations that could represent them in the political arena. These organisations could

advocate for a medicinal plants products certification scheme, more infrastructure and market transparency.

Since the government has an initiative to facilitate certification for organic farmers, an association of medicinal

plants cultivators could take advantage of the window of opportunity and push for a policy dedicated to

medicinal plants cultivation.

The Department of Plant Resources in Kathmandu provides the service of certifying the content of the

medicinal plants product, especially for essential oils extracts. Considering the condition of the infrastructure

in Nepal, such centres should exist in every department to increase the access of the farmers to this service.

A medicinal plants cultivators association could advocate for more transparency of the information on the

market. As there are few powerful buyers and many dispersed sellers, reducing asymmetry of information

would increase market efficiency. The recommendation would be to create events where buyers and sellers of

medicinal plants can meet and exchange information; and/or make a specialised magazine.

Target

One of the most important questions that the designers of a project must answer is who is the target of their

work. In the case of medicinal plants cultivation, the target is any person that is willing to cultivate. However,

in the case of wild harvest, the programme should target the awareness of most people. Most likely that only

a few people will start cultivation, but there is a threshold that should attained in order to ensure the

conservation of the species. Further studies are needed to determine this threshold.


Page 50 of 60

The project can be adjusted to suit the landowners or landless people. Both upland and lowland are suitable

for different type of medicinal plants. The climate of the different regions of the country are also a factor that

influence the choice of cultivated species as different types of habitats are suitable for different plants.

The program should increase awareness of medicinal plants importance in order to conserve the species. In

different regions, people’s knowledge differs. The more inaccessible the region the most likely more traditions

are kept and people rely more on their local healers.

A thorough analysis of the categories of people that have live in the different types of climates is necessary to

establish how many people could actually start medicinal plant cultivation. At this point, the researcher does

not have such type of statistical data and is unable to make a good estimation about the total number of

people that could be part of such a project in Chitwan District.

As the exact number of people that could be included in such a program is extremely difficult to estimate at

the moment, let’s consider the processes of selection of the potential candidates. First of all, considering the

entire agricultural land area in Nepal, the land allocated for food production and livestock must be excluded.

Furthermore, not all the remaining area is suitable for medicinal plants cultivation. Considering the theoretical

land area that could be available for medicinal plants cultivation, the next step is to consider the market

conditions. At any price level there will be farmers for which medicinal plants cultivation is not a feasible

activity.

Considering a micro approach, the farmers that could start medicinal plants cultivation should have suitable

land, technical knowledge, enough labour force and money to sustain the activity and a proper market

channel. The designers of the project can only influence the market channel and technical knowledge aspects.

Implementation

The project would most likely need minimum a medium period, around four-five years. The project should

create different strategies for farmers and CFUGs.

Initial campaign for creating awareness of the importance of medicinal plants but also the income generation

potential is essential in creating interest among the farmers. Moreover, when trying to involve new peope in

this type of activity, the recommended approach is a participatory one. People know best what they want and

what they can do, but in some places it is highly likely that without a prior campaign of awareness raising, any

program involving medicinal plants will fail.

The major implantation steps are: indentify the development niche (particular combination of plants and

people), supporting organizations for project implementation (finding local partners), selection of external

resources (the input of the donor agency and the local partner), network building and communication and

sharing of knowledge.

Identification of new development niches

The medicinal plant cultivation is in fact a niche market as it is not a common agricultural practice. The

number of medicinal plants that can be cultivated is significant; therefore, a selection process is necessary. The

process of identifying the suitable species is based on the characteristics of each cultivator, including his/her

own knowledge, local traditions, soil properties, geographical and climatic characteristics.

Many farmers cultivate medicinal plants. However, their negotiating power with the buyer is reduced. Farmers

that organise themselves in cooperative or groups have a better negotiating power with a buying company.

Moreover, companies are interested in a constant and considerable supply, much more than a single farmer’s

production. Therefore, cooperative have another advantage over individual cultivators.


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The tradition of cooperatives in Nepal acts as a favourable background for medicinal plants cultivation. The

formation of groups is recommended because they create networks of support, and people can talk with each

other, solve problem. Organising the farmers in cooperatives seems to increases the chances of success,

because cooperatives can collect more products and gain more negotiating power with the buyer

Another important aspect is that cooperatives can have significant financial resources. Form members’

contributions and current business, cooperative could raise enough money for processing equipment.

Moreover, the cooperative, acting as a company that wants to increase its revenues, can play the role of the

intermediary between farmers and companies, while at the same time reducing the risk exposure of the

individual farmer.

Organised groups of cultivators have control of their development options because through participatory

processed of decision making, they can chose for example the company they work with and the market they

want to operate on, either national or international.

Supporting organisations for project implementation

Since both governmental agencies and NGOs have programs to improve livelihood using medicinal plants,

collaboration could benefit both sides and increase the project chances of success. A Public Private

Partnership between an NGO and the DFO for example, could be to improve access of the hill people to the

market.

NGOs seem to have a good record in Nepal. Some of them such as SWAN, FORWARD are national

organisations with projects in many districts. This type of NGO is clearly aware of the local characteristics and

is able to preview many aspects related to the implementation of a project and already have a good reputation

among the farmers.

Selection of external resources

Moreover, medicinal plant cultivation relies mostly on local resources such as land, water, labour and in most

cases also propagation materials. Therefore, the external input most needed is knowledge on cultivation. The

Prasiddi cooperative is a good example of external inputs in the form of seedlings and knowledge on

cultivation.

A donor organisation ant the local partner could also create links between different cooperatives, CFUGs,

companies and farmers. Their role could be to facilitate communication among the different stakeholders.

Depending on the budget of the project, another external input could be a financing scheme meant to help

the farmers that lack liquidities to start medicinal plants cultivation. Such a scheme could be initiated probably

in a later stage of the project, when the pilot has proven successful.

Network building

A project that aims to conserve species but also generate income should create networks and strategic

partnerships. There are many actors involved with medicinal plants cultivation, and bringing them together

could only benefit the project.

Facilitating communication between local actors should be one of the strategies that insure the success of a

project. All the local actors, government, NGOs and universities can contribute. Facilitating communication

between the shareholders in the market should be beneficial to all the involved parties as each one has

different types of information: universities and research centres on new species that could be cultivated for

example while farmers have a long experience in the practical cultivation process and could have even

improved local varieties.


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In order to have a clearer picture of the medicinal plants market, table 9 present the stakeholders and their

stakes. All these stakeholders would benefit if communication channels are opened and they can start

collaborating.

Table 9 The stakeholders in MPC and their stakes

Stakeholder Stake

Department of Forests Extension workers, want to promote medicinal cultivation as

a source of income for households

Department of Plant Resources Research providing certificates of quality for products

Private companies, including marketing

networks (CVIL; EMI) Profit making from the sales of medicinal plants products

Individual farmers Income generation, own consumption

CFUGs Income generation for community uses

Cooperatives Uniting farmers and creating a market channel, making profit

Consumers Consumption of good quality products at acceptable prices

INGOs (UNDP) Conserving species and indigenous knowledge; improving

livelihood

Universities and research centres Develop and improve species, bio-prospecting

NGOs: SWAN, SECARD, FORWARD Promoting projects that improve livelihood

Established in 1952, the Department of Forests (DoF) is one of the five departments under the Ministry of

Forests and Soil Conservation. DoF is responsible for overall forest administration of both national and

private forests and it is the only government agency for the sustainable management, utilization, protection

and development of forest resources outside the protected areas. The seventy-four District Forest Offices

(DFO) are responsible for the field level implementation of all the forest development programs, operations,

and administration.

The District Forest Office of Chitwan District has been promoting NTFPs domestication to reduce rural

poverty since 2004 and already promotes medicinal plants cultivation as an income generation activity.

However, the governmental agency focuses the training it offers on forest user groups, neglecting the

individual farmers.

The Department of Plant Resources under the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation was established in

1960. This organisation is conducting and providing services in the field of research and development of plant

resources in Nepal. Main activities of the department are:

• resource survey and collection of plant materials,

• chemical and biological research for the utilisation of medicinal and aromatic plants,

• biotechnology research and improvement and propagation of plants of economic value,

• bio-prospecting of plants of economic value,

• conducting trainings on plants conservation,

• information and dissemination through publications.

Therefore, the DPR is it an important stakeholder as it has the resources to research several aspects and

spreadt the knowledge. However, as noticed by the researcher, the Department of Plant Resources from

Kathmandu and the District Forest Office in Chitwan do not have a constant and efficient communication.

As the networks are formed and protocols start to function, it is likely that more communication takes place.


Page 53 of 60

NGOs like FORWARD developed programs on vegetable growing for landless farmers. The NGO provided

the financial resources for the renting of the land and the technical support for farmers to start cultivation.

The result of such a program was that most farmers, during an average time of four years, managed to gain

enough money to buy their own land and continue cultivation.

Knowledge sharing

Knowledge sharing is crucial for the continuous improvement of technical knowledge that is translated into

field practices for cultivators and collectors. Therefore, the creation of venues that allow and stimulate

communication is necessary. This would be the main input from the external organisation: funds for

facilitating communication.

The farmers’ expressed themselves the desire to share their knowledge with young people. The most notable

cases are Danda Pani Kafle, Dambar Gurung and the healers. Danda Pani Kafle has students of his own – he

shares his knowledge across two cooperatives that he is a member of and numerous farmers that look for him

due to his reputation. In addition, Dambar Gurung has the financial resources to accommodate volunteers

that come to his farm to learn about medicinal plants. Moreover, the healers expressed their desire to have

apprentices. Although their knowledge of medicinal plants and their uses has been documented by the Trust

for Nature Conservation, they feel it is not enough.

