'An Approach to participatory planning for socio-economic development of medicinal plant growers, collectors and suppliers through commercialisation'

'An Approach to participatory planning for socio-economic development of medicinal plant growers, collectors and suppliers through commercialisation'

 

by

Jayantha Gunasekera

Programme Manager, Agro Processing Programme

Intermediate Technology Development Group, Sri Lanka

 

Introduction

The importance of medicinal plants as a therapeutic agent, contributor to health care programmes and the economies of both developed and developing countries is well established. A world-wide trend to return to nature has increased the consumers of herbal products be it for medical reasons, for aesthetic value or cosmetic purposes. It is estimated that approximately 119 substances found in pharmaceuticals used the world over are obtained from plants.  This includes about 90 different species of plants, many of which are native to developing countries

 

In Sri Lanka, utilising plant extracts for various purposes is a way of life for most of the islands 18 million people. It has been recorded that there are about 550 native species with medicinal value, of which a 150 are commonly used in treating ailments.

The traditional preparations or Ayurvedic treatment includes Quatha (water extracts), Arista (fermented water extracts), Aushada Sara (tincture), Ciutia (pellets), Peni (syrup), and Thaila (oil).  Apart from these traditional preparations, new influences have introduced medicated lozenges, medicated balms, herbal tooth paste, and herbal drinks to make it more convenient as demanded by today’s consumers.

 

The herbal raw material requirement in Sri Lanka exceeds 1500 metric tons a year. Over 50% of which is imported. While much of the imported material is grown commercially, the local supply is still gathered from natural habitats, a practise followed since the beginning of our history. The increase in population, deforestation and indiscriminate collection of medicinal plants with little or no reforesting has contributed to the rapid decline raw material adding to serious problems of extinction of species and equilibrium of the ecosystems.

 

Characteristics of the medicinal herbs sector in Sri Lanka

The medicinal herbs sector of Sri Lanka clearly show that, although wide spread, it has developed and is functioning informally.  The primary stakeholders – the growers, cultivators, and suppliers operate on a very small scale.  They are scattered through out the country, and draw their raw material supplies from the existing forests. They have little understanding of the key role they play in the medicinal herbs sector and therefore do not see their work as an established occupation/profession that needs recognition and support by service organisations. 

 

The non-recognition of the contribution of primary stakeholders, both by themselves and others, has lead to serious setbacks.  Some of these are the lack of research initiatives on suitable technology developments, the depletion of sources for raw material, the deterioration of quality of the end-products, and its disadvantageous effects on people’s faith in Ayurvedic and indigenous medicine.

 

The secondary level stakeholders in the sector are the manufacturers, dealers, Ayurvedic practitioners, researchers and policy makers. The suppliers of the primary stakeholders have direct links with the large scale manufacturers and dealers.  The latter deals with export markets and distribution of processed medicinal herbs within the country. 

 

A key feature of the sector is the use of available forests for supplies.  The percentage of supplies that come from cultivation is almost negligible.  Only four percent of the total raw material is supplied from cultivations and the cultivators operate on a very small scale.  

 

India and Nepal are Sri Lanka’s main competitors in the sector.  While Nepal, like Sri Lanka, draws its supplies mainly from forests, India has a considerable contribution from commercial cultivation.  India is a competitor in both the export and the local market of Sri Lanka.

 

The Agro Processing Programme (APP) of the Intermediate Technology Development Group, Sri Lanka (ITDG) identified the medicinal herbs sector as that with a potential for growth which could bring significant benefits to the small scale entrepreneurs.  ITDG also saw the contribution that appropriate technology could bring to the sector.  Initiatives based on an overall understanding of the subject ensure more sustainable results than isolated attempts for development.  Therefore ITDG carried out investigatory work and initial planning, essentially using participatory approaches.  This paper discusses the use of participatory techniques in the planning of commercialising the medicinal plants sector, and the resulting effects. 

 

Potential for commercialisation of medicinal plants

 

As the first step, ITDG carried out a study[1] on the potential and prospects of cultivating and processing medicinal herbs in Sri Lanka. The study covered

            Existing demand and future potential

Potential crops in terms of economic importance and agro ecological zones

Feasibility of value addition and secondary processing at rural level

International markets and implications of International trade agreements

Problems and constrains of the sector

Private and government institutions involved and service organisations

 

 

The study highlighted that there is an established international and national market and demand for medicinal plants. In Sri Lanka the major problem is that the supply of plants is inadequate and irregular, and depends largely on imports. The reason for this dependency range from socio-economic situations of the primary stakeholders to state trade policies. 

