RAISING MEDICINAL PLANT SEEDLINGS AT CSRPM FOR CULTIVATION
Forests and wild vegetations have often been considered as nature's own garden that provides medicinal plant needs of the herbalists. Herbalists and conservationists have however identified the problem of over-dependence on wild crafting of medicinal plants and its adverse effect on biodiversity in general and the herbal medicine industry in particular.
In Ghana the activities of plant collectors have revealed that plant species that used to be obtained within short walking distance now have to be sourced several kilometers away owing to development of human settlements, farming activities, bush burning and other destructive human activities. This is enough evidence to show that overdependence on wild crafting is not the best and that something needs to be done to salvage the situation. It is believed that the solution could be found in the cultivation, conservation and sustainable harvesting of all flora known to have potential medicinal properties.
The CSRPM has therefore chosen to contribute to the solution of the problem through the establishment of nurseries to raise medicinal plant seedlings for cultivation. The CSRPM has therefore chosen to contribute to the solution of the problem through the establishment of nurseries to raise medicinal plant seedlings for cultivation. Unlike food crops and other well known plant species whose cultivation methods are well known, the cultivation of medicinal plant species is not well known. In fact it is a new area that is now gaining recognition.
The CSRPM has therefore taken the leading role in developing techniques for propagation and cultivation of some medicinal plant species. Other institutions like Plant Genetic Resource Centre (PGRC) and Forest Research Institute (FORIG) are also helping in this direction. In the past two years, the Centre has raised over 78,000 medicinal plant seedlings from its nurseries which have been cultivated in its farms located at Begoro, Mamfe, Ayikuma and Mampong. In addition, the Centre has helped to raise seedlings for out growers such as Dormaa Traditional Healers Council (DORTHEC), Kasapreko Company Limited as well as other individuals.
The raising of medicinal plant seedlings for cultivation has many benefits and the most important include ensuring the quality of medicinal plant material and its sustainability. |