Universities and research centres are also important actors as they are the main source of highly specific

information regarding medicinal plants. According to Lozoya (1994), only for 10% of the plants available the

information on the propagation of medicinal plants is available and for only 1% total known plants globally

agro-technology is available. These percentages are a clear indication that developing agro-technology should

be a research priority.

An institution that would put together all these sources of knowledge and spread it would contribute to a

significant increase in the knowledge level of many farmers. As the healers were part of the Tharu tradition,

this would be the case of an interethnic sharing of knowledge and information. Such an organisation should

decide which the most efficient types of communication are: magazine, conference, radio shows and

implement them.

In this project, a good exit strategy will be essential. The project should be design in such a way that it will

continue to work by itself with no outside support. Remembering the Trust for Nature Conservation

experience with the healers group, the project did not have a suitable exit strategy and the moment the outside

financing stopped, both the clinic and the medicinal plants cultivation stopped.

On the other hand, FORWARD for example has a different exit strategy. The NGO’s strategy and approach

is to build local capacity and create a link to the community and the organisation by choosing one or two

contact persons that act as extension workers, spreading new information supplied by the organisation after

the project is completed.

Chapter 8: Conclusions

Page 54 of 60

8. Conclusions

Considering the medicinal plants cultivators, most of the farmers have less than five years of experience in this

activity which proves that this activity quite new in Chitwan District. Moreover, taking into account the

cooperatives and the CFUGs that just started cultivation, medicinal plants cultivation seems to be a rapidly

expanding activity.

Although at the moment for most cultivators the most important problem is the market, due to the

unbalanced supply and demand, fluctuating prices and the lack of transparency, overall this market, even

though a niche one, has a great potential for growth.


the healing properties of the plants. With a relatively small initial investment per land area and season, farmers

could obtain a good profit margin. This activity can be seen as one of the possible sources of income for a

household along with wages and income from other crops.

Medicinal plants cultivation is an activity that has potential to generate income using only local resources while

preserving local knowledge and practices. A project on medicinal plants cultivation within the endogenous

development framework can be achieved. With little external guidance to help crate network and improve

communication, this activity can become a stable source of income for many communities across Nepal.

Medicinal plants cultivation has a great potential for income generation if market conditions are known.

However, at the moment it is very difficult to estimate, due to lack of necessary data, how many people could

start this activity on a district or national scale. However, on a micro scale, the farmers that could start

medicinal plants cultivation should have suitable land, technical knowledge, enough labour force and money

to sustain the activity and a proper market channel. The designers of the project can only influence the market

channel and technical knowledge aspects.

Suggestions for further research

Finally, there are some suggestions for further research. After completing the investigation the medicinal

plants cultivation in Chitwan District, information that could help the endeavour of endogenous development

is still missing. The below areas are worth investigating because they will improve the chances of success of

the above-presented project.

Expand study area. The lack of data on the situations in other districts of Nepal make the researcher to limit

the conclusions to the study area and any generalisations cannot be made using the collected data. This study

was focused on the Chitwan District but it is possible that, in the rest of the country, the situation might be

different.

Market studies. There is a great deficit of market information. Studies investigating the market and the actors

on the market could improve the market transparency. A good estimation of the absorption capacity of the

market will help estimate the appropriate supply.

Sustainable harvest in the wild. As mentioned in the introduction, there are scientific articles that warn

about overharvesting of some species in the wild. As some species cannot be domesticated, the only available

solution for species conservation is a sustainable harvest in the wild. Moreover, along with cultivation,

sustainable harvest in the wild is a an important conservation measure that is worth promoting.

Trials and studies on domestication could increase number of species that can be cultivated. According to

Kala et al (2006), cultivation also permits better species identification, improved quality control, and increased

Chapter 7: Conclusions and Recommendations

Page 55 of 60

prospects for genetic improvements. Moreover, in the case of large-scale farming, the best model, whether

monoculture or polyculture must be identified.

Investigating the effectiveness of governmental and NGO initiatives on medicinal plants cultivation is an

important process as it leads to learning that can improve future projects. Both NGOs and governmental

agencies have programs dedicated to medicinal plants cultivation. To the knowledge of the researcher, there

are no studies on the effectiveness of such programs.


Page 56 of 60

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HMGN (1970) Buletin of the Department of Medicinal Plants No.3 Medicinal plants of Nepal - HMGN

ministry of Forest, Department of Medicinal Plants, Thapathali; Kathmandu; Nepal 1970

Shrestha KK, Rajbhandary S, Tiwari NN, Poudel RC, Uprety Y (2004). “Ethnobotany in Nepal: Review

and Perspectives” WWF Nepal Program and Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal, Kathmandu; quoted in

Kunwar and Bussmann (2008)

Subedi, B.P. (2004) “Linking plant based enterprises and local community to biodiversity conservation in

Nepal Himalaya”

Web sites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abelmoschus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abutilon_indicum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_nilotica


Page 60 of 60

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloe_vera

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendula_officinalis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleistocalyx_operculatus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymbopogon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymbopogon_martinii

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CYES

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MEAR4

http://www.eol.org/pages/585501

http://www.msinp.com/herbs/citronel.htm

ANNEXES

Page 2

Notes:

In Annex 2, the survey data is presented. The names of the respondents were replaced by an

identification code to maintain privacy. The open ended questions and those that could not be coded

into quantitative variables are not in the table.

Gender is coded in 1 for female and 0 for male. In all the other cases, 1 means “true” while 0 is “false”.

For Annex 3, the transcripts were minimally adjusted. The researcher tried to use as much as possible

the original phrases and intervened by slightly improving the English, whiteout changing the meaning.

Moreover, for a improving the understanding of the reader, the researched added footnotes and extra

information in between brackets. Nepali people have their own calendar. In the transcripts was kept

the date the people supplied, and in brackets it is added the date according to Gregorian Calendar.

Annex 1: Medicinal plants

No. Latin Name Local name English name Family Uses

1 Abutilon

indicum Sweet

atibalaa/ thuthi/

duvvena kayalu

Indian Abutilon/

Indian Mallow Malvaceae

demulcent, aphrodisiac, laxative, diuretic, pulmonary and sedative (leaves). The

bark is astringent and diuretic; laxative, expectorant and demulcent (seeds);

laxative and tonic, anti-inflammatory and anthelmintic (plant); analgesic (fixed

oil); diuretic and for leprosy (roots)

2

Acacia nilotica

(L.) Willd. ex

Delile

babul

gum arabic tree/

babul/ Egyptian

thorn/ or prickly

acacia

Leguminosae demulcent or for conditions such as gonorrhoea, leucorrhoea, diarrhea,

dysentery, or diabetes. It is styptic and astringent

3 Achyranthes

aspera L. datium Devil's horsewhip Amaranthaceae

diuretic, laxative, expectorant, carminative, stomachic, anti-inflammatory,

haematinic

4 Acorus

calamus L. bojho/ vachaa sweet flag Acoraceae

dyspepsis; colic; remittent fever; bronchitis; dysentery; chronic diarrhrea;

headache; cough

5

Aegle

marmelos (L.)

Correa

bel/ shreephal

elephant apple;

baeltree/ bengal

quince

Rutaceae laxative;costipation; dyspepsia; astringent; fever; antiniotic properties; aromatic


Page 4


6 Aloe vera (L.)

Burm.f. ghiukumari aloe vera Liliaceae

stomachic; cooling; alterative; purgative; piles; eye disease;vomiting; hair loss;

lower blood sugar; iver, colon, uterus, as well as ulcers and

hemorrhoids.bronchial congestion; arthritis;skin diseases

7

Alstonia

scholaris (L.)

R. Br.

chatium /chhativan devil’s tree/ ditta

bark tree Apocyaneae fever, malarial fever, diarrhea, dysentery, leprosy, skin diseases, ulcers

8 Amaranthus

spinosus L.

kataraiya/Ban lude/

Kade lude prickly amaranth Amaranthaceae diuretic, colic pain and leucorrhoea

9

Andrographis

paniculata

(Burm. f.)

Wall. ex Nees

kalmeg/ teetakaa

Green

chirayita/green

chiretta/ creat/

creyat root

Acanthaceae bitter tonic, malarial and intermittent fever, worms, dysentery, wounds, ulcers,

cough, bronchitis and liver disorders

10 Artemisia

indica Willd. artimesia/ titepati Mug-wort Compositae

stomachic, purgative, deobstruent, antispasmodic, anthelmintic, insecticide, and

prescribed in infusion and electuary in cases of obstructed menses and hysteria.

11

Artemisia

pallens Wall.

ex DC.

dhavanam n/a Asteraceae The leaves and flowers yield an essential oil known as oil of Davana.


Page 5


12

Asparagus

racemosus

Willd.

kurilo/ Satawar wild asparagus Liliaceae

diuretic, aphrodisiac, tonic, appetizer, carminative, antispasmodic,

galactogogue, and astringent; Tuberculosis, cough bronchitis, diarrhea,

dysentery and general debility.

13 Azadirachita

indica A. Juss. nim/neem

Neem tree/ Indian

lilica/ Margosa

tree

Meliaceae

antibiotic activity; brush teeth; tootache; gum; bad breath; tonic; astringent;

fever; skindisease; Skin diseases, intestinal worms, ulcers, malarial and

intermittent fever, liver complaint and diabetes.

14 Bauhinia

variegata L. koiralo

Mountain ebony/

Variegated

Bauhinia

Leguminosae alterative, tonic and blood purifier, diarrhea, dysentery, piles and liver

complaints.

