Executive of Medicinal Plants Plan of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, “Access to Medicinal Plants’ Global Markets with Organic System

The Executive of Medicinal Plants Plan of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad indicated the importance of medicinal plants export.
Based on a report by IANA in Khouzestan, in a meeting of Medicinal Plants Council, Hossein Zeinali, the Executive of Medicinal Plants Plan of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, said, “one of the basic issues in the field of medicinal plants is lack of active and independent unions.”
He added, “based on an agreement which is to be signed with Plan and Budget Organization, the obstacles in the field of facilities, institutions, organizations, etc. are to be removed.”
Referring to a lack of coordination between research centers and the requirements of the global market, he further noted, “contractual cultivation needs to be the basics of medicinal plants’ development.”
He also added, “to sell and export our country’s medicinal plants, these plants need to be organically produced.”
Referring to the compilation of medicinal plants’ strategic plan for export, the Executive of Medicinal Plants Plan said, “the private sectors need to be more involved in this regard.”
Zeinali pointed to the agro-processing industries as important factors of medicinal plants’ marketability, “we are prepared to familiarize the pioneer farmers with the unique centers that have considerable developments in this field.”
In this meeting, Khodarahm Amirizadeh, Head of Khouzestan’s Agricultural Jihad Organization, said, “unfortunately, we have witnessed that Khouzestan has been stripped of medicinal plants, in the recent years, and one of the organization’s responsibility is to prevent such things from happening.”
He pointed out the special capacity of the province for the development of medicinal plants, “although these plants are economically beneficial, they have been neglected by the managers.”
He stressed the need for the formation of medicinal plants committee of experts with members of researchers, experts, private sectors and relative managers, “forming contractual agriculture in the field of medicinal plants’ development, shows the farmers the correct path.”
He deemed the effectiveness of women’s participation in the cultivation of medicinal plants in the form of “cooperative homemakers”. He also stressed the increase of herbal medical clinics as well as creating medicinal plants bazaars.”