J&K: Farmers embrace lavender revolution under aroma mission

Pulwama (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 26 (ANI): What started as a passion for apothecaries for the locals in Jammu and Kashmir, hundreds of years ago, is now a full-blown herbal revolution.

Today the Kashmir Valley is coloured in the regal shade of purple. Depending upon where the Sun is in the sky, the Kashmiri lavender blooms in different hues of colour – Violet, Mauve, Lilac, and Amethyst.
The lavender harvest season of July is no less than a festival that has extended its stay because the reason for the celebration is too important. Women folk of the Valley are proud to contribute their share in the value chain foretelling a flourishing time for the herb industry of Kashmir.

In the Bonera village of Pulwama, women work happily work through the day collecting purple blossoms from a field station under the jurisdiction of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM).

Their enthusiasm and excitement can be directly credited to the soothing aura of the lavender that calms the nervous system and acts as an antidepressant, mood booster. The cultivation of this herb has a certain appeal to women. Imagine going to work and returning home with more energy than when you left!

This seasonal job for women is an excellent place to earn some extra income that can support their daily needs. What started as a simple initiative of growing lavender for personal use in backyards has now translated to more than 200 acres of lavender fields, the largest farm in North India. The field station contributes its success to members of the women-run SHGs (Self-Help Groups).

Like many others across the Union Territory, this particular field station plays an important role in empowering women. The officials provide training to hundreds of girls for lavender and rose cultivation, processing, and value addition. Many women end up establishing their backyard units in association with neighbours and friends in the form of Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

Recently, under the Aroma Mission, CSIR IIIM Bonera distributed 6,600 lavender saplings. Being a versatile herb, lavender is added to soaps, aromatherapy oils, tea, skincare, fragrances, etc., and then sold on various online platforms including the UMEED haat exhibition.

The presence of medicinal and herbal plants wasn’t unknown in J&K but after the government’s promotion initiatives, people want to take an active role in the revolution. J&K has finally tapped the unexplored potential of Agri-tech StartUps. The youth that had earlier left Kashmir for greener pastures and high-paying jobs in metropolitan cities of the country are running back to tend to their ancestral fields. People make fortunes selling local medicinal herbs and aromatic plants with a high export value.

As lavender is a perennial crop, its oil is the new yellow gold in the region. In the last two years, J&K has been monitoring and catering to the growing demand for lavender oil in Europe. Standardization in cultivation techniques, processing, and post-harvest technology has helped maintain quality, resulting in new customer bases, especially across Western Europe.

The success of this herb has also inspired greater production of Geranium, Clary sage, Artemisia, and Rosemary among other widely used herbs in homoeopathy and naturopathy. Some varieties of these herbs have been imported from Australia to experiment with the best specimen of herbs for maximizing quality production.

Many herbs are extinct today and some individuals from prominent universities have taken it upon themselves to dig deeper and find ways to obtain these species from another place to be propagated once again in the valley. The Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, SKUAST-Kashmir, is the frontrunner in the initiative.

For centuries, mankind has used plants to alleviate all sufferings, only excluding death. Scholars from the University of Kashmir (KU) among other universities are reviving the trusted age-old ethnobotanical practices in J&K. The shift towards aromatic, ornamental, and herbal farming is transforming the agricultural activity into an export-oriented venture.

A few years back the J&K UT administration dared to imagine thriving farmlands, overflowing with premium quality plantations. Their aim to secure the title of the world’s largest herbal sanctuary is finally coming to fruition. Youth,  the driver of a nation, has replaced guns with shovels and baskets. In pursuit of peace and development, there is no place for terrorism.