15 Boerrhavia

diffusa L. punarnava

Nyctaginaeae

diuretic; laxative; astma; dropsy; jaudice; intestinal inflamation; gonorrhea; eye

disease; Inflammations, leucorrhoea, scabies, cardiac disorders, jaundice,

anemia, constipation, cough and bronchitis.

16 Calendula

officinalis L. marigold Marigold Asteraceae

skin disorders and pain, and as a bactericide, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory.

The petals and pollen contain triterpenoid esters (an anti-inflammatory) and the

carotenoids flavoxanthin and auroxanthin (antioxidants, and the source of the

yellow-orange coloration).

17 Callicarpa

macrophylla daichamale/ priyangu

Velvety Beauty

Berry/ French-

Mulberry of

Western Ghats

Verbenaceae

arthritis; gout; excessive sweating; fever and headache; ulcerous; The flowers

are used for its oil preparation, which promotes the growth of hair. The seeds

are cooling, astringent, anti-diarrhoeal, constipation, alleviate pitta and kapha

doshas and are flatulent.


Page 6


18

Calotropis

gigantea L.

(Aiton)

aank

giant milk weed/

Gigantic swallow-

wort

Asclepiadaceae purgative, anthelmintic, cures leprosy, leucoderma, ulcers, tumors, and piles,

disease of the spleen, the liver and the abdomen.

19

Centella

asiatica (L.)

Urban

bram/ ghodtarpe water pennywort Umbelliferae syphilis, leprosy and skin diseases, mental weakness and memory, diuretic,

insecticide.

20

Cinnamomum

camphora (L.)

Sieb.

kapur; pachai

karpooram champhortree Lauraceae

diarrhoea; rheumatisml muscular pain; pneumonia;insect repellent and a flea-

killing substance.

21

Cleistocalyx

operculatus

(Roxb.) Merr..

kyamuno n/a Myrtaceae stomachic properties

22

Curculigo

orchioides

Gaetrn.

musali/ kali musli black musali Hypoxidaceae phrodisiac, alternative, appetizer, fattening and useful in treatment of piles,

biliousness, fatigue, blood related disorders

23

Curcuma

longa

Linnaeus

turmeric/harida/haledo n/a Zingiberaceae

blood purifier;skin disease; antiseptic for cuts, burns and bruises. It is also used

as an antibacterial agent. treatment of flatulence, jaundice, menstrual

difficulties, hematuria, hemorrhage, and colic


Page 7


24 Cymbopogon

citratus pireghas lemongrass Poaceae n/a

25

Cymbopogon

martinii

(Roxb.) Wats.

palmarosa Palmarosa; Indian

geranium Poaceae insect repellent; antihelmintic against nematodes, antifungal

26

Cymbopogon

nardus (L.)

Rendle

n/a Citronella Gras Poaceae citronella oil are antiseptic, bactericidal, deodorant, diaphoretic, insecticide,

parasitic, tonic and stimulant.

27

Cymbopogon

winterianus

Jowitt.

citronella

Poaceae

anti-infectious, antiseptic, antibacterial, antidepressant, antispasmodic, anti-

inflammatory, deodorant, diaphoretic fungicidal, insect repellent (mosquito),

stomachic, excessive perspiration, oily skin and hair, room deodorizer,

rheumatism and arthritic pain

28 Cyperus

esculentus L. chufa

earth almond/

tiger nut Cyperaceae preventing heart attacks, thrombosis and activates blood circulation

29

Drymaria

cordata

(L.)Willd. ex

Schult.

avijalo West Indin

Chickweed Caryophyllaceae antidote; appetizer; depurative; emollient; febrifuge; laxative; stimulant.

30

Eclipta

prostrata (L.)

L.

bhiringaraj/ bhangeri

jhar Trailing eclipta Compositae

Tonic and deobstruent in the enlargement of the liver and spleen and various

chronic skin diseases and wounds, glandular swelling and elephantiasis.


Page 8


31 Elettaria

cardamomum alaichii/ ilaayachee cardamom Zingiberaceae

treats infections in teeth and gums, to prevent and treat throat troubles,

congestion of the lungs and pulmonary tuberculosis, inflammation of eyelids

and also digestive disorders. It also is used to break up kidney stones and gall

stones, stomach-aches, constipation, dysentery,

32 Emblica

officinalis amala Indian Gooseberry Euphorbiaceae

Aperient, carminative, diuretic, aphrodasiac, laxative, astringent and refrigerant.

It is the richest known source of vitamin 'C'. It is useful in anaemia, jaundice,

dyspepcia, haemorrhage disorders, diabetes, asthma and bronchitis. It cures

insomnia and is healthy for hair. It is considered as one of the most

rejuvenating drugs, imparting a long healthy life and weight gain. It also acts as

an antacid and antitumorganic agent.

33 Gmelina

arborea Roxb. khamari

Beechwood/

Gmelina/ Goomar

teak/ Kashmir tree

Lamiaceae

The root and bark of Gmelina arborea are stomachic, galactagogue laxative and

anthelmintic; improve appetite, useful in hallucination, piles, abdominal pains,

burning sensations, fevers, 'tridosha' and urinary discharge. Leaf paste is applied

to relieve headache and juice is used as wash for ulcers.

34 Hibiscus

abelmoschus muskdana hibiscus Malvaceae

an antidote for snakebites; an emulsion from the seeds is considered to be anti-

spasmodic and is used externally.Extensively used as an insecticide and a

aphrodisiac.

35 Justicia

adhatoda L. assuro Malabar nut tree Acanthaceae

Used for the drug Vasaka: leaves contain the alkaloid vasicine and essential oil.

Mainly used in cough and bronchitis.

36 Justicia

adhatoda L. asuro Malabar nut tree Acanthaceae

Used for the drug Vasaka: leaves contain the alkaloid vasicine and essential oil.

Mainly used in cough and bronchitis.


Page 9


37

Leucas

cephalotes

(Roth) Spreng.

gumpati/ dronpuspi thumbe Labiatae Stimulant, diaphoretric, laxative, anthelmintic, antiseptic and insecticidial,

coughs and colds, scabies.

38

Mallotus

philippensis

Lam.) Muell.-

Arg.

sindur Kamela tree Euphorbiaceae Skin diseases. Kamela drug: intestinal parasites such as tapeworms and round

worms.

39 Matricaria

chamomilla camomile chammomile Asteraceae

tonic, stomachic, anodyne, antispasmodic, laxative, diaphoretic, analgesic,

carminative, anti-inflammatory, sedative

40 Melia

azedarach L. bakaino

persiac lilac/ bead

tree Meliaceae Insect-repellant, cathartic, emetic, anthelmintic

41 Metha

arvensis L. mentha/ pepermint

wild mint/ Field

Mint Lamiaceae

Oil is good for the nervous system, acting as a regulator and sedative: Menthol

is well known as a cardiac tonic in pharmaceutical preparations. It is a good

blood cleanser. Because it is antiseptic and anti-bacterial, it can be used in

swollen gums, mouth wash or mouth ulcers, toothache.

42 Mimosa

pudica L.

Iajjaweti/ lajjabati/

lajwanti/ buharijhar sensitive plant Leguminosae

kidney diseases, piles and fistula, asthma, fever, cough, dysentery, vaginal and

uterine ailments


Page 10


43 Nyctanthes

arbor-tristis L. parijat/ parijata

Night-flowering

Jasmine Oleaceae

The leaves are antibacterial, antiinflammatory and anthelmintic. Further, a dye

extracted from the corolla tube is used to lend colour to Tussore Silk. The

flowers are bitter astringent, opthalmic, stomachic and carminative. It is an

expectorant, bitter and tonic, febrifuge, and mild purgative. It is used in bilious

and obstinate remittent fever, sciatica, and rheumatism.

44

Ocimum

tenuiflorum

(Ocimum

sanctum)

tulsi/tulasi holy basil Lamiaceae expectorant; bronchitis; earache; malarial fever; skin disease; insecticide

45

Oroxylum

indicum (L.)

Kurz

tatahalo/ tatelo/

karamkanda

Indian trumpet

tree Bignoniaceae

astringent, cooling , tonic and increases appetite, useful in diarrhea and

dysentery, acute rheumatism.

46 Piper Longum pipla/pipala/ murjhang long peper Piperaceae chronic bronchitis; tonic, abdominal pain, diseases of the spleen, asthma,

hoarseness and hiccup

47 Rauvolfia

serpentina L. sarpaganda

Indian snakeroot/

serpentwood Apocynaceae hypertension, nervousness and insomnia, mental disorders.

48 Rosmarinus

officinalis L. rosemary rosemary Lamiaceae

antiseptic; antispasmodic; astringent; cardiac; carminative; cholagogue;

diaphoretic; emmenagogue; nervine; Ophthalmic; Stimulant; Stomachic;

Tonic.


Page 11


49 Sapindus

Mukorossi ritha/rittha Soapnut Sapindaceae salivation; cholorosis; epilepsy

50

Sesamum

Indicum

LINN.

Til sesame Pedaliaceae astringent; diuretic; emollient; galactogogue; lenitive; nutritive; skin; tonic.

51 Solanum

nigrum L.

kaligedi/ kalobihi/

kuwain black nightshade Solanaceae

Poultice over rheumatic and gouty joints. Cirrhosis of liver, sedative, alterative,

diuretic, and expectorant.

52

Terminalia

bellirica

(Gaertn.)

Roxb.

barro

bastard

myrobolan/

belliric

myrobolon/ bedda

nuts

Combretaceae Laxative, indigestion and diarrhea; antipyretic; leprosy, piles, fever; part of

Ayurvedic preparation Triphala.

