Planning Commission members inspect a safed musli farm 35 km from Ranchi. Officials say the global demand for the plant is 55,000 tonnes while supply is barely 5,000 tonnes. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Nov. 28: A former journalist and his wife have found an interesting way of spending his ?retirement? ? cultivating safed musli, the desi equivalent of viagra.

Sixty-eight-year-old Vijay Ranjan?s move back to the state?s hinterland came as part of his promise to his wife, Neera, to retire from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The move to cultivate the crop was a joint decision taken by the couple. It proved to be a smart investment decision.

Taking a Rs1.8 crore loan, Ranjan started cultivating the medicinal herb at his sprawling campus in Jonha, barely 35 km from the city this year.

The former scribe takes pride in his efforts to raise the crop, which has a high global demand. According to a senior state official, the global demand for safed musli is 55,000 tonnes, while supply barely reaches the 5,000-tonne mark.

The former scribe was quick to spot opportunities.

Unlike chemical drugs, Ranjan explained, the high demand for safed musli (Chlorophytum borivillianum), is because it does not have any side-effects.

The herb, when dried and powdered, not only works to increase sexual satisfaction but is also effective in providing vitality, rejuvenation and energy.

While other medicines only work as aphrodisiacs, safed musli can be consumed by all and improves the immune resistance of the body, added Ranjan.

Ranjan?s 18-acre farm at Jonha has been tilled and the herb is planted with sunflowers and lentils at intervals to provide it with shade.

Organic farming being the yardstick for cultivating safed musli, Ranjan has spent a substantial amount in training local villagers and procuring hi-tech equipment to facilitate farming.

The plant barely grows three inches above the soil but the important part is the root. The slender roots are slit with trained and dextrous hands using sharp surgical blades. These are then dried until they are breakable and then sent for powdering.

The powder is the purest form of safed musli and is an important constituent in all aphrodisiac compositions, Ranjan added.

Owing to the high prospects of the medicinal herb, a team of the National Planning Commission also visited Ranjan?s farm to have a first hand take on the economics of cultivating the crop.

Ranjan added that although he has started farming late in life, he has already tied up with companies to export his produce to markets in Germany. The crop takes nine months to mature and is sowed in June to be reaped in March.

?I was in Delhi for the past eight years, but it was my love for greenery that brought me here,? he quipped.