Medicinal and aromatic plants found in Manipur and other Northeast regions can be treasured for sustainable livelihood and employment generation in the region, said deputy director of MSME Technology Centre Imphal, Sinam Yoirentomba, on Saturday.
He was speaking during a one-day awareness programme on “Entrepreneurship with Medicinal and Aromatic Plants”, organised jointly by MSME Technology Imphal and Ningol Club Heirok at Heirok Part 3 in Thoubal district.
The deputy director informed that the North eastern region, including Manipur, is the country's richest reservoir of plant diversity and supports around 50 per cent of India’s total plant diversity, besides harbouring 40 per cent of India’s endemic plant species.
He said, among all the plant resources which have potential for economic development of the region, medicinal and aromatic plants have the potential of becoming one of the major resources of the region.
The bioactive molecules and essential oil components found in those plants have high market demand for various end-used industries like pharmaceuticals, cosmeceuticals, health beverages, and chemical terpenes, he explained.
In order to convert these strengths optimally into opportunities, he suggested proper technological interventions on agro-technology, processing, value addition, quality assessment and market.
In fact, the medicinal and aromatic plant sector can be a major bio-resource for economic upliftment of rural masses in the region and job creations as it intervenes with the right technique, added Yoirentomba.
Besides finding unexplored medicinal plants of the region, he also stressed the need to focus on conservation aspects of the known plants and providing quality planting material to farmers for large scale cultivation.
The programme was also attended by manager of NSIC sub-office Imphal L Ibetombi Devi; retired assistant director of MSME, TN Singh, and president of Ningol Club Heirok, Sophia Khundongbam, as presidium members.