53 Terminalia

chebula Retz. harro

chebulic

myrobolon/ black

myrobolon

Combretaceae cardiotonic; ulcer; laxative; diseases of the spleen, piles and cold, cures bleeding

and gum ulcerations

54

Tinospora

sinensis

(Lour.) Merr.

gurjho

Menispermaceae treating piles, ulcerated wounds, liver complaints, chronic rheumatism and also

as muscle relaxant.


Page 12


55

Valeriana spp.

Hardwickei

and jatamansi

suganda/ sugandwal Indian valerian Valerianaceae rherumatism and dilocation of joints; Hysterical fits, nervous disorders,

flatulence;

56

Withania

somnifera (L.)

Dunal

ashwagandha Indian ginseng Solanaceae aphrodisiacs, diuretics and for treating memory loss; sedative

57

Zingiber

officinale

Roscoe

aduwa ginger Zingiberaceae

stimulant and carminative, and used frequently for dyspepsia, gastroparesis,

slow motility symptoms, constipation, and colic. It was also frequently

employed to disguise the taste of medicines.

Annex 2: Survey data

Cultivators

Quest

ID Gender Age

No of family

members

Family members working

with MP

Education

level

MP present in

homegarden MPC knowledge source

1st reason for

MPC

Q1 0 30 2 1 high school 7 working in the farm income

Q2 0 61 11 2 literated 75 DFO and NGO awareness

Q3 1 26 4 2 high school 8 government training healing

Q4 1 45 5 1 literated 4 Cristal Nepal income

Q5 0 43 4 2 high school 5 parents; tradition; Cristal

Nepal income

Q6 1 48 7 2 10 grades 1 parents, Cristal Nepal income

Q7 1 40 4 2 10 grades 2 Cristal Nepal income

Q8 1 30 6 1 10 grades 2 Cristal Nepal income


Q10 1 59 13 3 literated 8 cooperative +Crystal

Nepal income

Q11 1 38 3 1 high school 1 Cristal Nepal income


Q13 0 52 5 2 MSc 4 literature review less labour

Q14 0 55 7 2 literated 1 learned on farm income

Q15 1 65 11 2 10grades 3 other farmers healing

Q16 0 65 2 1 high school 24 German partner environ,

conservation

Q17 0 41 4 2 intermediate 7 organisation conservation

Q18 0 60 5 1 high school 4 books, ayurvedic doctor income

I4 0 50 5 1 literated 2 3 years income

I5 0 57 10 1 literated 2 coop- organic farming income


Page 14

Quest

ID Gender Age

No of family

members

Family members working

with MP

Education

level

MP present in

homegarden MPC knowledge source

1st reason for

MPC

I6 1 30 4 2 literated 1 coop- organic farming income

I7 0 38 5 2 literated 1 Shyam Hada income

I8 1 46 5 1 intermediate 3 Swabiman income

I10 0 46 6 1 literated 4 DFO income

I11 0 34 6 1 intermediate 5 no help income

I12 0 70 9 1 literated 2 trainings, ayurvedic doc healing

I13 0 76 5 1 literated 3 business man less labour

I14 0 41 5 1 high school 22 tradition; farmers healing

Quest ID MP consumption Initial no. of MP No. of MP now MP wild harvest Employ for MPC MP initial land MP land now Total land owned

Q1 0 7 7 0 1 8 ha 8 ha 8 ha

Q2 1 5 200 0 1 5 katha 120 katha 150 katha

Q3 1 3 8 0 1 2 katha 5 katha 1 bigha

Q4 1 3 3 0 1 2 bigha 2 bigha 0

Q5 1 3 5 1 1 1 bigha 5 bigha 1 bigha



Q8 1 1 2 0 0 2 katha 2.5 katha 10 katha



Q11 1 1 0 0 1 2 katha 0 5 bigha

Q12 1 3 2 0 0 2 katha 1.5 katha 1 bigha

Q13 0 3 4 0 1 3 ha 12 ha 12 ha


Page 15

Quest ID MP consumption Initial no. of MP No. of MP now MP wild harvest Employ for MPC MP initial land MP land now Total land owned

Q14 0 1 1 0 1 8 ha 8 ha 8 ha

Q15 1 1 3 0 1 1 bigha 1 bigha 6 bigha

Q16 1 100 35 1 1 4 acres 9 ha 9 ha

Q17 1 25 25 0 0 3 katha 3 katha 1 bigha

Q18 1 1 3 0 1 4 katha 1 bigha 1 bigha

I4 0 2 0 0 0 3 katha 0 n/a

I5 0 3 3 0 0 1.5 katha 1.5 katha 1 bigha

I6 0 1 1 0 0 1 katha 1 katha 8 katha

I7 0 1 1 0 0 3 katha 3 katha 2 bigha

I8 0 1 1 0 0 0.5 katha 0.5 katha 5 katha

I10 0 4 4 0 0 4 katha 4 katha n/a

I11 0 5 5 0 0 1 katha 1 katha n/a

I12 1 2 2 1 0 6 katha 6 katha 36 katha

I13 1 2 3 0 0 5 katha 7 katha 2 bigha

I14 1 22 22 0 0 3.5 katha 3.5 katha n/a

Quest

ID

Initial

investment

(Rs)

Current expenses

(Rs)

Income

after MPC

%MP in total

income Other sources of income Sell MP raw

Sell MP

processed Processing

Q1 15,000,000 don't know higher 0% 0 1 1 dry, essential oil

Q2 20,000 150,000 same 100% 0 1 1 4

Q3 10,000 7,000 higher 15% job, sell agric prod 1 1 3

Q4 don't know 0 higher 100% 0 0 1 dry, cut, package

tea

Q5 300,000 100,000 higher 60% pension 1 1 cut, dry

Q6 5,000 0 higher 0% job, sell agric prod 1 0 dry


Page 16

Quest

ID

Initial

investment

(Rs)

Current expenses

(Rs)

Income

after MPC

%MP in total

income Other sources of income Sell MP raw

Sell MP

processed Processing

Q7 24,000 35,000 higher 20% sell agric prod 1 1 cut

Q8 3,000 3,000 higher 5% sell agric prod 0 1 cut, dry

Q9 3,000 1,000 higher 5% sell agric prod 0 1 cut, dry

Q10 5,100 0 higher 20% job, sell agric prod 0 1 cut, dry

Q11 1,100

higher 5% job, sell agric prod 0 1 cut, dry

Q12 4,000 3,000 higher 5% job, sell agric prod 0 1 cut, dry

Q13 600,000 100,000 higher 50% sell agric prod; other

companies 0 1 essential oil

Q14 don't know 0 exp 0% 0 0 0 seeds, parts

Q15 150,000 50,000 higher 0% pension 0 1 cut, dry

Q16 20,800 10000 Euro lower 0% pension 0 1 cut, dry, package

Q17 0 0 higher 35% job, farming 1 0 cut, dry

Q18 10,000 2000/katha/season higher 60% job, pension, business 1 0 cut, dry

I4 0

higher 0% shop 1 0 cut, dry

I5 <1000 don't know exp 0% job, pension, farming 0 0 0

I6 <1000 don't know exp 0% farming 1 0


I8 <1000 0 exp 0% shop, farming 1 0 cut


I11 5,000 seedlings exp 0% remittances, farming 0 0

I12 0 don't know exp 0% selling medicine, farming 0 1 cut, dry, medicine

I13 0 don't know higher 0% pension, farming 1 0 cut, dry

I14 0 0 exp 0% shop, farming 0 0 cut


Page 17

Quest

ID Type of sale Buyers MPC problems

Organisation

help

Share info

with other

farmers

Affiliation

to

organisation

Q1 wholesale Kathmandu don't know 0 0 0

Q2 en detail villagers, CF, etc compost fertilizer, org insecticide, seed 1 1 0

Q3 en detail villagers market 1 0 0

Q4 wholesale Cristal Nepal competition prices - Indian products cheaper 1 1 Cristal Nepal

Q5 wholesale Cristal Nepal, Herbal

International market 1 1 Cristal Nepal

Q6 wholesale Cristal Nepal no security of sale - too much supply

sometimes 1 1 Cristal Nepal

Q7 wholesale Cristal Nepal no market 1 1 Cristal Nepal

Q8 wholesale Cristal Nepal machinery 1 1 Cristal Nepal

Q9 wholesale Cristal Nepal machinery to harvest; market 1 1 Cristal Nepal

Q10 wholesale cooperative market 1 1 Prassidi

Q11 wholesale Cristal Nepal no seed 1 1 Cristal Nepal

Q12 wholesale Cristal Nepal no mention 1 1 Cristal Nepal

Q13 wholesale different companies limited info, farmer's learning is slow 0 1 0

Q14 wholesale Don’t know no problem; needs irrigation 0 0 0

Q15 wholesale Dambar Gurung market 0 1 0

Q16 wholesale Kathmandu adequate customer- market 0 1 0

Q17 wholesale& en detail District Ayurvedic Centre low production because of no time 1 1 0

Q18 wholesale Cristal Nepal market; knowledge 1 1 Cristal Nepal

I4 wholesale Cristal Nepal market- could not sell 1 1 Cristal Nepal

I5 wholesale Shyam Hada trial- don't know yet 1 1 Fulbari



I8 wholesale Swabiman trial- don't know yet 1 1 Swabiman

I10 Don’t know DFO pest; land management 1 1 Fulbari


Page 18

Quest

ID Type of sale Buyers MPC problems

Organisation

help

Share info

with other

farmers

Affiliation

to

organisation

I11 en detail DFO -little nursery 0 1 0

I12 en detail coop cultivation, irrigation 1 1 Prassidi

I13 wholesale coop market- could not sell 1 1 0

I14 wholesale coop market; knowledge 1 1 Swabiman


Page 19

Non-cultivators

ID Sex Age Owned land

(katha)

