What happened
Farmers in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district are cultivating Kutki, a medicinal herb listed as endangered, through a harvesting method that leaves the mother plant intact. Researchers developed the technique to replace destructive wild uprooting with sustainable collection of the plant’s stolons, or side stems.
Why the development matters
Kutki had suffered from overharvesting and illegal trade. The new cultivation method shows how conservation of a threatened Himalayan species can be linked to an additional income source for hill farmers.
Background and earlier position
Before the new cultivation practice, the herb was largely extracted from the wild. Wild uprooting damaged the mother plant and intensified pressure on a threatened resource in the Himalayan region.
Related current affairs
- Reclaiming Assam’s elephant habitat, one weed at a time
- National Cooperative Development Corporation ropes in bid to bolster cooperatives; focus on Himachal villages
- NBA disburses ~Rs. 3.79 crore under Access and Benefit Sharing to 33 States/UTs and research entities
- Meghalaya launches mission to protect clouded leopards
- Himachal Pradesh plans health scheme with coverage of ₹10 lakh
- Govt releasing its share of SDRF disaster funds to seven flood-affected States