Jhumpura, Keonjhar, Odisha
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Cultivation
Developing a full cultivation-to-market ecosystem for medicinal and aromatic plants on fallow community land, using natural farming methods and a local FPO as an active delivery partner.
Attribute
Details
📍 Location
Jhumpura, Keonjhar, Odisha
🏛 Funder
Brahmani River Pellets Ltd. (BRPL)
👥 Beneficiaries
50 farmers
📅 Duration
Sep 2022 to Aug 2023
🌱 Focus Area
Indigenous Knowledge Systems
B2V designed this as a focused pilot to test whether fallow community land could be productively converted to medicinal and aromatic plant cultivation using natural farming methods. Four species were selected for the pilot, Lemongrass, Tulsi, Mentha, and Geranium, covering 50 acres across participating farmer households in Jhumpura block. Species selection balanced commercial viability with ease of cultivation, making adoption viable for farmers with limited resources or prior experience with these crops. Technical support was delivered directly at the farm level, reducing the barrier to entry for first-time growers.
A local FPO was brought in as an active implementation partner from the outset, rather than as a downstream aggregator. This is a deliberate structural choice: FPO involvement at the cultivation stage builds farmer confidence, improves compliance with quality standards, and creates a ready aggregation channel for processing and marketing.
As a one-year pilot, this programme was designed to validate the model rather than achieve scale. The core question it tested was whether a complete ecosystem covering cultivation, processing, and marketing could be established within a single operating cycle on previously unproductive land.
The pilot's design philosophy, fallow land activation, FPO partnership, natural farming methods, and full value chain integration, represents a replicable unit that B2V can deploy at larger scale with subsequent funding. The BRPL partnership reflects growing interest from the mining and industrial sector in supporting ecological and livelihood restoration in the communities surrounding their operations.
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