Number of family members

Medicinal plants in

homegarden

Start MPC

Reason for considering MPC

land for

MPC

Necessary for MPC

Initial investment (per katha)

Reasons for rejecting MPC

1 0 35 1.0 6 0 1 income, medicinal

purpose 1 training, money 7000 inappropriate

2 0 67 5.0 3 2 1 money, suitable land 5 training, seeds,

market 3000 inappropriate

3 1 50 2.5 7 2 0 money 0 training, home support

0 lack of

knowledge

4 0 37 5.0 5 1 0 importance of medicinal plants

5 training,

market study 6000

lack of knowledge

5 1 27 7.0 4 0 0 if technical support

exists 0 training, labour 0

lack of trust in companies

6 1 33 1.4 5 1 1 money 1.4 training, money -1 inappropriate

7 0 51 1.0 4 2 0 - 0 training 0 no land; market problems

8 1 72 2.0 5 1 0 money, own consumption

0

training, money,

community approach

0 lack of

knowledge, market problems

9 1 27 50.0 24 1 0 money 0 trainings 0 lack of

knowledge

10 1 60 7.0 1 1 0 money 0 training,

labour, money 0 not enough land

11 0 44 7.0 4 8 0 importance of medicinal plants

0 training,

market study 0

lack of knowledge

12 1 22 40.0 8 4 1 money 1.5 training 3000 inappropriate


Page 20


(katha)


Medicinal plants in

homegarden

Start MPC


land for

MPC

Necessary for MPC



13 0 38 10.0 5 2 1 importance of medicinal plants,

money 2 training, money 5,000 inappropriate


money 1 training, money 6000 inappropriate

15 1 39 8.0 5 3 0 money 0 training 0 n/a

16 0 36 5.0 5 0 1 money, knows

successful farmers 1 training, money 3,000 inappropriate


money 1 training, land 3,000 inappropriate


money 2

training, labour, market

study 3,000 inappropriate

19 0 42 3.0 3 3 1 money, suitable land 2 training,

labour, market study

3,000 inappropriate

20 0 60 15.0 6 3 0 if proper land 0 - 0 not suitable land

21 0 45 20.0 7 4 0 if able to rent land 0 training 0 no available land

22 0 67 5.0 5 1 0 money 0 training 0 incompatible

land

23 0 40 40.0 7 3 0 money 0 - 0 lack of

knowledge; no interest in MPC

24 1 40 11.0 6 5 0 money 0 labour 0 lack of

knowledge


Page 21


(katha)


Medicinal plants in

homegarden

Start MPC


land for

MPC

Necessary for MPC



25 0 58 30.0 2 3 1 money 0.5 training, seeds, suitable land

3,000 inappropriate

26 1 30 5.0 4 0 0 money 0 land use

management 0 not suitable land

27 0 57 6.0 4 5 0 - 0 efficient marketing

0 no MPC in community

28 0 57 3.0 6 13 1 importance of medicinal plants, own consumption

2 training, seeds,

money 5,000 inappropriate

29 0 30 5.0 4 5 1 money, use bare land 2 training,

labour, market study

3,000 inappropriate

30 0 78 15.0 6 3 0 - 0 - 0 no interest in

MPC 31 0 65 2.0 5 4 0 - 0 - 0 not enough land

Annex 3: Focus group transcripts

Fulbari Focus Group

Data: 9th June 2010 (8:30 am – 10:35 am)

Location: Fulbari, Fulbari VDC

Name of the cooperative: Organic Agricultural Production Cooperative

Participants:

Chandra Adhikari (M) President of the cooperative

Krishna Dawali (M) Secretary of the cooperative

Rani Chandra Dawadi (M) Farmer- member of the cooperative

Narayan Shrestha(M) Farmer- member of the cooperative

Krishna Shrestha (M) Farmer- member of the cooperative

Padam Khanal (M) Farmer- member of the cooperative

Dvananath Baral (M) Farmer- member of the cooperative

I. History diagram

The group was asked to remember important moments in the history of the cooperative, with

emphasis on those events related to medicinal plant cultivation. Some clarifying questions were also

asked to sketch a more complete picture.

2062 [2005] Bishnu Ghimire, a farmer cultivated camomile on 6 katha and he had a profit of 1 lack

[Rs100,000]. He was part of Crystal Nepal; network did not take the camomile form

the farmers. For this reason the cooperative has not tried to cultivate camomile, even

though they know it has a good production. Due to this bad impression of network

marketing there is lack of belief in a good collaboration with them.

2063 [2006] Start to think about medicinal plant cultivation

Start of trials with medicinal plants cultivation.

2064 [2007] The cooperative started the process of certification for organic agriculture. They have

an agreement (for the next 10 years) to sell organic products with One World Alc1,

managed by Shyam Hada. Along with vegetables, the company is interested also in

medicinal plant cultivation.

One World [Alc] will help search for market but does not guarantee the sail of the

products.

One World [Alc] guarantees for the production and the price. If the profit or

production was less than that of rice, they will be provided with compensation.

Visits to the farm of Shyam Hada in Ghorka District (28 farmers)

2065 [2008] Trail in upland only;

1One World - a learning center is a Nepalese - German Cooperation in bio-dynamic agriculture. The focus of cultivation lies with medicinal herbs, and herbs for teas, as well as with plants with special nutritious values. We are the first and only bio-dynamic farm in Nepal. http://www.oneworld-alc.com/home_en.htm

Annex 3: Focus groups transcripts

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Several trials with 4 species: amala, tulsi, aswaganda, sugandhawal, -

Chandra Adhikari alone made a trial - For these species a nursery was established:

Sugandhawal – was planted in upland, however they discovered they need irrigation.

The plants died because of the draught. They also found out that in intense sunshine

the plant does not grow.

2066 [2009] Trail with 300 plants of sugandhawal – one world provided seeds for trial;

Altogether four farmers made trials on lowland with bojho (Acorus calamus ) and

camomile; these plants grew well

A second visit to Shyam Hada’s farm in Ghorka District; cooperative organised the

visit ; SECARD supported financially; 40 farmers attended the visit and learned about

technological aspects of medicinal plant cultivation (Different farmers that in the first

visit)

20067 [2010] This year nursery for tulsi; kurilo; sugandhawal, amala; farmers plan to cultivate these

species; where? In farmers fields

Q: Do you use any medicinal plants?

Medicinal plants like tulsi have been used for religious and medicinal purposes and home

consumption since ancient times. We are confident we know the effectiveness of these

medicinal plants and we know that it can be grown successfully in our locality. The only

problem is marketing.

Q: Are any farmers in your cooperative growing medicinal plants?

No farmers before are now are growing medicinal plants. At the moment we are trying in the

areas where the yield of known crops is lower. We are using these fields to see if we can make a

profit. One of the participants, Krishna Shrestha , voice his doubts : “We are not able to achieve

profit in the crops which we have experience (rice, whet, maize); we doubt that we can achieve

higher profit in medicinal plants cultivation.”

Q: When did you first considered to start growing medicinal plants for commercial purposes?

We started thinking about commercial cultivation after meeting with Shyam Hada. We are

organic farmers. And because the medicinal plants have to be grown organic, we started to be

interested in medicinal plant cultivation.

Q: How many people in your cooperative are considering to start medicinal plants cultivation?

At the moment 2-3 people will start tulsi cultivation next season. In the beginning there were

more people who showed interest in tulsi cultivation. But when the storage problem appeared,

they changed their minds. Others are waiting to see what happens.

Q: Why is storage a problem?

One can sell tulsi only it is dried. So drying the plants in shade becomes a problem. You need a

place to dry and we do not have money to build a place to dry tulsi. Most of the farmers have

this temporary storage problem.

Although initially more farmers were attracted by the expected income of medicinal plants

cultivation, several retreated when the problem of storage appeared. The president of the

cooperative insists though that Shyam Hada promised to buy the tulsi plants, at a single time

after full harvest, so there is no need to worry about storage facilities.


Page 24

For a short time they will manage at home, under the roof, without constructing any specific

storage infrastructure.

Q: How do you proceed with the trials? Are they made in a land area that belongs to the cooperative?

No, the trials are made on private plots, by innovative and interested farmers. For example, for

sugandhawal, a farmer planted six or seven plants. Chandra Adhikari is one of the people that

made a trial in lowland. Different people made trials in uplands. Some of the farmers here made

trial but also others that are not here now.

Q: Where did you get the seeds for the trials?

Seed was available from One World [Alc]; The seed was provided free of cost to make trial to

start to grow commercially.

Q: How do you know how to cultivate medicinal plants?

From the visits at the Ghorka farm, for Shyam Hada and our own experience. We had no other

trainings.

Q: How many people that are here have seen the Ghorka farm?

Four people.

Q: How do you harvest tulsi?

For the first cut: We cut the small branches and make a bundle. These bundles are hanged in the

shade to dry. When they are fry, the leaves fall. The farmer collects the leaves. The second time

we cut a few inches higher than the first cut, and the next year you cut high, and so on. The

group expects that the tulsi plant will live at least 16 months (and therefore they can cut it four

times). After that they will have to replant.

Q: Since you have been considering the cultivation of medicinal plants and you started the trials, have

the prices of the medicinal plant been increasing or decreasing?

We do not know if they were increasing or not.

Q: What are, in your opinion, the most difficult problems regarding the cultivation of medicinal plants?

The farmers mentioned that the most difficult problems that medicinal plants cultivation raises

are the market, storage and trainings [in this order].

Q: Why is market a problem?

