SECOND CROP DIVERSIFICATION PROJECT (SCDP)

Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE)

Loan No. 2649-BAN (SF)

Ministry of Agriculture

Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Khamarbari, mid building (6th Floor)

Farmgate, Dhaka-1215

Medicinal Plant Support

15 April- 16 July, 2015

(Mission II & Final Report)

Submitted by:

Satyabrata Maiti, Ph.D.

International Consultant (MAP Specialist)

satyabratamaiti@hotmail.com; maiti.satyabrata@gmail.com

Contents

Acronyms and Abbreviations Used

ADB                 Asian Development Bank

AEZ                  Agro-ecological Zone

AHT                 AHT Group AG (Germany)

BADC               Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation

BARI                Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute

BARC               Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council

C                      Celceius

cm                   Centi Meter

DAE                 Department of Agricultural Extension

GACP               Good Agricultural and Collection Practices

GAP                 Good Agricultural Practices

GCP                 Good Collection Practices

GMP                Good Manufacturing Practices

ha                    hectare

HDTC               Horticulture Development & Training Center

HRC                 Horticulture Research Centre

HVC                 High Value Crop

KAL                  Kranti Associates Limited

kg                    Kilo Gram

m                     Meter

MAP                Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

mm                  Mile Meter

MP                   Medicinal Plant

MT                   Metric Ton

MFI                  Microfinance Institution

MOA                Ministry of Agriculture

NCDP               Northern Crop Diversification Project

NHRDF             National Horticulture Research & Development Foundation

OFSSI               On-farm Small Scale Infrastructure

Q                     Quintal

SAAO               Sub Assistant Agricultural Officer

SCDP                Second Crop Diversification Project

SRC                  Spices Research Centre

TOT                 Training of Trainers

Upazila            Sub-district

Zila                  District

Acknowledgement

During my course of consultancy work I have been benefited by contribution, advice, help and cooperation of several individuals within and outside of the organization without which my work would have been difficult. I wish to place on record my gratitude  for their contribution in my mission work as follows:

Mr. Md. Hamidur Rahman, Project Director, Second Crop Diversification project (SCDP), Director General, DAE for his encouragement, guidance and support during the mission period.

Dr. S. P. Ghosh, Team Leader, Technical Assistance Team (TAT) of Second Crop Diversification Project (SCDP), for his guidance and allowing me to discuss freely with him on the subject as well as sharing his rich knowledge of Bangladesh.

Mr. Abul Ashraf, Deputy Team Leader, TAT, SCDP for his brotherly guidance and giving logistic support whenever it was requested. My appreciation is for  Mr. A. T. M. Azmul Huda, Institutional Development, Rural Investment & Value Chain Specialist for extending his helping hands and sharing his past experience of working with medicinal plants;   Dr. Md. Abdul Hoque, Horticulture and Spices Specialist, SCDP for organizing demonstration at various locations; and  Dr. Nazrul Islam, Training Specialist, SCDP for his kind help in organizing Training and Awareness Programme on GAP of MP with the farmers and IP farmers of Bangladesh.

Dr. Ashoke Kumar Roy, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, SCDP for readily accompanying in some of my field visits and also helping me in collecting information, and  results from Upazilla officers on demonstrations. He also helped me in organizing a workshop on “Quality medicinal plant production and its marketing” with a very short notice.  His helping attitude for SCDP work as well as for my personal comfort and his keen interest for learning are worth mentioning.

Dr. Md. Saiful Alam, Upzila Agriculture Officer (UAO), Godagari; Mr. Bablu Kr.Sutradhar, UAO, Bagatipara; Mr. Sakhawat Hossen UAO, Vedarganj and Mr. Md. Obaidur Rahaman Mandal, UAO, Shadullapur and Mr. Md. Roushon Jamal, UAO, Sonatala  for their kind cooperation and help  in conducting demonstration  of various medicinal plants through progressive farmers in their respective areas.

Ms. Jebunnessa Lily (Lily-appa), Dr. D. N. Chaudhary, Ms. Farzana Khan, Dr. Nowsher Ali Sarder made my working enjoyable by their time to time experience sharing in the project and accommodating me as one of them which made me to feel at home.

Mr. AL-Mamun, Office Manger, SCDP;  Mr. Robin Chandra Datta, Computer Operator; Mr. Md. Nazrul Islam, Photocopy Operator for providing   office support during my stay in mission period.

Mr. A.B.M. Siddique and Mr. Md. Mozibul Haque of Kranti Associates Ltd.  and Dr. Rambow and other Officers, AHT Group AG (Germany) for their support in  facilitating the process and providing logistical support as well as  opportunity to work in this project.

Mr. Mozemmal, Md. Nizamuddin Bachu and Md. Jubair for their assistance and care in making my life comfortable and enjoyable in Bangladesh.

There were several others, who have contributed directly or indirectly in making my stay comfortable and enjoyable in Bangladesh by extending their help and support in many ways on different occasions. It would be difficult to name each of them individually, but I keep them in my heart to cherish the sweet memories of Bangladesh.

July 16, 2015

Satyabrata Maiti

1      Terms of Reference

1. Review medicinal plants demand-supply status in Bangladesh and estimate potential size of herbal medicines sector including species prioritization in the trade. Raw material demand both in traditional medicine sector as well as in herbal medicine manufacturing units to be assessed.

2. Develop a country level Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for priority medicinal plant species and suggest possible project interventions for commercial scale production of selected 3-4 priority species in which a raw material demand is likely to increase.

3. Suggest a strategic road map for R & D of medicinal plants in Bangladesh and value chain for herbal industry with larger product profiles.

4. Suggest and establish limited pilot project(s) of demonstrative value with improved production practice in Aloe vera, Piper longum, Aswaggandha, etc. in suitable locations.

2        Introduction

Human life and knowledge of maintaining human health as a growing concern must have come into being almost simultaneously. All known ancient civilization in the past  such as Egyptian, Babylonian, Jewiah, Chinese, Indus-valley etc. had their own wonderful effective systems of medicine and health care.

According to the ancient books of knowledge, health is considered as a prerequisite for achieving the supreme ends of “Me” consisting of righteousness, wealth, artistic values and spiritual freedom. Preventive and curative aspects of diseases are considered as important components of the concept of positive health and mind.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that 80% of the population of developing countries rely on traditional medicine mostly plant drugs, for their primary health care needs. Medicinal plants being natural, having no or little side effect, affordable, preventive and curative therapies which could be useful in achieving the goal of “Primary Health Care for all” in a cost effective manner. The Bangladesh Traditional   Medicines, predominantly make use of plant based raw material in most of their preparations and formulations. Modern pharmacopoeia also contains at least 25% drugs derived from plants and many others which are synthetic analogues built on prototype compounds isolated from plants.

Demand for medicinal plants is increasing in both developing and developed countries but 100 percent raw material, except a few, are harvested from wild sources without applying scientific or traditional knowledge of management hence many species are under rare, endangered and threat category to become extinct. Further the loss of habitat for conservation of biodiversity is a growing challenge under climate change scenarios.

The medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP) occupy an important position in the socio-cultural, spiritual and livelihood arena of rural people of Bangladesh. About 80 percent population of Bangladesh still depend on MAPs  in rural areas for their primary health care (Merry and Shahjahan, 2014). Two important systems of Traditional Medicines (Unani and Ayurveda) also consume MAP inn their medicine preparations. Mostly supply relies  on wild collection from natural forests and imports from neighbouring counties such as India, Nepal and Bhutan.  Looking at the limitation of forest resources, incorporation of medicinal plant cultivation in the existing cropping system could pave a way forward for generating employment, creating additional rural livelihood and enhancing export earnings. However any such intervention needs to be pragmatically planned and delivered for sustaining human and environmental health.

Various organizations, Government, private and non government organizations (NGOs) have initiated, few, yet significant activities in these sectors. A few examples are:  Bangladesh Forest Research Institute (BFRI) has implemented a coordinated project for initiating cultivation of five important medicinal plants having high market demand for targeting poverty alleviation and environment enrichment through agro-forestry system in Chittagong Hill; Helvetas, Swiss inter-cooperation organized  60,000 producers involving in cultivation of  five commercially important MAPs like Withania somnifera  (aswaganda), Ocimum tenuiflorum (tulsi), Asparagus racemosus  (satamuli), Adhatoda vasica (basak), and Andrographis paniculata (kalomegh) in 62 unions of 30 sub-district and 11 districts of 3 divisions. Out of the total producers, 98 per cent are poor and pro-poor and 80 per cent of them are female cultivators. The area under cultivation was 450 km roadside, 33.40 ha unfertile cultivable land, 60.12 ha homestead and other fellow lands. There are 270 seed/seedling suppliers, 320 local service providers, 62 collection centers and 39 collectors that supply the raw material to ACME and Square Pharmaceuticals (Ref: SEDF/IC, 2003).

The Bangladesh Govt.  has also encouraged international agencies to further strengthen these initiatives as a result Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded Second Crop Diversification Project (SCDP) has initiated a programme on cultivation of important medicinal plants in their project areas. The focus has been given under the project  for capacity building through awareness training on its Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), usages for primary health care and GAP demonstration in the field of 5 selected medicinal plants as demanded by the local industries.

3      Situational Analysis

Bangladesh

Ecology and socio-economic background

Bangladesh  is situated between latitude 20º34” and 26º38” North and longitude 88º01” and 92º41” East and has a tropical monsoon climate characterized by wide seasonal variations in rainfall, high temperatures and  humidity. It has a vast natural resource including medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP). Since decades, MAPs are being used for treating various ailments in human being and domestic animals.

Climate

Bangladesh has a tropical climate characterized by wide seasonal variations in rainfall, high temperatures, and high humidity. Regional climatic differences in this flat country are minor. Three seasons are generally recognized: a hot, muggy summer from March to June; a hot, humid and rainy monsoon season from June to November; and a warm-hot, dry winter from December to February. In general, maximum summer temperatures range between 38 and 41 °C.   April is the hottest month in most parts of the country. January is the coolest month, when the average temperature for most of the country is 16–20 °C during the day and around 10 °C  at night.

Heavy rainfall is characteristic of Bangladesh causing it to flood every year. With the exception of the relatively dry western region of Rajshahi, where the annual rainfall is about 1,600 mm, most parts of the country receive at least 2,300 mm of rainfall per year. Average daily humidity ranged   between 55 and 81 percent    in March  and as high as 100 percent in July.

