Agriculture dept to set up Jharkhand's 1st herbal park in Dumka district

RANCHI: Jharkhand is planning to set up the state’s first herbal park in Dumka soon. On Sunday, the state agriculture department director, Nisha Oraon Singhmar, said the state government has already given its in-principle approval to their ambitious project and will start floating tenders soon.
“We hope to start floating the tenders by October-end. We are in the process of zeroing in on a plot and if things according to plan, the almost Rs 10-crore-park should start taking shape by this year-end,” Nisha said.
The park will be a one-stop destination for those doing research in herbal plants and it’ll help in promoting a range of organic and scientific planning among farmers. “It’s fairly a new concept and such parks don’t exist in many places except in few states like Haryana and Uttarakhand,” she said.
The government aims to sensitise people regarding herbal farmers through this pilot project in order to generate employment as well as encourage investments in this sector. “Besides being a place of recreation, we aim to develop this park as a place of research and academics among the students of herbal medicine. The farmers will also get an exposure to the latest trends and techniques of herbal cultivation, their uses and market demand,” Nisha said. She added that it will also help the state in developing nature-based herbal tourism centres in Jharkhand for promotion of sustainable livelihood in the herbal sector and opportunities for the herbal processing industry in the region.
Another official added that in the initial phase of its establishment, efforts will be made to preserve the herbal plant wealth of the state and later, important exotic and rare herbal plants will be nurtured in the park.
Citing the key features of the park, the official added, “The park will consist of an aromatic herb garden, a spice herb garden, kitchen herb garden, ornamental herb harden, cosmetic herb garden, along with the facilities for irrigation network and micro-irrigation system, post-harvest herb processing, a herb oil extraction unit and distillation, candy-making unit, herbal shampoo and soap-making units, among others.”