Medicinal plants in temple grounds

by S.M. Wijayaratne - Kurunegala Cor.

Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Presidential Secretariat has launched a program to utilize all the uncultivated lands belonging to Buddhist temples islandwide for growing medicinal plants.

Ministry of Indigenous Medicine would provide necessary herbal plants and quality seeds of medicine free of charge for this purpose. J. Somasundara, a senior Assistant Director of Agriculture in Kurunegala told ‘Sunday Observer’ that 1750 acres of lands would be under cultivation of medicinal plants from the beginning of year 2013 in both Kurunegala and Puttalam Districts of the NWP.

Incumbents of Buddhist temples have agreed to assist this program by allowing temple premises for this worthy cause and the government would invest Rs. 1.2 million at its initial stage. 125 experienced ayurvedic physicians in the North Western Province would provide required guidance in growing medicinal plants and this novel process would help in obtaining required herbs for manufacturing effective ayurvedic drugs easily.

Dr. H.M. Herathbanda, the president of Kurunegala District Ayurvedic physicians’ Association told ‘Sunday Observer’ that millions of rupees is spent annually for importing rare medicinal herbs by Sri Lankan government and that massive sum of money could be saved in our country itself when this programme of cultivating medicinal herbs in temple lands is properly implemented. Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and Minister of Indigenous Medicine Salinda Dissanayake would hold talks in the near future as to how this program could be implemented islandwide successfully, Dr. H.M. Herathbanda said.