Population

Fig. 1. Demographic evolution of the territory of Bangladesh (1900-2000) (After Wekipedia)

Bangladesh is largely ethnically  homogeneous. Indeed, its name derives from the Bengali ethno-linguistic group, which comprises 98 percent  of its population.   Diverse indigenous people live mainly in Chattagram hill tracts, Syllet, Mymensingh and North Bengal  divisions. There are many dialects of Bengali spoken throughout the region.  In 2013 the population was estimated at 160 million. About 89 per cent of Bangladeshis are Muslims,  followed by 8 percent Hindu, 1 percent Buddhist and 0.5 percent Christians. Bangladesh is having highest population density in the world.

Classification of the vegetation of Bangladesh

Bangladesh in general possesses a luxuriant diversity of vegetation, with villages appearing to be concealed in orchards of mango, jackfruit, bamboo, betel nut, coconut, and date palm. However, only a small portion of the country’s land surface is covered with forests.

Bangladesh has four different areas of vegetation. The eastern zone, consisting of parts of  Sylhet and Chittagong areas, has many low hills covered with jungles of bamboo and rattan (a species of climbing palm).   The central zone, covering parts of the country to the north of Dhaka, contains many lakes and supports swampy vegetation; the soil of part of this zone produces the Madhupur jungles. The area lying to the northwest of the Jamuna and to the southwest of the Padma forms a flat basin plain, the vegetation of which consists mostly of cultivated plants and orchards. Babul (Acacia linotica)   is the most conspicuous tree. The southern zone along the Bay of Bengal contains the vast wetlands of the Sundarbans, with their distinctive mangrove vegetation. Several of the mangrove species are commercially valuable, including the Sundari (Heritiera fomes or H. minor), for which the Sundarbans are named, and the Goran (Ceriops roxburghiana). Also valuable are the Gewa or Gengwa (Excoecaria agallocha) trees, which yield a softwood used for making newsprint. Among the astounding variety of flowers, important are water lilies (locally called shapla, the country’s national flower), marigolds, tuberoses, and Hibiscus. The Bokul (Mimusops elengi) is a common shrub that produces small light scented flowers with yellow berries.

Role of Traditional Medical System in promoting MPs

Traditional Medicines (TM) is an important component of health care in Bangladesh. TM includes Unani and Ayurveda in Bangladesh which have a long traditions of their use for wellbeing and health care. Soci-cultural attachment to TM has made Bangladesh Government to recognize these systems side by side of Allopathy in the national health care programme for people of Bangladesh. At present, there is a renewed interest in TM as well as herbal medicines worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) since end of 70’s (1976) is persuading to integrate various TM in health care programme. As a result, a number of Traditional Medicines (TM) of the world are becoming popular worldwide and spreading very fast as alternative medicine with the exciting system of medicines (Table  1).

Table 1.  Popular TM systems of the world and their origin

     Source: Prepared from various sources of information such as WHO, ISM, ISO, etc. 

Commercial outfit of Bangladesh dealing with MAPs

The Unani, Ayurvedic and Homeopatic manufacturing units in Bangladesh were not more than 140 unites before 1983. The number went upto 300 in 1986. The commercial manufacturing of these categories of medicines got boost in 1990s due to revival of TM in Bangladesh. The Drug Act of 1940 and its rules formed the basis of the country’s drug legislation. Unani, Ayurvedic, Homeopathic and Biochemic medicines were exempted before, but now they are under the control of drug legislation. A good percentage of poor and ethnic people of Bangladesh are dependent on such TM. At present there are about 268 Unani, 201 Ayurvedic, 09 Herbal, 79 Homeopathic and Biochemic licensed manufacturing units. They produce medicines worth of about BDT 2 billion (Ref. http://www.banglapedia.org/HT/P_0172.htm).  

The growth of commercial manufacturing units in Bangladesh is given in Table 2.

Table 2. Growth of various medicine manufacturing units in Bangladesh

In addition, there are also legal processors and registered under Unani and Ayurvedic Practitioners Act (1983). Hakim, Kabiraj and unregistered traditional practitioners are also utilizing a large quantity of MP for their home made medicines.

There are about 10 pharmaceutical companies including Ayurveda and Unani participated in the discussion and shown their kin interest with the SCDP for sourcing GAP complainant medicinal raw material for assuring quality of their products. List of these companies is presented in the Table 3.

Table 3. Pharmaceuticals companies including Ayurveda and Unani showed interest for quality Medicinal Plant raw material for their production

Research Infrastructure

Spices Research Centre (SRC) of Bangladesh under Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) has undertaken some research program for developing aromatic crop varieties and Forest Department (FD) initiated tree plantation emphasizing aromatic plants in certain areas. Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and Bangladesh Forest Research Institute (BFRI) are engaged in MP research with very limited activities. However, a comprehensive research institute for medicinal plants is lacking in Bangladesh as result research on medicinal plants are fragmented and sketchy so far.

Various Medicinal Plants Project Initiatives of the Past

Medicinal Plants sector in Bangladesh has been recognized as a priority area for intervention by many stakeholders in the past. The Sustainable Land Use Programme (SLUP) undertook initiative in 2002 to contribute in this sector that could ultimately benefit their clients in Rajsahi division. SLUP also started programme with Grameen Krishi Foundation (GKF) for cultivation of MP by the poor farmers in Rangpur region. Livelihood, Empowerment and Agroforestry Project (LEAF) has initiated a programme in Bogra region for promoting cultivation of sertain medicinal plant species such as Chai and Simul mool for commercial utilization. In addition there are many private sector initiatives for cultivation of medicinal plants in various parts if the country.

Second Crop Diversification Project (SCDP)- An Overview

Fig. 2.  Operational areas of  SCDP in Bangladesh (Courtesy: Presentation of PD in National Workshop)

The Second Crop Diversification Project (SCDP) supports the agenda of the Government for ensuring food security and poverty alleviation, through promotion of High Value Crops (HVCs) which includes fruits, vegetables, mushroom, flowers, spices and medicinal plants.

The project is being implemented in selected 52 Upazilas of 27 districts distributed in the     Rangpur  and Rajshahi divisions of Northwest Bangladesh and Dhaka, Khulna, and Barisal divisions of Southwest Bangladesh.

Village, Household and Population

Data on the villages, household and those residing in those villages are given in Table 4 & 5. Rangpur division is having 5,765 villages, with 1,715,338 households and 5,546,585,   population.

           Table 4.  Village, Household and Population in SCDP Districts in Northwest Region

Courtesy: 2^nd Interim report of Dr. D.N. Chaudhary, Seed Production Specialist

Table 5. Village, House hold and Population in SCDP Districts of Southwest Region

Courtesy: 2^nd Interim report of Dr. D.N. Chaudhary, Seed Production Specialist

Rajshahi division covered 14,353 villages, having 2,252,711 households with a population of 8,462,858. Northwest region has the responsibility of providing food security to the extent of 14,009,443 people inhabiting in 14,353 villages.

Southwest region has a population of 24,968,793 spread over 17,680 villages and 5,179,711 households. Among districts, Khulna has the highest population (14,705,229) followed by Dhaka (6,102,298) and Barisal (4,161,226).

 Courtesy: 2^nd Interim report of Dr. D.N. Chaudhary, Seed Production Specialist

On a national basis, the districts under SCDP covered about 30.9% of the villages in the country. It is interesting to note that these villages accounted for 35.9% of the households in the country. These villages and households accommodated about 31.3% of the national population (Fig.3).

It would be interesting to note that about 97.4% of the households in Bangladesh are dependent on small and medium sizes of farms (0.05- 7.49 ac.). Among divisions, Barisal had highest number of small and medium sizes of farms (98.5%) followed by Dhaka (98.1%), Khulna (97.1%), Rangpur (96.9) and Rajshahi (96.8%). It means, the project is rightly designed to support small and medium size farm holders (Fig.4).

Fig. 4. Farm holdings by size

Courtesy: 2^nd Interim report of Dr. D.N. Chaudhary, Seed Production Specialist

4      Scope, Methodology and Limitation of the Study

The Terms of Reference for the MAP specialist encompasses with entire raw drug supply chain to be covered in two missions of three months duration each. The interim report of first mission therefore, comprise off actions taken in digging out secondary data on the subjects  TOR as well as various demonstration laid out on the shortlisted plant species. The shortlisting of medicinal plants for demonstration in the project was decided on the basis of a national consultative workshop organized by the SCDP project on 11 March 2014 (Annexure 1). Fifty-five participants took part in the discussion representing Unani, Ayurveda, herbal manufacturing units. Six medicinal plants species   were identified  (Table 6) that are having high demand in the industries as well as some of the manufacturing companies expressed their willingness to give buy back guarantee if quality produce is assured through cultivation with Good Agricultural Practices. In the first year 70 demonstrations were decided on Amloki, Aswgandha, Kalomegh and Grethkumari. Demonstration of Pipul (Piper longum) could not be initiated for want of planting material.  Pipul is a diocious species having male and female plants. This information was not available to growers as a result, some of the farmers although attempted for its cultivation but failed to get economical yield for want of wrong plant (male plant) being grown. There was no nursery available to supply female plants of this species. Therefore, an attempt to micropropagate a female clone has been initiated in tissue culture facility available with BRAC in Gazipur. A female clone has been provided to them.

Table 6. Medicinal plants Identified for demonstration by SCDP through a consultative workshop.

For expanding the medicinal plants basket for cultivation, an attempt has been made to visit some of the Unani and Ayurvedic manufacturing units at Rajhahi and Dhaka. But it was difficult to get the actual consumption of these units. They only could give us the name of medicinal plants they consume. But they did not share the actual quantity of species-wise utilization in their manufacturing of drugs. One more interesting thing came out through the visit is that all though some of these manufactures are claiming their products as Ayurvedic or Unani, but their product list does not reveal so. Mostly they are producing herbal medicines without following the classical formulations listed in Ayurveda or Unani.

Besides, interview with the farmers in Ausadhi gram cluster of villages (Lakhipore-Khulabaria union) was arranged to know the range of medicinal plants cultivated and marketed by them.

It was indeed a pleasure to interview a simple person, Md. Afaz Uddin Pagal  (Fakir), who first initiated medicinal plants cultivation in his small land in the way back 1978 (Fig. 5) .   Aloe vera was the first crop he started cultivation. By seeing his example many small land holder  farmers came forward in the village and nearby villages which ultimately formed a cluster of medicinal plant cultivation in  villages. Trade of MP also grew up gradually in that area and big companies are now sourcing the material from this cluster. I also interviewed Mr. Md Shahidul (M:01740643623) who is a cultivator as well as trader of medicinal plants. I came across anther entrepreneur in medicinal plant cultivation named Dr. Md. Shahadat Hossain (M:01712456052) who has taken land on lease and growing medicinal plants in village Belgada, Kadam chilan in Lalpur  upazila (Fig. 6).

