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| Sunday, 7 August 2005 |
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Ayurvedic project to save millions in forex by L.S.A. Wedaarachchi
Sri Lanka is fortunate to have human resources as well as natural resources which are not freely available in many countries. Countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong developed vigorously despite their having very limited resources, during the last few decades. The main reason for the present pathetic situation in Sri Lanka is the failure to exploit our resources. In this scenario a project to use rural man-power and land has been introduced from 2000 by the Minister of Indigenous Medicine and Land Tissa Karaliyadda. The crux of the project is to cultivate the virgin land in Rajarata with herbal plants which are being used to produce indigenous ayurvedic medicine. In Sri Lanka as well as in regional countries indigenous medicinal practices have a history of thousand years or more and those practices are highly aligned to the day to day life of the people. The silent revolution in 1956 in Sri Lanka under the leadership of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike gave a fillip to ayurvedic and allied fields and those were also rejuvenated by that change. The Department of Ayurvedic Affairs was set up and the status of an ayurvedic physician was recognised by the government. A number of ayurvedic hospitals was opened all over the island. Prestigious ayurvedic colleges and medical centres were also set up. A big demand for ayurvedic medicine and its raw materials was also created. However in the following years a systematic program to cater to the demand was not implemented and the end result was that most of the ayurvedic medicine and raw materials were imported. The objective of the cultivation of ayurvedic plants and herbs project is to save millions of rupees in foreign exchange used to import medicinal plants and fruits from abroad and uplifting the living conditions of the rural folk engaged in cultivating virgin lands all over the island. According to Minister Karaliyadda, lands suitable for herbal cultivation with a good climate are available all over the island especially in the North Central Province, in the Southern province and the central province. "Our valuable farmer and peasant families are also eagerly waiting to engage in some livelihood. We should blend these resources by raising funds and obtaining machinery and get the maximum benefits to the country, he said. Under this project the government will provide selected farmers Rs. 30,000 each as a preliminary payment to till a cultivation well, a water pump and the seeds of the medicinal plant. At the end of the season the harvest will also be purchased by the Ayurvedic Department or the Corporation. During the last season Rajarata medicinal herb cultivators were able to supply the total requirements of Katuvalbatu, a popular medicinal herb to cure colds, to the Ayurvedic Drugs Corporation and the Ayurvedic Department. The present market price of Rs. 70 per kilo was paid by the corporation to cultivators. The Minister of Indigenous Medicine and Land has already made arrangements to implement this program islandwide under the "medicinal villages project". One hundred million rupees have been allocated by the treasury for the purpose. One medicinal village selected from each of the divisional secretary divisions during the first stage of the project will be developed. The preliminary activities of twenty-two medicinal villages have already commenced and another twenty five villages have been identified. In these medicinal villages compost fertiliser and traditionally prepared pesticides made from khomba leaves and nuts are being used as fertiliser and pesticides in place of chemical fertiliser and chemical pesticides. Some of the identified divisional secretary divisions for this project are Siyambalanduwa, Rideemaliyade, Meegahakivula, Weligepola, Minipe, Aranayaka, Sooriyaweva, Ambanganga Korale, Padaviya, Neluwa, Redeegama, Hakmana, Wallalavita, Walapane and the Mundel Divisional Secretary Divisions. |
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