A news conference to announce the signing of the agreement on Friday. Photo by UB Photos

March 7: A city-based company dealing in aromatic and medicinal plants has signed a memorandum of understanding with another company from Hyderabad in the similar field for promoting herb cultivation in the state.

Managing director of the city-based Patkai Herbs and Spices Private Limited, Anuj Baruah, said his company had entered into a buyback arrangement for medicinal plants with Nandan Agro Farms Private Limited from Hyderabad. The two companies will also co-operate in providing consultancy services to the farmers.

The buyback arrangement will cover safed musli (chlorophytum borivilianum) — a medicinal herb found in the state. Under the arrangement, the Hyderabad-based company will buy the herb cultivated in the state to develop those into medicines. The root tubers of the herb are rich source of over 25 alkaloids, vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, steroid saponins, and polysaccarods.

A number of health tonics are prepared from it. It can treat natal and postnatal problems, diabetes and arthritis and also has aphrodisiac properties. The herb grows well on sandy loamy soil, which is free of waterlogging.

“Nandan Agro Farms has offered to buy the dry tubers of safed musli at the rate of Rs 1,000 per kg. For the high cost of the planting material (the tubers), the farmers are advised to go for minimum planting material in the first year and big cultivation in the second year,” Baruah said.

He said the consultancy package would include arrangement for quality planting material, finance and crop insurance, training and technical backup for farm management, critical agro-inputs, harvesting and buyback assurance in advance.

Baruah said his company was in the process of setting up a laboratory-cum-information centre — Patkai Labs — in the city. The project will be implemented with partial assistance from Export Development Fund for Northeast under the Union ministry of commerce & industry. The State-level Export Promotion Committee, Assam, has approved the project proposal for financial assistance.

Baruah said the objectives of Patkai Labs would be to provide affordable services to farmers, processors and exporters of aromatic and medicinal plants-based products as well as to issue organic farming certificates. The services will cover test marketing, product testing, organic farm input testing, soil/water testing, market research and information.

“We will go for contract farming for other medicinal plants like stevia and coleus in the subsequent years,” he added.

The company is also planning to set up a database of suitable land available in the region for cultivation of different medicinal plants. “This will be the foundation for developing a network of export-oriented farmers,” he added.