Chhattisgarh Partners Dabur for ayurvedic products supply

The country’s leading FMCG firm, Dabur India Limited, is planning to use medicinal plants and herbs produced in Chhattisgarh in its herbal and ayurvedic formulations.

The world leader in Ayurveda with a portfolio of over 250 herbal and ayurvedic products, inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state-run Chhattisgarh medicinal plants board. Under the agreement, the board would provide the medicinal plants and herbs to Dabur.

Board chairman, Rampratap Singh said, “Dabur would be provided the raw material for manufacturing herbal and medicinal products through the village level forest management committe.” Over 4000 people associated with 800 committees would be benefited.

Mineral-rich Chhattisgarh has also been endowed with rich medicinal plants and herbs. The trade of the medicinal and herbs in the state is estimated at Rs 1500 crore annually. The available produce includes tendu leaves, Kullu, Dhawda, Babul, Khair, Sal seed, Harra, Imli, Mahua, lac, Kosa, Mahul Leaves, chironjee Baibaring, Vanjeera, Kalmegh, Aonla etc.

In Chhattisgarh, production and collection of forest produce is an important way of creating financial self-dependence for forest dwellers. “The tie-up with Dabur will not only help in the promotion of cultivation of medicinal plants and herbs but also provide additional income and employment to rural population,” Singh added.

The company would be setting up nurseries in urban and rural areas for producing medicinal plants.

The Chhattisgarh Government has declared the state as "Herbal state" with an objective to conserve medicinal plants, cultivation of medicinal plants, non-destructive harvesting, promote organized trade and promote minor forest produce based industries to generate additional employment opportunities in the state and provide health cover.

A task force has been constituted within minor forest produce federation to achieve the objectives of herbal state. The state government is also developing the herbal garden on 500 acres of land.