RCCI interventions

To start with RCCI has choosen Safed Musli under herbal medinal plant as a product for its intervention.

Safed Musli is basically a rhizome, which grows naturally in the Aravali forests of southern Rajasthan. In India there are more than 50 species of Safed Musli among which Chlorophytum borivilianum is considered to be the most appropriate. Rhizomes of Musli are used as planting material while the roots are used for medicinal purpose. Safed Musli is a medicinal plant used to overcome general and sexual weakness. It is an active ingredient of worldwide popular medicine like "Viagra". In traditional system of medicine or Ayurved, Safed Musli is also used to prepare medicine for tuberculosis and cancer. Owing to its enormous uses, its worldwide demand is estimated to be 35000 tones annually as compared to current annual production of 5000 ton.
The cultivation of Safed Musli could be quite rewarding as the per acre return is around Rs. 4,00,000 as compared to an investment of Rs.1,50,000 with a net profit of Rs. 2,50,000. In Rajasthan in the year 2001-02, In Pali, Sirohi and Jodhpur districts of southern Rajasthan, some farmers have stared its cultivation. In southern Rajasthan, in Jhadol, Rajsamand, Matrikundia and Udaipur a few farmers are cultivating Safed Musli. However looking to more appropriateness of climatic conditions and the area being natural home to the musli its present area under cultivation is negligible due to lack of awareness among farmers. In Rajasthan College of Agriculture an all India Coordinated Research project is functional for the development of cultivation technology of Safed Musli.

Safed Musli Cluster at Jhadol

Jhadol Tehsil headquarter is located 50 Kms. away from Udaipur City towards west The Tehsil is also attached with Gujarat State. Jhadol has 256 villages divided into 41 Panchayats. 74% of the total population belongs to the Schedule Tribes(71.21%)and Schedule castes (2.92%). The sex ratio is 955 and literacy rate 15.98%, with female litracy at 5.78%. In Jhadol Tehsil 75.67% of land is owned by the government(forest, charagah and others) and only 24.33% is owned by individuals.

Focus group consists of small and marginal tribal farmers with some facility of irrigation and already engaged in cultivation of underground cash crops like ginger, turmeric, colocassia, yam etc. These cash crops provide higher and readily en-cashable returns to these poor farmers. Thus their cultivation is vital to the economically vulnerable livelihoods of the farmers. Due to higher returns as compared to the food crops, the cultivation of cash crops is becoming popular among the tribal farmers with access to irrigation.
These farmers are well versed with the cultivation of the crops whose package of practices is almost similar to Safed Musli. Safed Musli can be a better alternative to ginger, as ginger, in the recent years, has become vulnerable to a disease (rhizome rot) and thus its economic viability has become highly uncertain. Safed Musli on the other hand does not get any serious pest or disease attack. The farmers of the area are quiet knowledgeable about the medicinal and economic importance of Safed Musli and as the musli is not available in sufficient quantity from the forests, the farmers may accept its cultivation readily.

RCCI interventions

Following major needs were identified