I visited following Herbal Drug industries and discussed about annual consumption of medicinal plants and variety of species in their factory.  However, there was very little sharing of quantity but name of some species consumed by them were informed.

1. B. Laboratories (Ayurvedic), Rajsahi
2. T. Pharmaceuticals (Ayurvedic), Rajsahi
3. Ashoka Laboratories (Ayurvedic), Rajsahi
4. Holy Drugs Laboratories (Unani)

Ethical Consideration during the study

While selecting discussing with the farmers and other officials of the private manufacturers, necessary measures were taken to ensure the ethical aspects of medicinal plants cultivation and data sharing. No part of these data will be utilized by the consultant or the project for their personal benefits.

Gender Consideration during the study

While selecting the farmers for demonstration and for training and in awareness programmes, as far as possible gender equability was kept in mind. However, it was not possible to select equal number of women farmers to achieve 50:50 share of gender equality for some social reason. Ownership  of land among the women farmers were less in compare to male farmers.

Limitations of the Study

1. Time allotted for the work does not commensurate with the vastness of the TOR.
2. Data sharing was not very effective and spontaneous among the stakeholders.
3. Delay in making planting material available for demonstration caused low establishment. Farmers’ willingness to try a new crop was not that enthusiastic.
4. Non-availability of planting material for Pipul for demonstration caused it to postpone in the second year. Hence, performance of this species could not be evaluated. There was none in the project to pursue the planting material multiplication. BRAC could not successfully achieve Micorpropagation of this species inspite of my providing  tested tissue culture protocol (Annexure).    However, on my joining for second mission for three months, I could vegetiatively propagate by simple nod cuttings but it was not sufficient  to accommodate more than three demonstrations in HDTC.
5. In the absence of national consultant in this sector there was none to monitor in my absence which has affected the progress and also data collection from demonstration.
6. Any sustained research development needs a back up research set up which is lacking in medicinal plants.

5      TOR 1: Review of medicinal plants demand-supply status in Bangladesh and estimate potential size of herbal medicines sector including species prioritization in the trade. raw material demand and both in traditional medicine sector as well as in the herbal medicine manufacturing units to be assessed.

MAPs played a significant role in providing primary healthcare service to   80 per cent of the  population  in Bangladesh in the past. Even now accessibility and affordability of modern medicines for health care is limited to creamy layer of Bangladesh society. Majority of Bangladesh hence rely on herbal medicines. Herbal industries mostly get raw material from wild collection from natural forests. But, due to  advancement in  synthetic drugs and paucity of MAPs in nature, the practice of using herbal drugs dropped significantly in last century. The herbal medicines are considered less toxic with no side effects, non-narcotic and easily available and sometimes the only source of healthcare to the poor. Unfortunately, these valuable resources have been depleting rapidly because of unsustainable exploitation, deforestation and changes in land-use patterns. As a result, many species of medicinal and aromatic plants have become extinct and many more are threatened and endangered. According to IUCN Red Data Book, 106 plant species in Bangladesh are endangered.

Table 7.  Sector-wise MAP raw material usage in terms of value and quantity

Source: SEDF/IC,2003 ; US$=US Dollar; BDT= Bangladesh Taka                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Among these species, 8 plant species have medicinal value. These are Andrographis peniculata, Rouwolfia serpentina, Terminalia citrina, Cycas pectinata, Dioscorea prazeri, Cymbidium aloifollium, Amomum costatum and Zingiber roseum. As a consequence the country will face serious ecological imbalance and biodiversity loss. The emerging global climate change might accelerate the consequences several folds.

Considering the present situation, it is advisable to take measures in arresting the decline of this valuable natural resource and urgent action is of prime importance at local, national, regional   levels to revive the threatened and endangered species in such a way that  sustainable availability is ensured.

Medicinal plants play a significant role in meeting the demands of the traditional medicine market which are found both domestically in the producing and in overseas markets. Bangladesh herbal medicine internal market is valued at BDT 330 crore (approximately US $ 60 million) as trade price. Table 7 exhibits System wise medicinal plants value and volume requirement as raw material.

Area and production  

The studies revealed that no comprehensive survey has yet been undertaken to assess the total cultivation area coverage of MPs in Bangladesh.

Fig.  7. Medicinal and aromatic plant production districts in Bangladesh (After Merry and Shahjahan, 2014)

But, sporadically small farmers are profitably cultivating these species in small strips of lands in their homesteads in the rural areas. Medicinal plants production areas in Bangladesh has been presented in Fig. 7 (Merry and Shahjahan, 2014)..

Helvetas, Swiss inter cooperation reported that 60,000 producers involved in cultivating five commercially important MAPs like Withania somnifera  (Ashwagandha), Ocimum tenuiflorum (Tulsi), Asparagus resimosus (Satamuli), Adhatoda vasica (Basak), and Andrographis paniculata (Kalmegh) in 62 unions of 30 sub-district and 11 districts of 3 divisions. Out of the total producers, 98 per cent are poor and pro-poor and 80 per cent of them are female cultivators. The area under cultivation was  450 km roadside, 33.40 ha unfertile cultivable land, 60.12 ha homestead and other fellow lands. There are 270 seed/seedling suppliers, 320 local service providers, 62 collection centers and 39 collectors that supply the raw material to ACME and Square Pharmaceuticals (SEDF/IC, 2003).

Recently some pharmaceutical companies are emerging as producers of herbal medicines importing huge quantity of raw MP ingredients. In line with the demand of pharmaceuticals, cultivation is becoming both profitable and environment friendly.

Hill Tracts of Bangladesh covering an area of 13,295 sq km that is one-tenth area of total land with thirteen indigenous communities. The 90 per cent of Hill Tracts area is hilly; 4 per cent covers villages, rivers and marshes and remaining 6 per cent is suitable for agriculture. Tribal groups (13) are mostly forest dwellers and practice jhumming i.e. shifting cultivation (Banik, et. al., 1998) and have good potential for commercial production of MPs.

Table  8. Medicinal plants cultivated in Natore

Different species of MP grown in Natore area mentioned by the farmers while interviewing some of them and also seen while visiting these areas have been presented in Table 8.

Under Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC) fund, Bangladesh Forest Research Institute (BFRI) implemented a coordinated project by initiating cultivation of five different medicinal plant species having market demand for targeting poverty alleviation and environment enrichment through agro-forestry system in Chittagong Hill Tract. Conservation of all medicinal plants require basic studies on traditional knowledge on the use of plants in healthcare and studies to identify the medicinal plants, outline their distributions and assess their abundance. Therefore, conservation of such a valuable resource in the country is vitally important.

Potential size of herbal medicines sector including species prioritization

Demand for raw material is expected to increase in 6-10% annually to meet the demand in rural health sector because of population increase and also export potential that is being targeted by the manufacturers. However, in the absence of reliable base line date it would be difficult to predict the growth trend. However, my personal discussion with Emami Natural skin care and health care products manufacturing unit of Bangladesh and other manufacturing units of herbal medicines, revealed that in the absence of continuous cultivation and supply source, they are forced to import and cost of production of their products can be substantially reduced if the raw material is available locally. In other sense farmers can get good price if they can make the demand of the manufacturers fulfilled locally.  The awareness that has been created by the SCDP to integrate medicinal plants cultivation in the existing cropping system as intercrop, companion crop and crop sequence would go far if somehow hand holding and handshaking of farmers and consumers are made effectively.  Analyzing the market and the products of various companies like Acme, Emami, Dabaur, flowing medicinal plants will have steady market in Bangladesh if supply is assured with quality.

Table 9. Priority species identified on the basis of demand by the industries.

CONCLUSION:

It is expected that the good tropical climate existing in Bangladesh will open up the opportunity to grow two crops in a year of some of the annual medicinal crops. This breakthrough will help the farmers to make some of the medicinal plants more profitable and commercially viable then some of the presently grown crops.  The awareness that has been created by the SCDP to integrate medicinal plants cultivation in the existing cropping system as intercrop, companion crop and crop sequence would go far, if, hand holding and handshaking of farmers and consumers are made effectively. Imports can be minimized and demands of at least a dozen medicinal plants can be fulfilled 100% if cultivation is organized in an organized manner.

Conservation of medicinal plants is also essential in the context of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is moving forward for industrialization as result land resource will be shirking considerably. It will cause depletion of natural resources. Bangladesh should establish herbal gardens, forest conservatory for the conservation of medicinal plants biodiversity.

6      TOR 2: Develop a country level Good Agricultural Practices  (GAP) for priority  Medicinal Plant species and suggest possible project interventions for commercial scale production of selected 3-4 priority species in which raw material demand is likely to increase.

In the recent past there have been a number of widely publicized cases of health hazards and sufferings due to consumption poor quality herbal medicines. In many of these cases, problem has been linked to the poor quality of the raw material used for medicine preparations.

The growing demand for herbal products has also led to over-harvesting from the wild, causing concern over the long-term environmental impact and availability of certain medicinal plant species if they are not collected in a responsible manner. As a result of these concerns the herbal industry has come under increasing pressure to provide consumers with assurance that herbal products in the market are safe to use and do not have a negative impact on the environment. Some governments have responded to this pressure by creating new laws, requiring herbal manufacturers to adhere to stricter regulations, both in the manufacture of medicines as well as in the sourcing of raw materials.

The call for greater quality assurance has highlighted the need to improve the quality standards of the medicinal plant growers, collectors and processors. It is in this context that the World Health Organization developed the GACP guidelines, which various governments have subsequently adapted with minor modifications as per the regional requirement.  Below is a summary of some the key concerns that are addressed by the GACP guidelines.

• Hygiene and Cleanliness

It is alarmingly common for medicinal plant materials to be contaminated with microbes such Escherichia coli (E.-coli) or Salmonella, the cause of which is usually due to basic lack of hygiene and cleanliness during harvest and primary processing. Preventing microbial contamination through improved hygiene and cleanliness is therefore a central theme throughout the GACP guidelines.

• Prevention of Contamination

Medicinal plant material can come into contact with many sources of contamination during its journey from field to shelf.  Risks of contamination with heavy metals, pesticides and other chemicals are of serious concern. If any of these contaminants do find their way into herbal medicine products they can cause adverse health effects for the consumer.

• Identification

There have been a number of cases in recent years in which incorrect plant species have been used in herbal medicines, leading to adverse health effects for the consumer. GACP places emphasis on ensuring that medicinal plants are correctly identified and that systems are in place to provide buyers with assurance that they are buying the correct species.

• Efficacy

If medicinal plants are not cultivated in a suitable environment, if they are harvested at the wrong time of year or if they are processed incorrectly, the potency of the medicinal properties may be reduced, leading to the manufacture of ineffective herbal medicines. GACP guidelines explore the main principles that should be followed by farmers and collectors to ensure they are producing medicinal plant materials with maximum levels of active ingredients.