 

If favourable socio-economic and policy environments could be facilitated, the potential for viable commercialisation promises to be high because the country has favourable climatic conditions for cultivation of a variety of medicinal plants.  This includes different eco -agricultural zones that increase the varieties that can be grown. Over 10 varieties that can be  grown in the dry zone, 12 in the intermediate zones and 8 in the wet zones have been identified. This offers considerable potential for import substitution. In addition, there is growing opportunity within the export market. Sri Lanka supplies herbal teas, toothpaste, wines, balms and soups to the international market with ample room for expansion.

 

Apart from the production of herbal raw materials for marketing, the study revealed technical and economic opportunities to establish the following herbal based industries at village level.  These include several high value, low volume products. For example, production of herbal teas or herbal drinks, tablets, tooth paste, dried products and Ayurveda preparations for local or foreign markets.

 

For successful commercialisation the potential is not enough. Therefore attention was also given to identify key problems and constraints that would be encountered by any programme seeking to support the cultivation and processing of medicinal plants. The main problems were:

 

1. Lack of information and technology on cultivation and processing of medicinal herbs.

Farmers/collectors do not have access to technical know how related to processing, planting materials of superior varieties. In addition, other services such as technology, incentives, credit and loan facilities are also not available. As there is a lack of suitable technology the quality of the products are compromised. The development of agro technology with respect to the cultivation and processing for value addition, as well as the introducing improved plant species are important.

 

2. Lack of information on marketing procedures and channels.

The securing of market outputs for produce is of prime importance if the industry is to succeed. Without a secured market, farmers will not wish to cultivate crops. Therefore, the development of market links between farmers, processors, traders or exporters is critical.

 

3. Lack of links between state organisations, drug manufacturers,

    importers and exporters of medicinal herbs and rural communities.

There is little co-ordination among the many stakeholders in this sector. Commercialisation goes beyond just promoting cultivation and improving quality. There are many aspects to be considered – sustainable use, proper management of forest resources, intellectual property rights, patents, maintaining our heritage and knowledge base, trans-national implications etc. Therefore to minimise damage and exploitation, it is vital that there is proper planning, awareness and corporation among the many institutions and individuals.

 

It is in light if the above mentioned shortcomings, it was necessary to initiate a collaborative plan that gave priority to small scale growers and collectors but ultimately looked to develop the sector as a whole through viable commercialisation.  

 

 

 Identifying medicinal plant growers, cultivators and collectors

The second step in the process was to carry out a survey to identify the primary stakeholders in this sector.  This was essentially important because the growing, cultivating and collecting of medicinal plants is done on a small scale, and those involved are scattered through out the country.  Due to the scattered locality and small scale of operation, the growers and collectors of medicinal herbs are not known by those outside their immediate environs.  

 

Workshop for stakeholders. 

Once the initial information was gathered and contacts established ITDG  conducted two workshops for all the relevant stakeholders – primary and secondary.  The Institute for Participatory Interaction in Development (IPID), an institute which specialises in participatory development methodologies worked with ITDG to design  and moderate the workshop. Two separate workshops, one for the primary stakeholders and the second for the secondary stakeholders were held. 

 

The decision to split up the programme into two sessions and to conduct a separate workshop for the primary stakeholders was due to several reasons. The primary stakeholders are the intended target community.  A separate workshop for them allowed us to create an enabling environment for the primary stakeholders to freely express their views and opinions in their own style and language. In a larger audience their views and concerns may have gone unnoticed as they were not familiar with this process and the participants represented diverse professions, social backgrounds, values and behavioral patterns.

 

Workshop for primary stakeholders

The aim of this workshop was to clearly understand the role played by the primary stakeholders in the sector, and to identify their problems and expectations.

