Can you briefly explain what you do?
I am Jeyakumar and I am an entrepreneur promoter and entrepreneur trainer. I have been working with an organization called Industry and Consultancy Office of Tamil Nadu – ICOT. I worked with them for about 11 years and then left the job to start this movement and promote entrepreneurship in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. We started this NGO in the name of Tamil Nadu Council for Enterprise Development – TACED in short- in 1992. In the near past, we have been focusing a lot on herbal, coir and readymade garments. Our main aim is to promote entrepreneurship in our area. We are much focused on herbal cultivation, herbal trading, etc. We promote all this in a very systematic way.
If someone wants to indulge in this business, what will your advice be?
Based on their potential, we suggest which sector is best for them to dive into. Our vision is to convert 5% of cultivable area into medicinal plants cultivation and to promote Siddha and Ayurveda retail shops. That is, have one Siddha/Ayurveda outlet for every 5 Allopathic medical stores.
We promote the herbal business in an inclusive manner. We promote people who would like to open their own retail outlet, cultivate herbal plants, processing, trading, extraction, etc. We also organize herbal cultivation training and herbal business meets on a regular basis. So far, we have been instrumental in organizing 223 herbal business meets.
What motivated you to opt for herbal and medicinal plants?
We are consultants. The organization which I worked for earlier is a consultancy and training organization. With that background, we have been providing consultancy and training for many people in our area. We have been doing this since 1992. Analysing all the customers who come to us, we categorize them as:
1. People who want to set up a business immediately
2. People who are interested in deep analysis and can wait diving deep into their entrepreneurship venture
3. People who come seeking information for a lot later – they are just gathering data.
With this categorization in mind, we zeroed in on 3 businesses that we can support:
1. Readymade garments – this is something one can start immediately and they can see immediate profit too.
2. Coir industry: This is a business for the future.
3. Herbal Industry: This is a seasoned business.
We organise seminars on various industries and it is the herbal seminar that has attracted more than 600 people at Madurai. This has continually attracted good responses from the public. We must focus on the herbal sector because the herbal industry has a wonderful future – economically as well as for export. It is a healthy business. Whoever does this business, will have a fair knowledge on keeping themselves healthy and can make money as well.
Is Moringa economical, and what is the response for that crop?
We are focusing on 5 crops in a very inclusive manner:
1. Tulsi
2. Moringa
3. Vetiver
4. Phyllanthus Amarus, and
5. Hibiscus
These are the 5 crops we focus on and all these crops are cultivated using vertical farming. The Moringa gets cultivated such that there is no compromise on quality. We are located in southern Tamil Nadu and cultivate the traditional varieties of Moringa. We have organized two delegations – Moringa India Delegation 2017 and 2018. We have taken potential entrepreneurs to various locations where Moringa is being cultivated and processed. On an All India basis, our area leads when it comes to Moringa cultivation.
What is the genre of people who get in touch with you regarding herbal production?
Off late, it is the educated lot which is coming forward, rather than small and marginal farmers. It is mostly industrialists who wish to diversify their activities, and the younger generation, that is coming into the world of health products.
Do you offer only theoretical understanding or do you give hands on training as well?
We have both. We organise a one/two day training programme. The duration of the training program depends on the crop that gets selected. We keep mornings for theoretical classes and in the afternoon, we take them to fields where these products are cultivated, for hands-on training.
These field trips encourage conversations with farmers who are successful in the respective crop cultivation. We also take them to trading centres and get buyers to the training centres as well. We are 20 years into the game and have a fair understanding of exporting, the local market, the prices, the quality expected, the processing procedure etc. The 5 crops I mentioned earlier is just a start. We are gradually focusing on other crops like Coleus, Glorisa Superba, as well. We also promote trees like Neem etc.
Where are you located?
In Madurai – we are at the heart of the city. We have our small office and a training hall that can accommodate 70 people.
What would be the initial requirements if one wants to get into cultivation?