• Yield

‘Bad’ Agricultural and Collection Practices not only affect the end quality of the herbal medicines, but they can also reduce the yield and income of the farmers and collectors. GACP aims to provide guidance to farmers and collectors on how to optimize both quality and yield of medicinal plant materials.

• Sustainability

Increasing numbers of medicinal plant species are becoming threatened or endangered due to unsustainable collection methods in the wild. One of the key themes of the GACP guidelines is to ensure that medicinal plants are collected in a manner that allows the plants to regenerate year after year. In this way the plants’ long-term survival will be ensured, the medicinal plant collectors will have a regular source of income and the herbal industry will have a long-term supply of medicinal plant materials for manufacturing herbal medicines.

• Documentation and Traceability

If medicinal plant growers and collectors do not keep records of their activities it is impossible to trace the medicinal plant material back to its origin. Traceability is an essential part of GACP; it means that problems can be traced back to where they occurred and measures can be taken to prevent it from happening again. Traceability is made possible by documentation, and therefore documentation is a recurring theme throughout the GACP guidelines.

• Social and Legal Concerns

The large majority of medicinal plants are still collected from the wild. This means that the plants are usually collected from land that is either owned by the local community or by the government (or a combination of the two) and is subject to a variety of local, national and international rules and regulations. With increasing competition for limited resources the medicinal plants in these collection areas are coming under growing pressure. The GACP guidelines stress the importance of adhering to both the traditional collection rules as well as the relevant government laws so common resources can be managed in a sustainable manner and the medicinal plants continue to be available for the local communities to collect for their own household use.

Bangladesh has so far not framed GACP guidelines for the medicinal plants and therefore, there is an urgent need for adopting guidelines for GACP. In the absence of these country level guidelines, we adopted guidelines of India which is a neighbouring country for preparing a Principles of GAP Guidelines Do’s and Donot’s as well as detailed GAP    for  five SCDP identified MP species. These are as follows:

1. General Principles

The most important underlying principle of GAP is Hygiene and Cleanliness. Maintaining a hygienic production system is of critical importance at each and every stage of a medicinal plants journey, starting from the selection of seeds or planting material to manufacturing the final product. The GAP guidelines provide a variety of specific instructions on how to maintain a hygienic production system, yet the main point to remember is:

This includes hands, tools, containers, sacks, tarpaulins, washing tubs, drying racks, and so on. Anything that touches the medicinal plants or the medicinal plants are placed on should be thoroughly cleaned in advance.

Why is it so important to maintain such high levels of hygiene and cleanliness? The reason is that these plants will be used to manufacture medicines; they are intended to improve people’s health and it is therefore essential that they are not contaminated by bacteria or fungi.

Bacteria and fungi (also known as microbes) are too small to see with the naked eye but exist in large numbers on dirty surfaces. If medicinal plant parts come into contact with these surfaces, they too will carry these microbes. If large numbers of these microbes find their way into the medicines and are subsequently consumed by people who are in poor health, there are chances that their health may further deteriorate.

To prevent the risk of herbal medicines being contaminated with microbes many buyers test the medicinal plant material before buying it from their suppliers. If they find that the quantity of certain microbes exceeds their specified limit then they reject the material.

Another principle of GAP is Correct Identification species. Sometimes different medicinal plant species look very similar, or they share the same common name; the result is that the wrong species can find their way into herbal medicines, potentially causing serious health consequences to the consumer.

Rather than identifying medicinal plant species by their local or common names, which can vary significantly from place to place, they should always be identified by their botanical name. This will ensure that everyone is speaking the same ‘language’ and there is no confusion during communication between farmers, collectors, processors and buyers.

The following DOs and DON’Ts summarise the guidelines outlined by GAP to prevent potential health hazards caused by medicinal plant material contaminated by microbes or incorrect plant species.

1.1 Hygiene and Cleanliness

1.2 Correct Identification

2. Good Agricultural Practices for Medicinal Plants

The large majority of traded medicinal plants are still collected from the wild. However, due to the growing demand for herbal medicines and the subsequent over-harvesting and depletion of medicinal plants in their natural habitat, more and more people are turning to cultivation to meet the requirements of the industry. GAP for medicinal plants follow most of the same key principles as for other crops; the main difference is that medicinal plants are grown to be used as medicines and the main objective is therefore to maximise the medicinal properties of the relevant plant parts and ensure that they are safe to use.

The main principles of GAPs are:

1. Prevention of Contamination

During cultivation there are many different risks that can cause the plants to become contaminated. For example, if the soil or irrigation water is contaminated with pesticides and industrial waste this can easily be absorbed by the plant, or if the harvested plants are placed in dirty containers there are high chances that they will become contaminated. Many buyers now insist on testing the medicinal plant material and if traces of pesticide residue, heavy metals, or excessive levels of bacteria or fungi are found then the produce may be rejected.

1. Best Active Ingredients

Ultimately the medicinal plant material will be used to manufacture herbal medicines. This means that maximising the medicinal properties of the relevant plant parts should always be a priority during cultivation. The location of the cultivation site, the variety of the species used, the irrigation cycles, the harvest time are some of the factors that may influence the potency of the active ingredients. These should all be researched and planned to ensure that the medicinal plant material contains the highest level of active ingredients possible.

1. Best Yield and Income

GAP also explore how to optimise the yield of the crop, and therefore the income for the farmer. For example, the quality of the seed, the spacing between the plants and the rows, plant nutrition, weed management, insect pest and disease management, irrigation methods and the harvest stage and time all have a significant impact on the yield, as well as the quality of the crop. The GAP guidelines explore the key principles that the farmer needs to follow at each stage of cultivation to optimise the yield and income from the crop.

1. Documentation and Traceability

One of the key themes of GAP is to be able to trace medicinal plant material back to its origin. If it is traceable then it becomes much easier to identify and therefore address any quality related issues that may arise at a later date. This is only possible if there is a documentation system in place to keep records at each stage of production. Record keeping is therefore a major focus of the GAP guidelines.

The DOs and DON’Ts in this section summarise the GAP guidelines related to medicinal plant cultivation, covering the main principles that should be followed to prevent contamination, optimise yield and the levels of active ingredients in the produce, as well as the records that need to be kept to ensure complete traceability of the final product.

2.1 Site Selection

2.2 Land Preparation

2.3 Propagation

2.4 Irrigation

2.5 Weeding

2.6 Insect Pests and Diseases

2.7 Harvesting

2.6 GAP Documentation

3. Post Harvest Processing

Post harvest processing is usually the most critical stage in determining the end quality of the medicinal plant material. Once the plants have been harvested there are many potential risks; they are likely to be handled by many different people, placed on different surfaces, transported on polluted roads or stored for days or weeks in people’s houses, all of which involve considerable chances of contamination, degradation and/or damage. The best way to prevent this from happening is to anticipate all the potential risks and take preventative measures before any problems occur. If problems are not prevented before they occur then it can be very difficult, or even impossible, to repair the damage.

Below are some of the key GAP principles of Post Harvest Processing:

1. Preventing Contamination

Contamination is the biggest risk during post harvest processing. The illustrations in this booklet show some examples of how harvested medicinal plant parts can be contaminated during processing. The type of problems that are likely to occur is likely to vary from place to place. Each producer must therefore learn to plan each stage of processing in advance and visualise the possible risks that apply to his/her own production system. Contamination can be caused by anything that the plant material comes into contact with – this includes fumes and aromas as well as dust, animals, birds, other plant species, soil, bacteria, fungus or anything else that may have an adverse effect on the purity of the medicinal plant material. Just as the potential risks vary from place to place, so do the solutions to these issues. The producer must learn to understand the principles of GACP and apply them to his/her production system using the locally available resources.

1. Protection against Degradation, Damage and Discolouring

The main purpose of most post-harvest processing activities is to convert the fresh plant material into a stable form so that its medicinal properties can be preserved for future use. This is most commonly achieved through drying, however it can also be done through methods such as making extracts, tinctures and essential oils. There are many factors that may cause the freshly harvested medicinal plant material to deteriorate. This may be caused by excess heat, humidity or moisture, all of which are risks that begin as soon as the plants are harvested. Generally speaking the most important principles to follow are to process and pack the material as quickly as possible, to keep it cool and dry, and to protect it from being crushed by excess weight. If the material needs to be dried, then it should be done in the correct manner as per the requirements of the species and the particular part of the plant being used.

1. Documentation and Traceability

The documentation of post harvest processing activities should be a continuation of the documentation initiated during cultivation or wild collection. Records should be kept of each activity in such a way that the batch number of the final product refers to a complete history of the medicinal plant material. If different batches are combined during processing then a record should be kept of this as well.

The DOs and DON’Ts in this section summarise the GAP guidelines related to post-harvest processing, covering each step of the medicinal plant’s journey from leaving the harvest site to sorting, washing, drying, grading, packing and storage, with details of all the records that need to be kept to ensure complete traceability of the final product.

3.1 Transportation to the Processing Unit

3.2 Processing Site

3.3 Primary Sorting

3.4 Washing

3.5 Drying

Drying Guidelines for Different Plant Parts:

Drying Temperature

The maximum temperature for drying most herbs is between 45°C (113°F) and 50°C (122°F). If the air is very humid then the temperature can be increased by 10°C to lower the humidity. Aromatic herbs that contain volatile oils should be dried at lower temperature; ideally at around 30°C (86°F), and not more than 35°C (95°F).

3.6 Sorting / Grading

3.7 Packing

3.8 Storage

3.9 Documentation and Traceability during Post Harvest Processing

Conclusion

By following GACP guidelines to produce raw materials for the herbal industry, herbal medicines are guaranteed to be of a high quality; effective, safe to use and environmentally sound. Medicines produced in this way will provide long-lasting benefit to both producers and users of the herbs, as well as the fields and forests in which they are cultivated and collected.

Part-II

1. Good Agricultural Practices for Amloki
2. Name of the plant

Scientific name: Phyllanthus emblica (=Emblica officinalis) (Family: Solanaceae)

Local name: Amloki (Bengali),   Aonla  (Hindi),  Indian gooseberry (English)

2. Part to be used

Fruits are used for medicinal purposes. The fruit is a good source of vitamin C.   It has acrid, cooling, diuretic and laxative properties. Dried fruits are useful in haemorrhages, diarrhea, dysentery, anaemia, jaundice, dyspepsia and cough. Aonla is used in the indigenous medicines (Aurvedic system) viz. trifla and chavanprash. Fruits are commonly used for preserve (murabbas), pickles, candy, jelly and jam.

