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'

Paper presented at:

International Conference of Medicinal Plants, Traditional Medicines & Local
Communities in Africa: Challenges & Opportunities of the New Millenium,
Nairobi, Kenya 16-19 May 2000

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 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 , 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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