Purple revolution of Jammu and Kashmir – Burning Issues – Free PDF Download

Context

• Around 500 farmers across villages in Doda had their incomes quadrupled after shifting from maize to lavender
• In 2016, the Centre launched Aroma Mission to boost cultivation of plants like lavender which have aromatic medicinal properties.
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu (IIIM Jammu), the two bodies responsible for taking the Aroma Mission forward.

Lavender

• A Mediterranean native, Lavender(Lavandula spica) is an aromatic and herbal shrub.
• Highly perfumed and beautiful flowers of the plant come in a variety of colors, for example, violet, blue, pink, mauve, and white can prove an excellent addition to your garden decor.
• The plant is perennial and requires a dry and sunny climate to grow. It is usually cultivated in regions with less rainfall.
• The soil for growing these plants needs to be well-draining and rich in calcium carbonate content.

Purple economy

• Lavender oil sells for at least Rs 10,000 per litre
• Under the mission, which was launched to move from imported aromatic oils to homegrown varieties, first-time farmers were given free lavender saplings and those who have cultivated lavender before were charged Rs 5-6 per sapling.
• A minimum of 40l of lavender oil is produced from lavender grown over one hectare of land.

• Lavender water, which separates from lavender oil, is used to make incense sticks.
• Hydrosol, which is formed after distillation from the flowers, is used to make soaps and room fresheners.
• The farmers get help from IIIM-Jammu to sell their produce. Mumbai-based companies like Ajmal Biotech private limited, Aditi International and Navnetri Gamika, which manufacture aromatic products like candles and aroma oils are their primary buyers
• These companies procure lavender extracts from the farmers in Doda and other J&K districts like Rajouri, Ramban and Pulwama where Aroma Mission was introduced in 2018.
• There are four distillation units set up by CSIR-IIIM Jammu in Doda and two more have been proposed to meet the increased demand. Farmers from remote locations of district Doda reach these plants for extraction of lavender oil.

Women Employment

• Apart from increasing farm incomes, lavender cultivation also provided employment to the district’s women farmers.
• Cultivate lavender around their homes because it is profitable and would make them financially independent
• The best thing about the lavender plant is that animals like monkeys and cows do not eat or destroy it. It does not require much water or fertilizers and cow dung is enough.
• CSIR-IIIM-Jammu announced Aroma Mission phase 2 after the success of the first phase.
• The inauguration was attended by farmers from Uttarakhand, Nagaland and Assam. Impressed by the success of Doda’s lavender farmers, the Uttarakhand authorities invited some of them to train their farmers.
• The mission is to increase lavender cultivation to 1,500 hectares within three years from now

Way forward

• To maintain the genetic purity of good lavender saplings, farmers are being skilled in vegetative propagation. Though there is no direct collaboration with horticulture and floriculture department but  are in close contact with these departments and SKUAST to aid farmers
• At present, large-scale lavender cultivation is limited to J&K but governments in Himachal Pradesh, Arunahal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are also encouraging their farmers to take up lavender. Small scale farming of the plant is already underway in these states

Aroma Mission

• The CSIR Aroma Mission is envisaged to bring transformative change in the aroma sector through desired interventions in the areas of agriculture, processing and product development for fuelling the growth of aroma industry and rural employment.

• The mission will promote the cultivation of aromatic crops for essential oils that are in great demand by the aroma industry.
• It is expected to enable Indian farmers and aroma industry to become global leaders in the production and export of some other essential oils on the pattern of menthol mint.
• It aims to provide substantial benefits to the farmers in achieving higher profits, utilization of waste lands and protection of their crops from wild and grazing animals.

The nodal laboratory is

•  CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow.
• The participating laboratories are
• CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur;
•  CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu etc.
• Other areas will also be covered assuring benefits to the growers of Vidarbha, Bundelkhand, Gujarat, Marathwada, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and other states where farmers are exposed to frequent episodes of weather extremes and account for maximum suicides.
• Aromatic Plants include lavender, damask rose, mushk bala, etc.

Projections

• To add 5500 ha of additional area under captive cultivation aromatic cash crops particularly targeting rain-fed or degraded land.
• Provide technical and infrastructural support for distillation and values-addition to farmers/growers .
• Enabling effective buy-back mechanisms to assure remunerative prices to the farmers.
• Will improvise value-addition to essential oils and aroma ingredients for their integration in global trade and economy.

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