3. Characteristics of the plant

The tree is small to medium in size, reaching 8 to 18 m in height, with a crooked trunk and spreading branches. The branches are about  10–20 cm long, usually deciduous; the leaves are simple, subsessile and closely set along branch lets, light green, resembling pinnate leaves. The flowers are greenish-yellow. The fruit is nearly spherical, light greenish yellow, quite smooth and hard on appearance, with six vertical stripes or furrows.

4.Major production areas

Amloki  being a sub-tropical crop prefers dry sub-tropical climate. Heavy frost during the winter season is not suitable for its cultivation. Slightly acidic to saline/sodic soil having pH between 6.5 to 9.5 is suitable for cultivation. North Bangladesh is suitable for its cultivation.

5. Characteristics of strain(s) for cultivation

Varieties viz. Kanchan (NA 4), Krishna (NA 5), NA 6, NA 7 and NA 10 are commercially cultivated in India which are having big sized fruits. Bangladesh has a selection,   BARI Amloki 1 which bears a comparatively bigger size fruits.

6. Cultivation methods
   • Propagation: The crop is propagated by budding or softwood grafting.
   • Soil condition:

Light  as well as  medium heavy soils except  purely sandy soil is ideal for Amloki  cultivation. It can also be grown in moderate alkaline soils ranging soil pH between 6.0 and  8.0.

• Climate:

The tree is well adopted to dry regions where rainfall is between 650-900 mm per year.  Mature plant can tolerate temp.  up to 46 ⁰C and needs protection up to three years  from hot wind during May-June.   Fruits set in spring, the fruits remain dormant through summer without any growth thus makes it highly suitable crop for arid zone.

• Land preparation: Land is prepared by ploughing, harrowing, leveling and removing weeds.
• Soil condition:

Light  as well as  medium heavy soils except  purely sandy soil is ideal for Amloki  cultivation. It can also be grown in moderate alkaline soils ranging soil pH between 6.0 and  8.0.

• Climate:

The tree is well adopted to dry regions where rainfall is between 650-900 mm per year.  Mature plant can tolerate temp.  up to 46 ⁰C and needs protection up to three years  from hot wind during May-June.   Fruits set in spring, the fruits remain dormant through summer without any growth thus makes it highly suitable crop for arid zone.

• Planting time:

Grafts are planted in the beginning of monsoon in June-July. Spacing of 8 to 10 m both ways is recommended.

• Digging of Pit:

Pits of 1 Cubic m are duged and allowed to weather in summer for a fortnight. Each pit is filled with 10 to 15 Kg fYM mixed with dug soil.

• Method of planting :

Pits of 1.0 m. size are dug two months prior to planting. In each pit 10-15 kg of well rotten farmyard manure and 1 kg. neem cake or 500 g. bone-meal are mixed with soil and filled in the pits. In sodic soil, 5-8 kg. gypsum along with 20 kg. sand is filled in the pit Irrigation is provided immediately after this.  Hedge-row planting is also being tried keeping line-to-line distance of 8-10 m., while plant to plant distance is reduced to 4-5 m.

• Crop nutrition: A dose of 10 kg. farmyard manure, 100 g. N, 50 g. P and 100 g. K should be given to one year old plants. This dose is increased on yearly basis upto tenth year and thereafter a constant dose is given. Full dose of farmyard manure and P and half of N and K is given in tree basin during January-February. The remaining half should be applied in August. In sodic soils, 100-500 g. of B and zinc sulphate should also be incorporated along with fertilizers as per age of the tree.
• Irrigation: Irrigation is provided at an interval of 15-20 days in dry summer. No irrigation is required during rainy and winter season. First irrigation is provided just after manure & fertilizer application (January/February). Irrigation is not provided during the flowering period i.e. mid-March and April.
• Intercultural operation: The plants are trained to modified central leader system. Two to four branches with wide crotch angle, appearing in the opposite directions should be encouraged in early years. The unwanted branches are pinched off during March-April. In the subsequent years, 4-6 branches should be allowed to develop. Regular pruning of a bearing Amloki tree is not required. As per growth habit, shedding of all determinate shoots encourages new growth in coming season. However, dead, infested, broken, weak or overlapping branches should be removed regularly.
• Inter-cropping: Vegetables, flowers and a few medicinal /aromatic plants are well suited for intercropping in orchards.
• Pests: Leaf rolling caterpillar, shoot gall maker, mealy bug and pomegranate butterfly are major constraints in Amloki production. The pests can be managed through clean cultivation, avoiding the over crowing of branches, spraying with malathion or monocrotophos or endosulphon depending on the type of pest infestation.

CAUTION: No spraying should be done one month before the harvest of fruits.

• Harvesting: Fruits are generally harvested starting from  November- December which is  extended upto January-February. Fully developed brown coloured fruits are harvested. Delay in harvesting results in heavy dropping of fruits in case of some varieties. Harvesting is usually done during the early or in the late hours of the day. A budded/grafted tree starts bearing third year onwards after planting. Vegetatively propagated plants attain full bearing within 10-12 years and may continue to bear for 60-75 years of age under well managed conditions.
• Post harvest Processing: After harvesting fruits are washed and graded according to size before sending it to the market. Various post harvest processing  are done  after the harvest as per the requirements of the product.  Fruits are cut into pieces and dried, powdered and various products such as morraba, concentrated juice, etc are prepared.
• Expected yield: A tree may bear 100-300 kg fruit /year, giving 15000-20000 kg/ha.

7. Quality parameters of drug

It is mainly used for its pulp in various ayurvedic medicines, such as triphala, chavayanpryas. The major chemical constituents of Amloki are Phyllemblin, Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), Gallic acid, Tannins, Pectin etc.

8. Cultivation calendar

Following cultivation calendar will provide general guidelines for cultivation of Amloki (Table 7). It is not advisable for anyone to strictly adhere to the proposed schedule, rather adjust timing for individual months considering the varying climatic and weather conditions prevailing in various regions of the country. One has to exercise due diligence in raising the crop according to the available resources at his/her disposal.

Cultivation calendar of Amloki

1. Good Agricultural Practices for Ashwagandha
2. Name of the plant

Scientific name: Withania somnifera Dunal (Family: Solanaceae)

Local name: Asvagandha (Bengali),   Ashwagandha (Sanskrit),

2. Part to be used

Roots are used for medicinal purposes. These are dried and usually powdered for consumption.

3. Characteristics of the plant

The plant is an erect, herbaceous plant of 15–120 cm height. Branching habit varies among the cultivars from two to extensive.   Leaves in the floral regions are smaller and opposite.  Flowers are inconspicuous, bisexual, greenish yellow in colour. Flowers are approximately 25 in cluster and fruits are berry and yellow to red in colour, globose, smooth, enclosed in persistent calyx with numerous seeds.  Seeds are yellow, reniform. Roots are straight  branched or unbranched and conical in shape.  The outer surface is buff to grayish-yellow with parallel and longitudinal wrinkle. Inner is white, fibrous or non-fibrous. The roots are uneven structure, a strong odour and bitter in taste. Unbranched  non-fibrous roots  are preferred by the industries.

4. Major production areas

North Bangladesh where high lands are available will be the suitable for its cultivation. The crop cannot withstand water logging hence well drained plots should be selected for its cultivation.

5. Characteristics of strain(s) for cultivation

Two different types of plants – cultivated and wild, are found in nature.   Wild type plants are more vigorous in growth habit. It is perennial in nature while cultivated type is annual. The cultivated type is shorter in height with smaller and narrower leaves compared to the wild type. Its root bark and root cortex thicknesses are about 4 times thinner than wild types.

6. Cultivation methods
   • Propagation: The crop is propagated through seed. A seed rate of 10–12 kg/ha is used for broadcasting. Farmers often use a higher seed rate of 15–20 kg/ha. However, for line sowing, half of this amount is sufficient. Before sowing seeds should be thoroughly washed in water and floating seeds are discarded. This considerably increases germination percentage and helps maintaining uniform plant stand.
   • Soil condition: Traditional area under this crop has medium to deep black cotton soil. However, sandy loam or light red soil, having pH of 7.5–8.0 is also reported to be ideal for its cultivation.   Proper drainage is important to protect the seedling mortality, which is a serious problem under high temperature and humid conditions.
   • Climate: Ashwagandha is an annual rainfed crop suitable for the drier areas. However, it can be grown in other areas towards the end of rainy season. Hence, it is grown as post-kharif crop.
   • Sowing time: Sowing time is governed by time and amount of rainfall. In areas with low rainfall, the crop is sown during monsoon (Bhadra-Aashwin). While, areas receiving higher rainfall and where water stagnation is common during monsoon, sowing is done after majority (three forth) rain is over. In such areas sowing is performed during 15^th Shraban-15^th Aashwin (August–September).
   • Land preparation: Ashwagandha is grown as a low or zero input crop. In general, crop does not require manures/chemical fertilizers for its cultivation. It is raised on sub-marginal lands, where production of other crops is uneconomical. The land is ploughed and harrowed to make it free from large clods. In case of irrigated crops, the whole field is subdivided into small plots for ease of irrigation.

• Sowing: In general the crop is sown by broadcasting. However, line sowing can be practiced for ease of intercultural operations. Row distance of 30–40 cm is followed and plants within a row are placed closely, not more than 10-15 cm apart. Seeds should be soaked in water for about 12 hrs and it should be washed sufficiently in running water to remove alkaloid present on the seed surface that prevent germination. Pre-sowing seed treatment with copper fungicides or  (Trichoderma/Gliocladium based) biocontrol formulations against damping off pathogens are recommended. Seeds are covered lightly for uniform germination.
  • Crop nutrition: Nutritional requirement of this crop is very low and farmers seldom apply fertilisers to this crop. Addition of inorganic fertilisers may also deteriorate the root quality. Hence, the crop can be grown with residual fertility or at the most 2.5 t/ha FYM may be added at the time of land preparation.
  • Irrigation: Usually, ashwagandha is grown as rainfed crop. However, in non-traditional areas when crop is grown in post-kharif season, one or two irrigations may be applied. First irrigation is necessary if the germination is not uniform (7 DAS) due to low soil moisture. Additionally, irrigations are applied before first (15–20 DAS) and/or second (30–35 DAS) weeding. Excess irrigation increases root branching and deteriorates quality. Drainage is important as the crop does not stand water stagnation.
  • Intercultural operation: Initial growth rate of this crop is very slow hence, weed management is important. Hoeing and weeding is done at 20–25 DAS. Need based thinning, to maintain plant spacing of 5 cm is also done this time. Second hoeing and weeding, if required, is done at 35–40 DAS.
  • Pests: Commercial crop does not face much disease problems. Seedling death in initial age is known as damping–off or seedling blight. However, it does not attain major proportion. Seed treatment with biocontrol formulations and/or copper fungicides is recommended.