As the market is the most commonly mentioned problem, this cooperative has the advantage of

having an agreement with a company. However, dependency on one buyer is not a very

reassuring situation as the group has heard about farmers that although part of Crystal Nepal

network they were unable to sell their products. In addition, the group is planning to search for

more buyers when they manage to have a stable production.

Q: You said that training is a problem. Can you please explain why it is so?

Moreover, Shyam Hada visit Fulbari on regular basis and help with the problems concerning the

organic production and is also the provider of propagating materials for some of the medicinal

species.

The person from One World [Alc] visits regularly and gives advice. We expect to have a training

soon. Among the participants, four have visited the Ghorka farm. There is no schedule for

training, but if they will face problem they will organise training on that issue.

From Shyam Hada they know about nursery growing, the spacing of the plants. When they

complete the nursery works they expect to have trainings on the marketing and harvest tropic.


Page 25

Q: What risks do you perceive concerning medicinal plants cultivation?

If One World [Alc] does not buy the products like the network marketing, they will search for a

new buyer. But they have faith that it will not do something like that.

Krishna Shrestra – said that he is afraid that medicinal plants are the same as the organic

products, in the sense that inorganic farmers sell better and more, because the inorganic

products are more marketable; He is interested in medicinal plants and organic farming because

he is health conscious, but he is afraid that they do not sell. He cultivated organically for his

family but for the market he cultivates using fertilizers. Dissatisfaction because the organic

products do not look as good as the inorganic ones and the farmers are not getting a good price.

Due to this reason he stopped the organic vegetable farming due to the market problem. The

same problem discourages him to start medicinal plant cultivation.

He is still in doubt if to cultivate medicinal plants or not. He asked his son-in-law whether he

should cultivate or not. He answered that he knows that his neighbour that planted 1 bigha with

tulsi; harvested the first year but the second year the collector of the plants did not come- he had

market problems so he ploughed the tulsi in the field.

Chandra said- we are not working with a marketing network, we have a signed agreement with

one world to sell the products. I think it is feasible to grow aswagandha and kurilo and tulsi.

The president replied referring to the fact that a few years ago, the carrot and the tomato were

new crops. That he was the first to start. They are good for the land; the same thing is with

medicinal plants.

Q: What problems do you expect regarding the medicinal plant cultivation?

We know that in Poush- Magh [December -January], the tulsi can be affected by the powdery

mildew [disease] so we know that we have to harvest earlier

Q: Can you plant other plants next to tulsi?

After the harvest of the tulsi we can plant legumes like pea because the tulsi can act as a stick for the

pea plant. Moreover, after the tulsi season, maize can be planted.

II. Matrix ranking

During the focus group, the farmers were asked to rank the previously mentioned plants according to

criteria they consider relevant. The plants are given a rank from one to four, one being the best

according to a specified criterion. Table 1 below presents the results of this exercise.

Table 1 Matrix ranking exercise with the Fulbari group

Criterion

Plant

Tulsi Kurilo Sugandwal Amala

Easy to grow 2 4 3 1 Drought resistance 3 2 4 1 Access to seed 1 3 2 4

Technical knowledge 1 3 4 2 Marketing possibility 2 2 2 1

Profitability 1 2 2 2 Storage 1 2 3 4

Good for the environment 1 4 3 2 Health benefits 1 4 3 2

Diseases and insects 1 3 2 4 Manure requirement 4 2 3 1

Multiple uses 1 3 4 2 Time to maturity 1 3 2 4


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“Easy to grow” refers to the fact that the cultivation process is not complicated – the knowledge

involved is not so specialized. Amala scores best because as it is a tree, after being planted it just needs

water from time to time. Moreover, amala does not need weeding and more interculture2 it is easy to

grow. Kurilo however is much more labour intensive, involving transplantation, constant weeding and

watering. The group said that the knowledge they gain from the trials they share and discuss.

As amala is a perennial which has deep roots has a good draught resistance and therefore is ranked

first. The group expected tulsi to be draught resistant. They do not have irrigation facilities so they

hoped that they can cultivate tulsi under their current conditions.

Tulsi scored the best under the “Access to seeds” criterion as each farmer on their farm can grow the

seeds. Sugandhawal scored second as it can be easily propagated using the roots. The other two plants

scored less because it is more difficult to procure good quality of seeds.

With “technical knowledge”, the group referred to the knowledge they have acquired through their

trials. It should be noted thou that people know more about tulsi at it is traditionally grown and

worshiped in every Hindu house. The group agreed that due to lack of technical knowledge, which

they find very important, they were less effective in their selection of the plants.

By technological knowledge the farmers understood how to grow, how to manage and how to store.

“Marketing possibility” refers to the easiness to sell. Amala scores the best because it is not an

extensively cultivated but it is an appreciated medicinal plant on the local market3. Tulsi and kurilo are

quite popular medicinal plants among the cultivators and their supply is probably higher on the market.

Tulsi takes the shortest time to reaches maturity4 and be ready to be harvested. Moreover, it can be

grown more than one season in one year, so it has the highest profit. For one katha that is planted with

tulsi the farmer can obtain Rs5,000 to Rs 6,000 profit. The cost for one katha are around Rs 2,500 to

Rs3,000. The group said that because the tulsi is most profitable they chose to grow the plant.

The plants got a good score for “storage” criterion the longer the products can be stored. Tulsi can be

stored longest while amala has a short storage period.

Due to the preoccupation with organic farming, this group is very environmentally conscious. This is

why they chose a “good for the environment” criterion when comparing the plants. According to local

knowledge and religious belief, tulsi is considered good for the environment as it releases more oxygen.

Tulsi was ranked first according to the “health benefits” criterion because it can be used without

processing for various illnesses.

Tulsi faces fewer pests. Amala faces more insects and diseases, therefore is ranked lower under the

“diseases and insects” criterion.

Tulsi requires the most manure of all because it is need more nutrients.

Tulsi has multiple purposes such as religious, medicinal and environmental.

“Time to maturity” refers to the period from planting to harvest and is a very important thing to keep

it mind as it directly affects the profitability of the plant. Tulsi requires the least amount of time, as it

can be harvested more or less four mounts after transplantation. Sugandhawal requires seven to eight

mounts, while kurilo needs at least two years. The worst score is for amala, as it requires around four

years before it gives fruits, which are the valuable part of the plant from medicinal point of view

At the end of the exercise, the group was asked to rank the criteria, giving the first rank to the most

important criterion. The group considered the “easiness to grow” to e the most important criterion, 2 [weeding and hoeing] 3 The group included in the “local market” the village and the market place in Narayanghat, the closest big centre to their village, but also One World Alc. 4 Tulsi can be harvested three months after transplantation


Page 27

followed by the “drought resistance”. The third ranked was “market possibility” while the forth

“profitability”. The fifth place was occupied by “environmentally friendly” and “health benefits”. The

“multiple uses” criterion was ranked six while “manure requirement” occupied the seventh place.

“Diseases and insect” was ranked eighth while both “access to seed” and “technical knowledge” were

ranked ninth. The last places “time to maturity” and “storage”.

It was interesting to note that the group had already discussed this topic quite extensively and they had

already agreement, prior to the focus group discussion. The members of the cooperative have monthly

meetings were they discuss the subjects of interest.


Page 28

Prasiddi Focus Group

Data: 9th June 2010; (1:30 pm- 3:45 pm)

Location: Jacauli

Name of the cooperative: Prasiddi Jadibuti Cooperative

Participants:

Rudrashwor Rai (M) Founder member of Aloe Nepal

Rambikam Thakuri (M) President of the cooperative

Jajannath Dhikari (M) Secretary of the cooperative

Shantalal Bhandari (M) Accountant of cooperative

CB Gurung (M) Member of the cooperative

Maya Paudel (F) Member of the cooperative

Jagat KC (M) Member of the cooperative

Sunita Sapkota (F) Member of the cooperative

Janabi Paudel (F) Member of the cooperative

Baburam Shrestha (M) Member of the cooperative

Kalwari Rimal (M) Member of the cooperative

I. History diagram

The group was asked to remember important moments in the history of the cooperative, with

emphasis on those events related to medicinal plant cultivation. Some clarifying questions were also

asked to sketch a more complete picture.

2020 [1964] Construction of the irrigation canal that passes through the locality

2050 [1983] Jagat KC starts medicinal plant cultivation. He has a friend that is an ayurvedic

doctor and he learned from him the importance of medicinal plants. He knows

how to make more that 200 medicines using the plants. He prescribes medicines

from plants that he makes himself. He helps the poor people by teaching them

how to prepare the medicine they need themselves and he does not charge them.

2059 [2002] Introduction of the mobile phone in the community.

2063 [2006] CB Gurung starts commercial cultivation of lemongrass. Motivation for doing

this: Faced with the difficulties of traditional agriculture, and being old and he

was looking for a crop that is less labour intensive (less work with planting). He

met a businessman and he suggested cultivating lemongrass. This is a good plant

because at 2 month after planting you can already harvest it; and you keep

harvesting every month for five years. He started on his own and then he joined

the cooperative (Swyabhiman initially; he became member of Prasiddi because he

know the president of this cooperative)

He faces market problems at the moment – he cannot sell his lemongrass and

therefore he does not harvest it anymore. He is trying to sell his lemongrass

through the Swyabhiman cooperative.

Before Swyabhiman – there was medicinal plants grown for religious purposes :


Page 29

tulsi, asuro, gurjo

Poush 19th 2065 [Jan 3rd 2009]

Swyabhiman Cooperative is formed. Members are from: Gunjanagar, Mangalpur

and later the same year from Sardanagar

Magh 10th 2065 [Jan 23rd 2009]

Nawaraj Prahadi from Kathmandu comes here, mobilises people to start the

medicinal plant cultivation. He organises a group of farmers from Gunjanagar

and Dibyanagar and Mangalpur. These farmers become the core of a new

cooperative – Swyabhiman Jadibuti. Some of these farmers start to cultivate tulsi.

