Economic potentials of medicinal and aromatic plants in dryland and rainfed areas of India

Abstract

Drought stress is especially important in countries like India where crop agriculture is essentially rain-fed. Indian farmers have been looking for some better alternative to diversify from traditional agriculture due to gradual reduction in profitability owing to decline in productivity, increased incidence of disease and pest attack in traditional crops, contingent upon their hardy nature and higher returns, medicinal plant cultivation is a better option. India needs to take up a systematic approach towards cultivation of medicinal plants to provide a consistent supply of medicinal and aromatic plant produce of international quality.