Spotted beetle (Epilachna vigintioctopunctata) is found to infest during October. Hand picking and destroying the egg mass, grubs and adults and practicing clean cultivation – removal of solanaceous weeds from in and around the field can sufficiently reduce the pest incidence. In case of severity spraying 3% neem oil or 5% neem seed karnel extract  is recommended.

• Harvesting: The crop becomes ready for harvesting in 5–6 months and is generally harvested during Magh-Chaytra (February and March). The maturity of the crop can be judged by the drying of leaves and yellow-orange colouration of berries. However delay in harvesting deteriorates root quality as it turns woody and fibrous. The entire plant is uprooted/dug out manually. If required, a light irrigation is given to facilitate digging operation.
• Processing: Roots are separated from the aerial parts by cutting the stem at the crown. If the roots adhere soil and other foreign materials, proper cleaning by washing should be done. These are then dried under the sun.

Dried roots are graded according to their length and diameter. Roots of 6–7 cm length and 1.0–1.5 cm diameter are considered the best, 5 cm length and 1cm diameter is of medium grade and roots with 3–5 cm length and <1 cm diameter is of lower grade. Woody and fibrous roots are usually rejected for marketing purpose.

• Expected yield: On an average, 400–500 kg of dried roots are obtained from one hectare land from rainfed crop.

7. Quality parameters of drug

Till now, the traders concentrate on brittleness of the dried roots for ease of powder preparation. However, total alkaloid in the root and withanoloid content of the root should be the chemical criteria to judge the quality of the drug.

8. Cultivation calendar

Following cultivation calendar will provide general guidelines for cultivation of Ashwagandha (Table 8). It is not advisable for anyone to strictly adhere to the proposed schedule, rather adjust timing for individual months considering the varying climatic and weather conditions prevailing in various regions of the country. One has to exercise due diligence in raising the crop according to the available resources at his/her disposal.

Cultivation calendar of Ashwagandh

1. Good Agricultural Practices for Kalomegh
2. Name of the plant

Scientific name: Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Wall. ex Nees (Family: Acanthaceae)

Local name: Kalomegh; Deshi Chiryata

2. Part to be used

Whole plant, mostly the leaves along with the stems are harvested and dried for further use.

3. Characteristics of the plant

Andrographis paniculata is an annual herb, grows erect to a height upto 110 cm in moist, shady places. The slender stem is dark green, quadrangular in cross-section with longitudinal furrows. The leaves are  measuring up to 8 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. The flowers are small with white to dark brown colour.   The fruit is a capsule, linear-oblong, acute at both ends, about 2 cm long and a few millimeters wide. It contains many seeds which are yellowish-brown at maturity.

4. Major production areas

Kalomegh is suitable for cultivation throughout Bangladesh except in hilly tracts. It can also withstand upto 25% shed and hence can be a suitable crop under young orchard.

5. Characteristics of strain(s) for cultivation

The populations under cultivation are usually local collections. Though variability in terms of vegetative growth such as leaf shape (narrow, broad), branching pattern (compact, spaced), etc are observed, formal cultivars are not available with distinct phenotypic markers. However, plant types with more leafy growth and broad leaves should be selected, if available.

6. Cultivation methods

• Propagation: The crop is propagated through seed. Seedlings are raised on the seed beds and transplanted in the main field during monsoon.
• Soil condition: The crop is traditionally grown in the heavy clay soil. However, it can be grown in wide range of soils. Growth and yield increase in good sandy-loam and loam soils. At initial period after transplanting, water logging affects plant stand hence, proper care need to be taken in case of heavy soil.
• Climate: The crop is well suited for warm humid climate. The crop is cultivated during kharif (rainy) season starting from “Ashard” month and transplanting is adjusted depending upon the onset of monsoon. Harvesting is done at the initiation of 50% flowering as herbage yield and chemical content maximise at this time. A portion of the field is left for seed production.
• Planting time: The seedlings are raised in nursery during summer, starting in the middle of “Jaystha” so that those can be transplanted at the onset of monsoon. Seedlings become ready for transplanting at 30–45 days after sowing (DAS) and transplanted in the main field once the monsoon sets in.
• Preparation of nursery bed: Raised (10–12 cm from ground level) seedbeds are prepared by mixing 4 kg well decomposed organic matter (farm yard manure/ leaf litter, etc.) for an area of 1×1 m seedbed. Optimum number of seedlings for transplanting is produced with 20 g seed per m². Seeds are placed at shallow (1–2 cm) depth. Nursery beds under shade–net supports better seedling growth in the areas where summer temperature is Seedbeds may be mulched with dry straw/ leaves. This ensures better soil moisture retention in the seedbed and one irrigation can be saved compared to non-mulched ones. Mulching and shade support higher seedling stand and early production of maximum number of seedlings ready for transplanting. This particularly helpful in preparedness for early monsoon.
• Planting: Seedlings of 10-15 cm height  are suitable for planting. However, older seedlings (in case of delayed monsoon) of more height can also be used for transplanting.   Soil moisture should be brought to field capacity before transplanting. A cloudy day or transplanting one hour before sunset are preferred for higher seedling establishment. Seedlings are planted at a distance of 30 cm between the plants and 45 cm between the rows.
• Crop nutrition: The nutrient requirement of the crop is low. Application of 80–90 kg/ha of nitrogen (N) is optimum for achieving highest biomass yield and quality. Phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) are needed only if soil is very low in available P (below 45 kg/ha) and K (below 140 kg/ha), respectively. Kalomegh responds well to soil with higher organic matter. Hence, application of organic manure (FYM, castor cake) improves yield and quality of produce. Application of 10 t/ha FYM and 50 kg/ha N are found suitable for achieving optimum yield and quality. Half of the inorganic N should be applied with the last harrowing and remaining half should be top dressed in splits according to irrigation schedule/ rainfall.
• Irrigation: It is generally grown as rain fed crop and no irrigation is required in the areas receiving well-distributed rainfall. However, 1–2 life saving irrigations may be allotted, if required.
• Intercultural operation: One weeding within 15–20 days after transplanting (DAT) is scheduled to give the establishing crop a good start. Hoeing is also done during this time to loosen the soil for better growth. One more weeding-cum-hoeing is done 15–20 days later if weed population is more.
• Diseases and pests: Usually the crop is not affected by diseases or insect pests. Damping off may appear if seedbed is not managed properly. Using optimum seed rate, soil moisture are enough to get rid of this problem. Constant standing water after transplanting may initiate seedling rot. Hence, care needs to be taken for proper drainage of the main field.
• Harvesting: The crop is harvested at the 50%  flowering as active ingredient is high at this stage as well as maximum herbage yield is obtained.    Usually this stage is attained 105–120 DAT. Delay in harvest reduces leaves and the produce is dominated by stem parts. Such product does not fetch good price. The plants are harvested by cutting the main stem and whole plant is transported for drying as soon as possible.  

When crop is grown for seed production, harvesting is delayed by a month.   However, all the seeds can not be harvested as the plant is indeterminate in flowering and pods shatter at maturity. Start of shattering is an indication for seed harvest. Final harvesting may be scheduled 7–10 days after this time.

• Processing: Harvested herbage is brought to the drying area. If the harvested material contains dirt and foreign materials, the herbage is washed thoroughly, foreign materials are removed and then dried. Drying should invariably be done under partial shade. This can be achieved under shade-net. Drying yard must be clean, airy to facilitate quick drying. Chopping of fresh herbage also increases speed of drying. The chopped material is thinly spread over the drying trays and turned frequently for uniform drying.

Seed crop is dried on clean threshing area, under the sun. Once shattering sound stops, the herbage is removed after beating. The seeds on the floor are removed, cleaned and stored in clean seed beans.

• Expected yield: Dry herbage yield of 1200–1500 kg/ha is obtained. However, higher yield of 1000 kg/ha is realised from highly fertile lands under favourable conditions.

7. Quality parameters of drug

The dried material should be green to blackish green in colour. Andrographolide and neoandrographolide are present in the methanolic extract of the drug, not in the hexane extract. These can be considered as chemical markers for the drug and quality assessed from TLC/HPLC analyses.

8. Cultivation calendar

Following cultivation calendar have been prepared to utilise the monsoon rainfall for the better establishment and will provide general guidelines for cultivation of Kalomegh. Its is not advisable for anyone to strictly adhere to the proposed schedule for individual months considering the varying climatic and weather conditions prevailing in various regions of the country. One has to exercise due diligence in raising the crop according to the available resources at his/her disposal.

Cultivation calendar of Kalomegh

1. Good Agricultural Practices for Ghritakumari (Aloe vera)

1. Name of the plant

Scientific name: Aloe vera (=Aloe barbadensis Mill) (Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae)

Local name: Ghritakumari

2. Part to be used

Mature succulent leaves are economic parts of this plant. Gel produced from the mature leaves are used as health drink and in cosmetic industry as moisturizer, shampoo, facial cream, etc. Yellow juice comes out after cut is given in leaves are used for aloin extraction which is used in modern medicines.

3. Characteristics of the plant

Plant is perennial having succulent leaves.  It has a rosette of large, thick, fleshy leaves.  Its flowers are tubular, light to deep orange and are borne densely clustered and pendant, at the apex of simple or branched, leafless stems. It produces suckers for its vegetative propagation.

4. Major production areas

It can be grown in all parts of Bangladesh and can sustain well in dried area.   Crop grows well in entire tropical and subtropical areas

5. Characteristics of strain(s) for cultivation

The populations under cultivation are usually local collections. Though variability in terms of vegetative growth such as leaf size,  gel content and flower characters are observed. Released variety is not available with distinct phenotypic markers. However, various selections made in neighbouring India viz.  INGR06024 (high aloin content), INGR 06023 (high gel content), IC 111280 and IC11273 may be introduced.

6. Cultivation methods

6.1  Propagation: The crop is propagated through suckers.

6.2 Soil condition: The crop can be grown in well drained sandy to coarsely sandy soil with low fertility. However, growth will be faster in medium fertile heavy soil.  It can tolerate high pH upto 8.5 with high Na and K salts.

6.3 Climate: The crop is well suited for warm humid climate with temperature range between 30-15º±3ºC. The crop is planted during kharif (rainy) season starting from “Ashar” month and   is adjusted depending upon the onset of monsoon.

6.4  Planting time: Suckers are transplanted in monsoon months (Ashar–Sharaban). However, planting can be done year-round where irrigation is available.