2066 [2009] CB Gurung starts experimenting with kurilo cultivation.

Baisakh 2066 [May 2009]

Agreement between Swyabhiman and EMI 5 for the cultivation of tulsi and

lemongrass.

Shrawan 10th 2066 [Jul 25th 2009]

Rudreshor Rai, representative of Aloe Nepal, comes for the first time in Jacauli,

through Nawaraj Pahadi and proposed the cooperative to cultivate ghiukumari. He

convinces the members of the cooperative that he will provide seedlings and buy

all plants.

Kartik 29th 2066 [Nov 15th 2009]

General assembly organised; now the members are from 5 VDC, Gunjanagar,

Dibyanagar, Mangalpur, Sardanagar and Fulbari

Poush 10th 2066 [Dec 25th 2009]

Swyabhiman Herbal Cooperative organises a general assembly and registers in

10/02. Before registration, there was an agreement with EMI for the tulsi and

lemongrass to sell 10 quintal of lemongrass and 10 tons of tulsi; out of these only

1 q of lemongrass and 5 tons of tulsi were delivered at this point; the rest was not

provided because the cooperatives split

Poush 30th 2066 [Jan 14 2010]

The Swyabhiman cooperative splits into two cooperatives – Swyabhiman and the

newly formed Prasiddi Jadibuti Cooperative. The new cooperative has 30

members.

Magh 2nd 2066

[16 Jan 2010]

Registration of Prasiddi cooperative. At this date the number of members has

increased to 45.

Baisakh 2067 [April–May 2010]

The members of the cooperative start planting ghiukumari on approximately 1.5

bigha.

Baisakh 25th 2067 [May 8th 2010]

Aloe Nepal gives training on planting ghiukumari to the members of the

cooperative.

Jestha 26th 2067 [June 9th 2010]

Prasiddi cooperative and Aloe Nepal sign the agreement for ghiukumari

cultivation. At this moment the cooperative has 50 members.

Q: Do you know about medicinal plant cultivation?

We have traditional knowledge on medicinal plants that cure diseases and their importance in

ayurvedic medicine.

Q: How much did you pay for the ghiukumari seedlings?

The cost of one seedling is Rs12, but we paid 60% in advance, when we bought the seedling and

the rest will be paid after the first harvest. This is what our agreement with the company says.

Q: At what price will Aloe Nepal buy the ghiukumari plants from the cooperative?

5 EMI- Easy Multitrade International http://www.emi.com.np/main/


Page 30

It is written in our agreement. If the leaf of the plant is heavier than 250g, the price is Rs15/Kg.

If the leaf is less than 250g, the price is Rs12/Kg. This is because the company is interested in

the juice of the plant. The size of the leaf increases as the plants ages. Aloe Nepal will be visiting

every 3 months to buy the leaves. The cooperative has to take the products (and pay for

transportation) to Narayanghat. Then Aloe Nepal is in charge.

Q: When will start harvesting? How often will you do it?

The first harvest after planting is in 8-12 months. Then you can harvest every 4 months a few

leaves from the bottom of the plant.

Q: How big do the plants grow?

A ghiukumari plant, at maturity can reach 1 m. The plant lives for five years.

Q: How many plants can you have in one katha?

Don’t know.

Q: How do you become a member of your cooperative?

You have to be a citizen here; you have to provide papers that you are a member of this locality.

You do not have to grow ghiukumari; you can start with other crops.

Q: How many members of your cooperative have planted ghiukumari? On how much land on average?

Around 25 out of the 5o members have planted. Farmers planted between 0.5 to 7 katha. Most

of them have less than 2 katha planted. In total, all the members of the cooperative have planted

ghiukumari on more than 1.5 bigha. The total land of the members of the cooperative is around

20 bigha.

Q: Have the members of the cooperative attended any training on ghiukumari cultivation?

The members attended training on how to plant ghiukumari on Baisakh 25th. Aloe Nepal gave the

training. They provide the technical information. The next training will be on harvest of the

plant in a few months. Aloe Nepal will be visiting regularly and provide support.

Q: Does ghiukumari require irrigation? Are there irrigation facilities?

Ghiukumari needs more water to grow. There are no good irrigation facilities in our locality. That

is why not all the members of the cooperative can grow ghiukumari. There is a 46 years old

irrigation canal that passes through our locality but it is not good, no water is passing through it.

It is not maintained and we cannot use it. But some of the members of our cooperative have

pumps and use the underground water for irrigation.

Q: Medicinal plant cultivation must be done without any chemicals. Are the members of the

cooperative organic?

Only the cultivation of ghiukumari is organic at the moment, around 7% of the total land the

members of the cooperative own. We plant to switch to organic farming in the future. As a first

step we will reduce the input of chemicals.

Q: Do you know Danda Pani Kalfe?

Yes, he is a member in this cooperative but also of Swyabhiman cooperative.

Q: Can you intercrop the ghiukumari with other crops?

Jagat KC said that he is considering intercropping ghiukumari with kurilo. But at the moment he

is just experimenting in his field to discover the best alignment and space between the plants.


Page 31

II. Ranking exercise

Please compare ghiukumari with the other crops that you grow according with the criteria you consider

relevant. Rank the plants according to these criteria, giving the best performing plant the first rank.

The plant that performs second best should receive the second rank and so on. You can choose to give

the same rank to more than one plant.

Matrix ranking exercise with the Prasiddi cooperative group

Plant Criterion Rice Maize Wheat Vegetables Ghiukumari

Daily consumption 1 3 2 1 4


Type of land 3 1 2 3 4

Labour requirement 3 4 5 1 2

Seed availability 1 1 1 1 2 Manure requirement 2 3 5 1 4 Drought resistance 4 3 1 5 1 Market possibility 1 3 2 4 5

By “daily consumption” the group referred to the fact that the crop is edible. The group ranked rice

and vegetables as the most important crops for their diet. Maize is cultivated for feeding animals, and

therefore indirectly contributing to the food production while ghiukumari is ranked last.

Vegetables are ranked as most profitable as they sell easily and they are the most profitable crop.

However, until now the farmers used inorganic fertilizers and pesticides for the vegetables, but when

they will switch to organic farming (ghiukumari soil must not be contaminated with inorganic

substances) vegetables will stop being the most profitable crop. Ghiukumari is placed second according

to the expected benefits.

Maize was ranked first for the “type of land” criterion because it can be cultivated in any type of soil

while ghiukumari seems to have more specific requirements.

The group was asked is ghiukumari requires more work that the other crops. The answer was that

ghiukumari needs weeding by hand, no tillage and no chemicals are allowed. But, since it is a perennial

crop, it saves labour because it needs planting at every five years. The executive committee of the

cooperatives goes and checks how farmers take care of the field where they planted ghiukumari.

Moreover, the group was asked if the ghiukumari is the responsibility of women or men. The answer

was that all members of the family work the same on the field.

Ghiukumari is the most draught resistant crop as it can survive long periods with a small amount of

water. Rice and vegetables on the other hand are the most sensitive crops to water inputs.

According to the group the rice and wheat are the easiest to sell crops, followed by maize and

vegetables. Ghiukumari is ranked last because the groups know only one possible buyer for the plant at

this moment, Aloe Nepal.

After eliciting all the criteria, the group was asked to rank them giving the first rank to the most

important one. The group considered that “daily consumption” is the most important criterion. The

second and third ranks were given to the “market possibility” and “profitability”. Moreover, “access to

seed” was ranked forth while “manure requirement” criterion occupied the fifth place. The “type of

land” criterion was ranked sixth while the last place was given to both “labour requirement” and

“draught resistance”.


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Healers Focus Group

Data: 12th June 2010 (12:10 pm- 2:00 pm)

Location: Bachhauli - WN4

Name of the group: Chitwan Tharu Traditional Skills Management Group

Participats:

Tora Chaudhary (M, 61) Vice president of the healers group

Baburam Mahato (M, 77) Founder member of the healers group;

former vice president of the group

Aagit Mahato (M, 82) Healer

Chhedevi Mahato (F, 77) Delivery lady

Manoj Kumar Chaudhary (M, ) Secretary of the group????

I. History diagram

2059 [2002] National Trust for Nature Conservation initiated the “Biodiversity Conservation

Centre” programme with the main focus of preserving the indigenous knowledge of

the healers and the conservation of medicinal plant species. Through this program,

the “Chitwan Tharu Traditional Knowledge and Skill management committee” was

founded as an organisation that gathered all the local healers under one umbrella

organisation.

With the help of the trust, the healers started to cultivate medicinal plants instead of

harvesting them in the wild. At the moment a nursery is established and some

species are planted on 5 katha given by the organisation that preserves the Tharu

culture and traditions.

A clinic for poor people was also established.

2060 [2003] Planting medicinal plants in the community forest – Baghmara - 102 species of pants

on 2.5 katha. These plants kept getting ruined by the wild animals.

2061 [2004] Clinic is closed down.

2065 [2008] The planting of medicinal plants stops in the land of the Baghmara community

forest

Q: When and why did you become a healer?

Tora Chaudhary became interested in the healing and traditional medicine 35 years ago, when

his wife had bone fractures that were not treated by the hospital doctors. Then he visited a

healer that succeeded in treating his wife. Since then he dedicated his time to learning and

practicing traditional healing techniques. He knows how to treat fractured bones but does not

always have the necessary materials. He receives patients who are left uncured by the hospital

doctors. He has gastric medicines in stock but for other illnesses he has to prepare them fresh.