 

Identifying suitable participants for the workshop proved to be a difficult task, once again because of their extremely low profile.   ITDG commissioned a

researcher to visit a selected number of drug manufacturing agencies, both government and private in Colombo and obtain a list of small-scale herbal material suppliers registered with those individual agencies. We were able to get a list with names and addresses of about 60 collectors. ITDG sent a postal questionnaire and an invite to all those on the list and received about 45 responses.

 

There were 20 participants in workshop. Among those participated were growers, as well as suppliers. There was a wide geographical representation among participants who were mainly collectors[2], and a few non-governmental organizations engaged in the promotion of cultivation and conservation of herbal plant material.  The participants of the workshop had vivid expectations from the workshop such as to share their knowledge and experience, to find out what they can obtain to improve their industry such as better prices, good markets, advice, technology, land, capital etc. After brainstorming on the individual expectations of the workshop, the Moderator showed how the individual expectations of the participants could well be accommodated within the objectives set by the workshop organizers and how they could be harmonized. 

 

The specific objectives of this workshop were to:

 

¨      Provide an opportunity for medicinal plant growers and suppliers scattered in rural areas of the different provinces of the country to meet each other and to develop inter-relationships.

¨      Create an opportunity for them to present problems, constraints and issues experienced by them in carrying out their work.

¨      Identify collectively their needs and remedial measures that can reduce or solve their problems.

¨      Obtain the contribution of medicinal plant growers and suppliers for the formulation of a Participatory Development Plan.

¨      Identify the opportunities for intervention by the ITDG to improve the living conditions of the rural based medicinal plant growers and suppliers.

 

 

For most of the participants this was the first exposure to participatory methodologies and a novel experience to be in a participatory workshop.  The methodology was highly appreciated by the participants.  However,  this process needed intensive facilitation by the moderator mainly because this was a new experience to the participants.

 

The methodology used to generate information was as follows:

 

An anlysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) with relation to medicinal plant cultivation and supply. The concepts were explained and how assessing these areas can contribute to the effective formulation of a development programme. 

 

In-depth analysis and discussion of problems affecting the medicinal plant cultivation and supply. By using a problem tree the participants were able to identify the root causes of the problems.

 

Identify potential solutions for problems and activities that need to be   accomplished to realize those solutions. This was done through group work which broke up the group to smaller units thereby giving more leeway for participants to express their opinion. The smaller groups then presented their ideas to the plenary.

 

                  Throughout the workshop, visualization techniques using colour coded cards and group exercises were used to enable participants to express their ideas and opinions.

 

 

 

 

A host of problems were identified – with prices and markets, land and capital, technology, knowledge and information, institutionalisation, policies etc.

 

 

Workshop for secondary level stakeholders

Armed with the information gathered from the first workshop, a second workshop was held for secondary level stakeholders. This was a 3 day residential programme attended by around 40 participants who were ayurveda doctors, members of the presidential task force, researchers, conservationists, drug manufactures, government officials, development workers etc.  At a broader level, the workshop aimed to communicate the plans of the primary level stakeholders to the secondary level. 

 

 

The specific objectives of this workshop were as follows:

 

·         To provide an opportunity for stakeholder institutions/individuals in associated industries to carry out an analysis of their own participation in the sector

 

·         To review and refine problems, issues, and concerns of the small scale medicinal plant suppliers, identified at the first workshop

 

·         To identify the desired status and the alternatives to overcome the problems and difficulties encountered by the rural based medicinal cultivators and suppliers

 

·         To mobilise active participation and contribution of the relevant stakeholders institutions in the process of formulating a participatory development plan related to the cultivation and supply of medicinal plants

 

·         To identify the space for ITDG to intervene to improve the living conditions of the medicinal plant suppliers.

 

 

Developing a five year plan

In order to achieve these objectives, the participants went through a process that looked at the problems identified, and developed objectives and eventually constructed a national 5 year project plan with activities and responsibilities. Given the time restrictions this was only a basic framework. Therefore, a committee was assigned to refine and improve the document. 

 

 

 

The overall Goal and purpose were developed:

Medicinal plants are conscientiously utilised for the social, economic, health and environmental advancement of the community.

 

The socio-economic conditions of the cultivators, collectors and suppliers of medicinal herbal raw material in the rural areas are enhanced.