6.5  Planting: About 3-4 months old suckers having 4-5 leaves with about 20-25 cm are used as planting material.  Soil moisture should be brought to field capacity before planting.

6.5 Crop nutrition: The nutrient requirement of the crop is moderate. About 10 t FYM per ha is recommended in every year.  No chemical fertilizer has been recommended so far in this crop for good agricultural Practices.

6.6  Irrigation: It is generally grown as rain fed crop and no irrigation is required in the areas receiving well-distributed rainfall. However, 1–2 life saving irrigations may be given, if required and to get good growth.

6.7  Intercultural operation: One weeding within 15–20 days after planting is scheduled to give the establishing crop a good start. Hoeing is also done during this time to loosen the soil for better growth. One more weeding-cum-hoeing is done 15–20 days later if weed population is more.

6.8  Diseases and pests:  Crop does not suffer much from insect pests. However, a leaf spot caused by Alternaria alternate  appears in sever form. This can be managed by spraying of Bordeaux mixture (0.5%: 50g Copper sulphate: 50 g lime: 10 lit water) or Mancozeb (Dithane M-45 30g in 10 lit water) at 15 days interval. Two to three drops of any liquid soap or detergent should be used as sticker and also spreader.

6.9  Harvesting:   Harvesting of leaves from the base of the plants starts by cutting with sharp knife. Normally first harvesting is done after about 9 months of planting. 3-4 harvesting is done from the second year. It can continue upto 3-4 years.

6.10 Processing: Harvested leaves are cleaned and wrapped in old newspaper for sending to market to avoid damage while transportation. Gel can be taken out from the leaves and dried which is known as “mussabar”.

6.11 Expected yield: On an average 10-15t/ha fresh leaves are harvested from second year.

7. Quality parameters of drug

The fresh leaves are used for gel extraction which is consumed either for consumption or for cosmetic used.  The yellow juice that comes out after cutting of leaves is used for aloin extractions which has lot of medicinal properties. It is also used to cure burn injury and as pain killer.

8. Cultivation calendar

Following cultivation calendar has been prepared to utilise the monsoon rainfall for the better establishment and will provide general guidelines for cultivation of Ghritakumari. Its is not advisable for anyone to strictly adhere to the proposed schedule for individual months considering the varying climatic and weather conditions prevailing in various regions of the country. One has to exercise due diligence in raising the crop according to the available resources at his/her disposal.

Cultivation calendar of Ghritkumari

E.Good Agricultural Practices for Pipul

1. Name of the plant

Scientific name: Piper longum Linn   (Family: Piperaceae)

Local name: Pipul

2. Part to be used

Dried mature unripe fruits often called as spike and also roots commonly known as “Pipul mul”

3. Characteristics of the plant

Piper longum is a dioecious  perennial creeper. Its lower leaves are broadly ovate and upper leaves are cordate with short petiole and nearly sessile. Female spike arising singly from the axil is short, stout and cylindrical.  These are shiny drak green when immature and blackish green when fully mature. Male spike are long cylindrical and have no commercial value.

4. Major production areas

Throughout the Bangladesh it can be grown with partial shed.

5. Characteristics of strain(s) for cultivation

The populations under cultivation are usually local collections. Though variability in terms of vegetative growth such as   branching pattern (compact, spaced), and spike characters, etc are observed. Released variety is not available  with distinct phenotypic markers. However, neighbouring Indian variety Viswam may be introduced for commercial cultivation.

6. Cultivation methods

6.1  Propagation: The crop is propagated through stem cutting. Plants are raised from 3-node stem cuttings which are  directly planted in the main field during monsoon. Single node stem cutting also can be used with IBA or other commercially available rooting hormones treatment.

6.2  Soil condition: The crop is traditionally grown in the well drained  soil with heavy organic matter content. However, it can be grown in wide variety of soils. The crop is best suited in porous well drained light soil with heavy organic matter content.

6.3  Climate: The crop is well suited for warm humid climate with temperature range between 30-15º±3ºC. The crop is planted during kharif (rainy) season starting from “Ashard” month and   is adjusted depending upon the onset of monsoon. Harvesting is done at the initiation of 50% flowering as herbage yield and chemical content maximise at this time. A portion of the field is left for seed production.

6.4  Planting time: 3-4 node stem cuttings are transplanted at the onset of monsoon in the month of Ashar-Shraban.

6.5  Planting: 3-4-node cuttings are suitable for planting, however, 1-node cutting with hormone treatment are preferred when there is scarcity of planting material. Soil moisture should be brought to field capacity before planting.  To avoid Phytophthora infection, cuttings can be treated with Ridomil (1%) dipping for 1 hour. It can be grown as intercrop in young coconut or arrecanut garden as well as it can be grown with a support crop like Sesbania grandiflora (Bakful). Planting is done 60 x 60 cm distance.

6.6  Crop nutrition: The nutrient requirement of the crop is moderate. About 20 t FYM per ha is recommended in every year.  No chemical fertilizer has been recommended so far in this crop for good agricultural Practices.

6.7  Irrigation: It is generally grown as rain fed crop and no irrigation is required in the areas receiving well-distributed rainfall. However, 1–2 life saving irrigations may be given, if required.

6.8  Intercultural operation: One weeding within 15–20 days after planting is scheduled to give the establishing crop a good start. Hoeing is also done during this time to loosen the soil for better growth. One more weeding-cum-hoeing is done 15–20 days later if weed population is more.

6.9  Diseases and pests:  Phytophthora leaf and stem rot as well as antracnose are common in pipul cultivation. Soil drenching with Bordeaux mixture (1%) at monthly interval during monsoon and  spraying of Bordeaux mixture (0.5%) at 15 days interval are recommended for disease control.

Mealy bug is problem in this crop which can be managed with spaying of neem based insecticides or by neem seed kernel extract.

6.10  Harvesting:   Harvesting starts from “Pouash”  and continues upto “Falgun-Chaitra”. Since crop flowers continuously hand picking is done 4-5 times depending upon maturity of spike. Plantation is maintained upto 5 year and there after uprooted. Roots and thicker basal stem  are harvested, cut into 3-5 cm pieces and sold as pipulmul.

6.11  Processing: Harvested spikes are brought to the drying area. If the harvested material contains dirt and foreign materials, then  washed thoroughly, foreign materials are removed and then dried. Sun drying is usual practice. However, it can be achieved under shade-net. Drying yard must be clean, airy to facilitate quick drying.

7.12  Expected yield: Yield of dried spike varies between 100-150 kg in first year and it increases upto 750-1000 kg in 3-4 year. About 500 kg/ha yield of pipulmul is obtained.

7. Quality parameters of drug

The dried spike contain volatile oil, resin and alkaloids (4-5% piperine) and roots contain piperlongumine.

8. Cultivation calendar

Following cultivation calendar has been prepared to utilise the monsoon rainfall for the better establishment and will provide general guidelines for cultivation of Pipul .   Its is not advisable for anyone to strictly adhere to the proposed schedule for individual months considering the varying climatic and weather conditions prevailing in various regions of the country. One has to exercise due diligence in raising the crop according to the available resources at his/her disposal.

Cultivation calendar of Pipul

CONCLUSION:

So far Bangladesh has not attempted to prepare a country GAP guidelines for medicinal plants. GAP guidelines are also not available for other agricultural commodities. Farmers are using pesticides indiscriminately as a result pesticide residue and presence of other prohibited chemicals are too high in consumers stage. Govt. occasionally takes steps by destroying the harvest when it comes to the market level.  This act no doubt, shows the Govt.’s will to protect the consumers but creates the national loss and availability of precious agri-commodities. Instead, an efforts may be initiated to place on record the GAP guidelines for the farmers and monitoring the GAP compliance in production level so as to enable the confidence of the farmers on GAP. Giving a premium price tag for produce using GAP than normal cultivation practices would also encourage the quality and safety of medicinal plants in particular. Principles of GAP have been attempted and Do’s and Do not’s have been prepared for easy understanding of the farmers. Detailed GAP for five selected medicinal plants of SCDP has been prepared for considering the cultivation situation in Bangladesh. However, these GAPs need minor adjustments depending upon the location.

7      TOR 3: Suggest a strategic road map for R & D of medicinal plants in Bangladesh and Value Chain  of herbal industry with larger production profiles

Medicinal plants in Bangladesh are mostly utilized by manufacturing sector of Ayurveda, Unani and herbal medicines. A small quantity is also used by local practitioners (Fig 8), household consumption for self medication and also in other manufacturing sectors, such as toiletries and  neutraceuticals. Demand for medicinal plants in Bangladesh are increasing steadily after the initiative of the Government for modernizing  the manufacturing sector by following GMP and integration of Ayurveda and Unani in health care system.   Herbal medicines are also growing because of its acceptance in international market. However, raw drug for these industries are in short supply in the country. These are either harvested from the wild or imported and a very limited quantity is sourcing through commercial cultivation. Cultivation of MP is a very recent phenomenon. Moreover, land is also a limitation for expanding cultivation of MP. Under the present condition, integrating MP cultivation in existing cropping system as inter-crop, companion crop, really crop, etc would open up a possibility of interest in these new crops by the farmers as well as it would encourage them by additional income from the same piece of land.  Let us examine the major issues of this sector one by one.

Fig. 8. Small quantity of medicinal plants sold in road side

Major issues in MP sector development

Key areas of immediate intervention needed 

Species prioritization

At present only 8-10 species such as Aloe barbadensis, Withania somnifera,  Andrographis paniculta, Asparagus racemosus, Ocimum sanctum, Bombax malabarica, Piper chaba, Aegal marmelos, Ipomoea paniculata and Adahatoda vasica are being focused for cultivation. However, this basket can be enlarged to at least 20-25 medicinal plants for cultivation.

An attempt was made to prioritized the list by discussion  with some top herbal manufacturers of Bangladesh through a workshop on “Establishment of market linkage for  SCDP produced GAP compliant medicinal plants” held on July 7, 2015. The participants did not come prepared. However, some of them suggested some species spontaneously which needs verification in the light of their demand and supply, price and production cost. Species prioritization is utmost essential for organizing the commercial cultivation. High value medicinal plants having short supply in Bangladesh have to be promoted for cultivation for making them easily acceptable to the farmers. A prioritized list prepared by the me  is given below as Table 10.

Table 10. High Value Prioritized Medicinal Plants for Cultivation in Bangladesh

Standards and quality

The single most important factor which is standing in the way of wider acceptance of drugs based on medicinal plants is non-availability of standards for quality testing by modern methods. A serious thought is needed to be given in this aspect. Even with the best of intentions, no system of medicine can achieve any degree of credibility and mass acceptance unless some degree of quality control or quality assurance is maintained.