Baburam Mahato comes from a family where there were three generations of ayurvedic doctors.

His father and grandfather were healers. However, as his father died when he was young, he did

not manage to learn from his father. He said that the medicinal plants are depleted. They need

to conserve them but many people are not interested in this. He said that there is a need for

collaboration between healers, students and different organisations. He thinks that he can cure

fractured bone faster than a doctor. However, he acknowledges that it is difficult for a healer to

straighten the bones, at it would be best if healers and doctors could work in coordination, the

doctors to stretch the bones and healers to heal.


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Aajit Mahato and his wife Chhedi have been living here all their lives. They knew the

importance of medicinal plants from childhood. They learned from their parents to collect herbs

from the jungle. Aajit started working as healer 25 years ago, while his wife became her work as

a delivery lady almost 4o years ago.

Q: How many healers are members of the organisation established by the trust?

At the beginning there were 58 members, 46 healers and 12 delivery ladies.

Q: How do you become a member?

You have to prove that you have knowledge about medicinal plants. You also pay a small fee

each year or a larger fee for lifetime membership.

Q: How did the clinic worked?

Every day, two healers and one delivery lady were there. Every day there were different healers

in the clinic. An Rs5 fee is perceived for each consult.

Q: Why was the clinic shut down?

There was a lack of stuff. Also, the trust kept changing the location of the clinic. They asked for

a permanent location but it was not given. People did not want to pay the Rs5 fee, so they went

directly to the healers so they did not have to pay it.

Q: You said that the people went to the healers directly so they do not have to pay the clinic fee. What

do you think is the solution to this problem?

We do not know. People do not want to pay, they go to the healer and are not interested if they

are cured or not, they do not pay.

Q: Are there any plans to reopen the clinic?

We want the clinic to be there for the long term. But the trust has to contribute because we do

not have the financial resources.

Q: You said that the Trust has been documenting you knowledge? What exactly is written down? Is

this process over?

The trust documented the diseases they can cure and how to do it with medicinal plants, how to

make medicines, what to include in them and in what quantity, and how much medicine to take.

The trust documented some things but there are others that should be written down.

Q: Whit how much money did the trust contributed?

The trust put 1 lack [Rs 100,000] in the back as savings for the healers group. With the interest from

this money the group paid the labourers and the accountants that kept the records of the group – part

of Baghmara Community Forest.

Q: What would you like the trust or any other organisation to do for you?

They said that the trust asked them to utilize the medicinal plants and to run the clinic, but they

need a building for the clinic and land for the medicinal plants. They would also like a fare

accountant to keep the books. And money to pay the accountant. They need money until they

sell sufficient to support their activities, until the medicinal plants grow and they can sell. They

would like to establish a clinic and charge a fair price for their services, not to cheap not too

expensive. At the moment they give the medicine for free. If a doctor asks for Rs300 for a check

up, they would charge only Rs100.

For example if an appointment with the doctor would cost Rs25, they would like to split it, 25%

to go to the group income and 75% to the healer.


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Q: How much do you charge for helping with a birth?

Rs50.

Q: Since you are not gaining a lot of money by being a healer, what is your main source of income?

Shanti declared that he lives out of farming.

Q: What were the most important species you planted in the Baghmara Community Forest land?

Neem, cassia fistula, amala, satavari [kurilo], datura, sarapaganda, tulsi, ec.

Q: Who worked on the with the medicinal plants?

All the members of the group.

Q: Why have you stopped planting the medicinal plant s in the community forest land?

Until 2065 we were planting and selling the medicinal plants we could collect in that plot. The

income generated by the commercialisation of medicinal plants was around Rs45,000/year. This

money was used to pay the labourers that were looking after the plot. After that we stopped

selling but the healers still use the plants that are still there.

Q: Do you cultivate medicinal plants in your own farms?

Yes, we plant for our use. Two people in the group, Baburam Mahato and Manoj Chaudhary

cultivate commercially medicinal plants.

Baburam Mahato in link with District Ayurvedic Office for a long time now and he manages to

sell some plants. This year he sold 6kg of gurjo with Rs50/kg. He also know that one can get

Rs3,500 for 1 kg of kurilo seed.

The Trust for Nature Conservation started documenting the knowledge the healers have on medicinal

plants and there uses. However, the healers expressed their desire to have apprentices. They said that

even though they document the knowledge, they would like to transfer it to the next generation.


The group was asked, if they had the land and financial resources, what plants would they chose to

grow. The healers chose the plants according to their knowledge and experience. Moreover, the group

was ask to rank the chosen plants according to criteria they consider relevant. Rank one should be

given to the best performing plant according to a certain criterion. The table below shows the results

of the ranking exercise done by this group.

Matrix ranking exercise with the healers group

Plant Criterion Harro Barro Amala Kurilo Sarpaghanda

Cures most diseases 2 3 1 4 5 Multipurpose 2 1 3 4 5 Fruits first 3 3 3 1 2 Profitability 2 2 1 3 4

Easy to cultivate 1 1 1 2 3 Grows fast 4 3 5 1 2

Water requirement 1 1 1 3 2 Storage time 2 3 4 1 2

Labour intensive 2 2 2 1 1 Manure requirement 1 1 1 3 2


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For this group the most important criteria were “cures most diseases”, “multipurpose” and “fruits

first” while profitability of the plant occupied the fourth place. The low ranking of profitability is also

explained by the fact that the healers do not sell the plants, they produce medicines which most of the

time are a combination of plants.

The difference between the “fruits first” and “grows fast” criterion is important from a healer’s

perspective because different parts of the plants – such as the bark – are used, not just the fruits.


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Crystal Nepal Focus group

Data: 13th June 2010

Location: Kalyampur- Bharatpur VDC

Participats:

Dharma Raj Adhikari (M, 42) Member of Crystal Nepal

Prem Kumar Shrestha (M,58) Member of Crystal Nepal

Nawarj Adhikari (M,44) Member of Crystal Nepal

Sita Adhikari (F, 40) Member of Crystal Nepal; Founding member of CVIL6

Padma Pandej Adhikari (F, 25) Member of Crystal Nepal

I. History diagram

2060 [2003] Crystal Vision International Limited (CVIL) is established. Sales of herbal products

begin.

2061 [2004] Crystal Nepal is established. The first Crystal Nepal farms begin production.

2063 [2006] Crystal Nepal starts to gather farmers to cultivate medicinal plants and offers

trainings on cultivation of medicinal plants. The first four members receive such

trainings.

2064 [2007] The first four participants say that they made good income from medicinal plants.

2065 [2008] Padma Adhikari gets training of medicinal plants and starts tulsi cultivation.

2066 [2009] The participants say that the market price of medicinal plants this year was low.

2067 [2010] After the scandal, they estimate a low price for medicinal plants this year due the

insecurity in the market.

Crystal Nepal Ltd is a company founded in 2004 with the purpose of medicinal plant cultivation. The

company has its own farms but also purchases medicinal plants from individual farmers affiliated to its

network. The company offers an initial training on cultivation to the member farmers and a promise to

buy the medicinal plants at an agreed price, usually lower than the market price.

Crystal Nepal collects and processes the medicinal plants. Then a different company, Crystal Vision

International Limited (CVIL), sells the finished products through a network marketing scheme. The

farmers that are part of CVIL – meaning they sell the company’s products – get a better price when

selling their plants to Crystal Nepal compared to farmers that are not members of the marketing

network.

The decision making processes in the Crystal Nepal network is quite interesting. The administrative

board of the company takes the main decision on cultivation of medicinal plants (species and quantity).

The local branches of the company then organise meetings with farmers and then each one chooses

what plant he/she can grow and what quantity. The farmers affiliated to this network have a more

homogeneous knowledge on the plants they cultivate, but rarely other knowledge on different plants.

6 Crystal Vision International Limited


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During the focus group discussion, the farmers were asked to compare the plants they know according

to their own criteria. Table 3 presents the results of the scoring and ranking exercise.

For this group the most important criteria when comparing the plants were “health benefits”,

“profitability”, “easy to cultivate” and “storage time”. Healing benefits is the most important criterion

because the farmers believe that health should be achieved first, then wealth, according to the CVIL

logo “Health, Wealth and Creativity for Humanity”.

Table 2 Matrix ranking exercise with Crystal Vision group

Plant Criterion Tulsi Godtapre Camomile Lemongrass

Health benefits 1 2 3 4 Profitability 2 4 1 3

Easy to cultivate 1 4 3 2 Storage time 1 4 2 3

Water requirement 3 2 4 1 Labour intensive 4 2 3 1

Environmental health 1 4 2 3

Multiple use 1 4 2 3

Manure input 3 1 4 2

Health benefits of tulsi are the most significant as according to the farmers, if taken every day, tulsi

prevents 38 types of diseases. Moreover, camomile is the most profitable because the essential oil

extracted costs almost 30.000 Rs/litre (360 euro/litre) while the flower is worth 600 Rs/kg (7

euro/kg).

Storage time is quite an important criterion because it directly affects profitability. The farmers

mentioned that they store the tulsi for some time, while the market price is low, before they sell it to

the network or elsewhere.

The water requirement of the plant can be the limiting criterion for some farmers. One of the factors

that contribute to the fact that camomile is cultivated on a smaller area is its water needs compared to

the other plants.

“Multiple use” – refers in this context to the fact that the plant is used as ingredient in more products.

It should be noted that tulsi and camomile are the most versatile and used plants.

Documents

The Potential of Medicinal Plant Cultivation as an Endogenous Development Strategy-AR Munteanu- ERM Thesis