Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the State of the Art Perfumery and Aroma Laboratory (Centre for Aromatic Plants) in Dehradun. The scientific research conducted here will be used to produce perfumes, soaps, sanitizers, air fresheners, and incense sticks, among other products.
The prime minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple projects worth nearly $18,000, leading to the establishment of related industries in the region as well. The projects are also aimed at developing high yielding advanced varieties of aromatic plants
About centre for aromatic plants
Uttarakhand is blessed with a variety of soil types and varying agro-climatic conditions, ranging from sub-tropical to alpine. These zones are divided as alpine (above 3500 m), sub-alpine (2200-3500 m),
temperate (1700-2200 m) and sub-tropical (350-1700 m above sea level). Further, these zones can be categorized as upper hills (alpine and sub-alpine), middle hills (temperate) and lower hills (sub-tropical)
for agricultural point of view. These zones possess a rich and diverse variety of aromatic plant resources and these diverse climatic conditions of the state are conducive for cultivation of various aromatic crops.
Uttarakhand agriculture has some inherent constraints of remoteness and inaccessibility, marginality and fragility. Added to these are socio-economic constraints such as poor productivity, poor irrigation infrastructure,
poor production management, labor shortages, poor post-production management, poor marketing and networks and lack of entrepreneurship. As a result, traditional agriculture has become un-economical and farmers have left out
their agriculture and migrated to elsewhere for better livelihood and employment opportunities. This resulted in a large part of agriculture land in the hills are abundant. These abandoned lands were threatened with problems
like soil erosion, loss of fertility, depletion of nutrients, less percolation of water in the soil, drying of natural water resources and infestation of obnoxious exotic weeds like Lantana, Eupatorium, Gania grass, Artemisia
and Bhakumbar etc.
Considering the problems in traditional agriculture and other barriers, cultivation of aromatic crops seems to be a viable solution for raising the livelihood of the farmers of Uttarakhand, as aromatic crops are suitable
for rain-fed agriculture and can be grown successfully in stress and adverse conditions. These crops are generally safe from wildlife and domestic animals.
The final product of aromatic produce is easy to transport due to its very lesser amount of weight as compared to its production in the field. This provides a solution to the transportation challenges in the hilly area.
An aromatic oil can store for a longer period because of its non-perishable quality farmer can decide its sale as per the market demand and feasible rates above all aromatic oils have a regular market.
Establishment of Centre for Aromatic Plants (CAP)
“Centre for Aromatic Plants (CAP)” was established by Government of Uttarakhand in 2003 at industrial area Selaqui, Dehradun. CAP is a complete business incubator centre for the development of the aromatic
sector in Uttarakhand. It is equipped with end to end facilities and support services like survey, training, research, production of quality planting material, extension, distillation and marketing etc.
The focus is to make these all facilities available to the farmers, entrepreneurs, researcher, buyers, distillers, perfumers and traders under one roof.
Where is centre for aromatic plants Located ?
Centre for aromatic plants located in Industrial Estate, Selaqui, Dehradun, Uttarakhand .
Comment (0)