Quality of raw drugs are influenced by many factors such as age of the plant, the area of origin, harvesting time, method of drying, storage condition, manufacturing process, packing etc. Thus, there are number of bottlenecks in establishing standards for medicinal plants. In this line, there is a need for institutional development for quality parameters and testing facilities.

Official Crude drug (MP raw material) Certification Centre

First of all, the crude drugs of standard quality need to be identified and preserved as the reference standard. Therefore, a National Repository of Crude Drugs with an excellent herbarium having authentic reference samples needs to be established. This centre should have the crude drug samples (processed medicinal plants), herbarium specimen, chemical finger print profiles, anatomical slides, supporting literatures-and a collection of living plants. It should also provide easy access to wide range of groups including traders, medical practitioners, plant chemists, TM students, academics, regulators as well as the herbal manufacturing industry. User services will also have to be made available. This repository should act as official certification centre for raw materials. In addition to the crude drug samples, it is also necessary to have reference samples of standard marker compounds. A repository of such marker compounds can be developed at the centre.

Knowledge, skills and capacity building

This may be achieved by human resource development in the MP based products. There is need to initiate HRD in the following areas of operations by exposure visits to institutions/private companies/farmers field etc. in neighbouring country/within country, conducting training programmes, introducing MPs in academia,  knowledge exchange etc.:

1. For Good Agricultural Practices
2. For Good Forest and Field Collections Practices
3. For Manufacturing of Medicines
4. For Drug testing
5. For Good Manufacturing Practices
6. For checking Pharmacological and toxicological standards
7. For marketing of MAP raw material and products

Research & Development of Medicinal Plants

At present Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and Bangladesh Forest Research Institute (BFRI) are engaged in MP research with very limited activities. In additions, some traditional universities are also working through students on pharmcognocy and pharmakynetics. However, these are very fragmented and sketchy. Therefor, a comprehensive research institute for medicinal plants is lacking in Bangladesh.

In order to harness the potential of MP of Bangladesh into economic wealth, a focused R&D programme is essential. The R & D has to cover all aspects relating to the species from collection to utilisation. MPs may be categorised as: (i) those which are having proven medicinal value as traditional knowledge (ii) those on which sufficient leads are available, and (iii) those on which much work is required to be done in future.

Research investigations may be initiated on the following aspects with the help of their existing Research facilities by distributing responsibilities among the inter-departmental and inter-ministerial set-ups. Collaboration within the SARRC countries /Indian institutions may also be explored.

1. Economic mapping of the spontaneous flora.
2. Evolving and optimising the most appropriate technologies for conservation, especially for endangered or endemic species and molecular methods for characterisation. Detailed studies on life cycle and breeding behaviour, taxonomy, seed biology
3. Population and habitat viability studies
4. Optimising appropriate methods for post-harvest handling, processing and storage.
5. Investigation on quality control standardization and shelf life of raw materials and finished products.
6. Selection and authentication of plant species.
7. Collection of ethnomedical and ethnobotanical data.
8. Developing high yielding varieties.
9. Medium scale plant propagation.
10. Chemical studies on plant constituents
11. Analytical studies on quantitative assessment of major constituents.
12. Pharmacological and toxicological studies
13. Pilot plant scale processing of plant extracts.
14. Standardisation of extracts.
15. Formulation studies on extracts into dosage forms for new products.

Quality assurance of herbal raw drug through GACP certification

A system of GACP certification may be introduced in Bangladesh for I) quality assurance of raw drug material to ensure the finished herbal, Ayurvedic and Unani products and II) to assure a premium price to the GACP compliant cultivator and gatherers. This effort will improve the acceptability of the  herbal, Ayurvedic and Unani medicines in the international markets.

Quality assurance of finished products through branding

Quality assurance of finished products also can be achieved through branding of herbal, Ayurvedic and Unani products. There can be two or three brands like standard, premium and ultra premium brands depending upon the SOP for these branded products to be decided by the Govt. or Govt approved agencies. Certification for these branded products as per the SOP also has to be put in operation by certified agencies.

Dept. of Ayush, Ministry of Health , Govt. of India in collaboration with the Quality Council of India launched a Certification Scheme for AYUSH Products for the first time in India in October 2009, which made  common AYUSH Products available in the market with a quality seal (Standard & Premium).  It stimulated the export of AYUSH products (Fig. 9). Similar initiative can be taken up by Bangladesh in promoting herbal, Ayurvedic and Uniani products.

IPR & Related issues

Medicinal plants represent not only a valuable part of Bangladesh’s biodiversity but are also a source of great traditional health knowledge. The biodiversity and the wealth of traditional knowledge systems of the poorer countries have always attracted the researchers from the developed countries and knowledge-rich multinational companies. Some may argue that the access to such biodiversity and traditional knowledge by the developed nations is necessary for the greater welfare of mankind as this facilitates developing new products which ultimately benefit the whole world. However, the poor countries and the local community seldom get proportionate benefits from such commercial exploitation of their natural resources and intellectual properties.

The existing IPR systems in the world are cantered around the concept of private ownership whereas the biodiversity and traditional knowledge are collective creation by a nation or community, therefore private ownership of such material and knowledge for commercial use without the fair benefit sharing arrangements are clear violation of rights.

Many times, wrong patents are given in the area of medicinal plants : the cases of patents grant to inventors in USA for Turmeric (Curcuma longa), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Jamun (Syzygium cumini), Karela (Momordica charantia) which were revoked later by continuous and often lengthy persuasion by Government of India could be referred for example. It must be understood that the patent offices in various countries do make mistakes in checking the novelty of an invention because they usually look at their own databases. So the chances of issuing wrong patents are expected especially when an application based on the indigenous knowledge is being examined in a foreign country. The knowledge which may be in public domain in one country may be a new knowledge to other country. Therefore, it is desired that  Bangladesh must make their common knowledge available to the Patent offices of other countries, so as to protect their products and knowledge under IPR.

The Supply Chain of Medicinal Plants in Bangladesh

The supply chain analysis of raw material (raw drug) indicates that demand for  medicinal plants raw material is mainly fulfilled through import. About 70-80% supply of raw material to the industries come through import;   15-20% from wild harvest and 5-10% from cultivation  and collection from non-agricultural and non-forest lands. A very negligible percentage of supply of imported extracts for speciality products by the industries is being attempted (Emami, Bangladesh; Acme; Square, etc). It is expected that this supply may increase in near future due to short supply of raw drug within the country.

The Value Chain of Medicinal Plants in Bangladesh

The Value Chain Analysis of Medicinal Plants has been attempted by Dr. Somporn Hanpongpandh,  International Agricultural marketing Specialist, SCDP and Dr.  Ashoke Kumar Roy, Monitoring Officer, SCDP, therefore, I did not attempt it to avoid duplication although it was also enlisted in my TOR. However, I am including the value chain analysis of my fellow colleagues with little modification wherever, it was necessary in the light of my experience in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants as follows:

Fig. 10. Value chain of medicinal plants investigated in SCDP (Reference: Somporn Hanpongpandh and  Ashoke K. Roy 2014)

The entire value chain of medicinal plants can be broken into various segments such as: 1. Raw material production; 2. Primary processing; 3. Trading and Marketing; 4. High end processing; 5. Supply and Distribution and  6. Consumption.  Schematic diagrams of the entire chain is as  given in Fig 10.

Conclusion:

Research is the backbone of any development and progress in any field. Medicinal Plant sector is not the exceptional. Unfortunately, Bangladesh does not have a centralized Research and Development organ exclusively for medicinal plants that can act as an apex body in guiding holistic research in various facets of medicinal plant sector. At present fragmented research is being attempted by various organizations such as Universities, Bangladesh Forest Research Institute, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, NGOs, etc.  Therefore, Bangladesh should think of organizing medicinal plants research in the following suggested manner:

1. A medicinal Plant Board or similar institution may be created to oversee and guide in all activities of stake holders of medicinal plants.
2. Research responsibilities may be divided among the existing organizations in such a way that duplication and overlapping can be avoided.
3. Strengthening of existing research organizations with clear mandate and necessary manpower to achieve the goal. Cultivation of MP will invite lot of research attention for solving the problems to be encountered by the farmers.
4. Research should be initiated in end to end starting from raw material production to finished product. Fragmented research will not lead to any product development that would be acceptable in market.
5. Research on Supply chain and Value chain is necessary to make these chains more efficient and cost effective as well as to ensure the quality of raw drug and finally the finish products.
6. MP Conservation strategies may be adopted in the following manners:

• Field gene bank needs to be created at least one each in high, mid and low altitude areas.
• In-situ conservation is the best and cost effective method. A few in-situ conservation areas have to be marked and declared as MP in-situ areas in the forests.
• Identification of forest areas rich in MPs and bringing policy frame work for intensive management of sustainable harvesting in those areas.
• Categorization of MPs for their Rare Endangered and Threatened status.
• Ex-situ conservation by developing herbal gardens in various agro-climatic zone for authentic planting material supply    

7. Immediate Researchable issues

• Standardization of Good Agricultural Practices protocol for cultivated species.
• Developing seed and planting material standards of MPs
• Standardization of vegetative propagation protocols for tree species.
• Ex-situ production of elite seedling/ seeds of selected species for cultivation.
• Land use planning for getting high quality produce from the right location.
• Plus tree (superior plant type of tree species) selection from the diversity.
• Population assessment of important species harvested from the forests in large quantities for formulating sustainable collection strategy.
• Breeding for high quality varieties of selected medicinal annual species.  

8. Policy Intervention

• Creation of Medicinal Plant Board.
• Phyto-chemical industries may be promoted through policy intervention by the Government for systematic commercial utilization of MPs.
• The country GAP needs to be kept in place and GAP certification may be initiated.
• A National Repository of Crude Drugs along with an excellent herbarium facility having authentic reference samples needs to be established.  
• Branding of herbal products for quality assurance
• Creation of Certification system for GACP produce

8      TOR 4: Suggest and establish limited pilot projects of Demonstrative  value with improved production practices in Aloe vera, Piper longum, Ashwagandha, etc. in suitable locations

Capacity Building

Capacity building is the main objectives of my TOR 4 which has been attempted through  following  activities as given below:

1. Trainings
2. Awareness campaign
3. Demonstration
4. Workshop

1. Trainings

During 2014-15

A 2-day training was organized at Sabar to train workers of two NGOs for venturing MP cultivation in their project areas. Fifteen participants took part in the training (Table 18).    Course curriculum of the training is given in the Table 11.

Table 11.  Programme Schedule of TOT on Cultivation and Post-harvest Management on Medicinal Plants and Spices held at NMDEC, Savar, and Dhaka during August 5-6, 2014