 

In order to achieve these higher objectives, key areas of focus were developed.  The following outputs were agreed on:

 

Reasonable and standard prices for plant based medicinal ingredients obtained

 

Harmful effects of the national regional and international trade agreements on the local herbal material market minimised

 

Interaction, co-ordination and participation among cultivators, suppliers and manufacturers strengthened

 

Public awareness creation programmes related to medicinal plants implemented

 

Ensure a balance between herbal material consumption and conservation

 

A systematic programme for the cultivation of the medicinal plants introduced

Appropriate technology for post harvest and pre production purposes adopted productively and effectively

 

Incentive programmes for medicinal plant cultivators, collectors and suppliers implemented

 

Systematic knowledge on harvesting, supply and use  imparted to the relevant groups

 

A mechanism for the systematic exchange of information established related to medicinal plants developed and strengthened

 

State patronage for the cultivation of medicinal plants are related industries enhanced

 

 

 

Sharing the development plan

The five year plan was developed together with selected primary and secondary stakeholders.  Yet it was necessary to have the consensus of a representation at a national level.   A seminar was organised to share the plan with all sectors involved in the medicinal plant sector.  However, the primary target was the policy makers because their support is essential for successful implementaiton of the plan. The seminar aimed to improve recognition of the commercial potential of medicinal plants, and broaden the policy makers’ understanding on the nature of support  they can facilitate to ensure commercial viability of the medicinal herbs sector. 

 

The key achievement of the workshop was the willingness of the policy makers,   state institutions, and other devleopment organisations to share responsibilities in implementing the plan.

 

This plan incorporated a number of components that contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the small-scale medicinal plant cultivators and suppliers. For example, it was proposed to mobilize the support of Samurdhi Authority (government welfare scheme for poverty alleviation), the local Ayurvedic physicians and large-scale medicinal herb cultivators for the expansion of the cultivation of medicinal plants and its conservation.  Similarly it was further agreed to explore the possibilities of getting the expertise of the Universities, particularly the Faculties of Agriculture and Engineering for research and technology development. 

 

The successful implementation of the plan will depend on the interest, commitment and cooperation of the secondary stakeholders and the active participation of the primary stakeholders in the process.  The need to build awareness among the primary stakeholders in regard to harvesting practices, marketing etc. was highlighted as a pre-condition for their active participation.  It also requires the strengthening of the relationship between the primary and the secondary stakeholders

 

 The successful implementation of such an integrated plan depends on all stakeholders becoming actively involved in the operation and monitoring of it.  Therefore, the keen interest expressed by the stakeholders, especially policy makers to bear responsibilities for different components of work, as well as be part of a group for overall implementation is considered as an important achievement.

 

 

Key outcomes of this process

 

·         Importance of commercial viabiltiy of the medicinal plant sector, and the corresponding issues and potentials are identified

 

·         Channels are facilitated for flow of information which, at present, stagnate with different groups.  Some of the suggested actions in this regard are newsletters linking all stakeholders and databases.

 

·         Identifying the current situation of the resource bases for raw materials, and highlighting the need for sustainable use of this, and the need to develop other resource bases.

 

·         Facilitate channels for increased profits for primary stakeholders thereby improving their socio economic situations

 

·         Identify specific areas in which different organisation can intervene for devleopment of the sector. For example the areas of technology devleopment for ITDG.

 

 

 

 

Conclusions

 

The use of participatory approach to generate information, bring together stakeholders and develop plans was important, and provided positive results.  Medicinal plants sector has deep roots as a small scale business of the informal sector.  Commercialisation of such requires involvement of stakeholders at all levels if viable and sustainable benefits are to be achieved.  Therefore, using participatory approaches was an important tool in this. 

 

Using participatory approaches in this commercialisation venture was also important because of the socio economic disparity of the primary and secondary stakeholders.  The voice of the primary stakeholders would have gone unheeded unless enabling environments in which they feel free and encouraged to speak was facilitated.  The process played an important role in helping the primary stakeholders realise their high contribution to the sector and also their potential to devlelop their “work” as a commercial enterprise.

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[1] This information was taken from a study on the potential and prospects of cultivating and processing medicinal herbs in Sri Lanka, done by ITDG in 1997.

[2] The collectors were in two categories. Some did the collecting themselves and sold it to the drug companies while others acted as middlemen and paid others for collecting herbs.  They also were primary processors – which was basically sun-drying.