Saplings, training and technical know how to be provided to farmers

University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, will encourage farmers of Bangalore Rural district to cultivate medicinal plants and herbs that have high market value, according to Vice-Chancellor P G Chengappa.

He told The Hindu on Wednesday that the university had identified some villages in Doddaballapur and Tubukere in Bangalore Rural district for plantation of medicinal herbs and plants. The university would provide saplings of various plants, training and technical know how to farmers. The university had tied up with Himalaya, a Bangalore-based company, to facilitate collaborative research on medicinal herbs and plants. Under the five-year agreement, Himalaya would take up research-based projects on location-specific problems and prepare joint research projects beneficial to both parties, the Vice-Chancellor said. The university would provide information and research guidance to Himalaya to set up a repository of diversified group of plants with special reference to rare, endemic, endangered, ornamental and medicinal plants. The tie-up would help in commercial exploitation of medicinal plants. Gradually, the programme would be extended to Hassan and Dakshina Kannada districts, Prof. Chengappa said. The company would promote only organic farming and assure 100 per cent buy-back guarantee to farmers who cultivated medicinal plants. The research tie-up would also leverage the academic resources and research and development strength of Himalaya to promote a better understanding of herbs, he said.

The university had 22 research stations in 17 districts of the State. For the first time, the university had entered into a private-public partnership model in research and there were several technologies developed by it which could be used for commercial purpose, he said.