For Moringa we recommend 5 acres of land. There are people who think in terms of 1-2 acres; but we suggest starting with 5 acres because you need at least that much to avail for organic cultivation certification. We encourage only those farmers who have organic certification or else their products won’t fetch a good price. The normal price only ranges between Rs. 100-110, whereas the organic certified Moringa leaves would range from Rs 300/- onwards. So, we strongly recommend people for 5 acre cultivation. The soil preferred is red soil and water is hardly a concern. The water requirement is as low as once a week. We recommend only the PKM 1 variety. We provide comprehensive support for Moringa farmers and we get them networked with the big players in the market – people who cultivate on 20-30 acres. There are people who have entered the export sector too.
What would be the investment they will need to keep in mind?
For 5 acres, besides the land etc., they will have to be prepared for around 2 lakhs – that will be sufficient. The Tamil Nadu government provides subsidy for drip irrigation. 2 lakhs will be a sufficient amount for a 5 acre cultivation. This, of course, doesn’t include the land price. They can earn a minimum of 1 lakh per annum per acre. Also, Moringa cultivation is a recurring income for farmers. They can harvest leaves once in 45 days approximately. This can be dried and then marketed. About 2 months a year there won’t be any harvest. Other than that, Moringa can offer a steady income.
So, it is more or less a round-the-year crop?
Yes, almost! It gives you a harvest all the year with the exception of November and December. I believe that we need to be Samaritans and promote the Moringa in a big way for the medicinal value it holds. We can supply Moringa to the entire world. Moringa can grow very well in India, particularly in the southern states.
Do you promote only leaves?
We are also promoting seeds. But most farmers require cash flow and their best bet is the Moringa leaves.
Can you elaborate a little about Herbal Business Meets?
I will give you a small brief. When we started in 1997, we realised that it is very good for the herbal business. We collaborated with Nandini Consultancy Centre at Chennai. They have given us a lot of inputs on herbal business, and based on that we attended many seminars organised at Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, etc. Following that, we began organizing seminars. With that, people from companies like Himalaya, Dabur, etc. began inquiring about herbal products because there was a deficit for such products in the market. Taking a cue from their inputs, we plunged into cultivation. We started cultivation trainings as well. We called it the Herbal Cultivation Training (HCT). We did organise the training once a month and every first Tuesday we used to have a training programme organised. This training was open for farmers and people from other fields as well. We charged them a very nominal fee for a two-day training programme including field visits etc. On the basis of these training programmes, people began cultivating herbals. But, they could not market it and at that time, we were also not very sure about the market trends. As a result, farmers found it very difficult to keep up the cultivation. Also, because the marketing was not cracked, sometimes things got ugly with protests and law suits etc. That is when we realised that it is not just about how to cultivate but it all revolves around understanding the trade in and out. It was then that we started the Herbal Business Meets. We started it 10 years back and it has been organised very systematically and timely. It is organised twice a month – 2nd and 4th Tuesdays. This meet provides various inputs. We have exporters, traders, farmers, agripreneurs, youngsters, people from other fields of life etc. coming to be a part of it. We invite experts who may not be very popular but who are very strong in inputs. This way the participants get a comprehensive and focused information on herbals. We arrange sessions for Moringa, Phyllanthus Amarus, etc. and cover various topics like export, how herbal products can be sourced from north to south India, etc. These meets are so comprehensive, that anyone attending at least 5 meets regularly can attain complete information about herbal trading. The meet is being only organised at Madurai, currently. We charge a fee of Rs. 100 from the participants. The meet starts exactly at 10:30 am and it will go on until 1:00 p.m. It is a venue for great collaboration with people from different ventures. People come from Andhra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala etc.
Can you tell us about the Tulsi?
Right now though we are focusing on 5 crops, Tulsi takes the top position. It is our pet project. We promote Ocimum Gratissimum, popularly known as Rama Tulsi. Tamil Nadu is one of the leading producer of Tulsi. Our Tulsi got featured once in The Hindu and was spotted by an American Company who came over, studied our cultivation and placed an order with us for Tulsi. They began buying from our counterpart in Kerala for treating cancer. We cultivate Tulsi organically and it is now being supplied to the pharmaceutical industry.
Do you also provide planting materials for the herbal cultivation?
No we don’t do it directly. Having said that, we do connect the farmers or potential farmers with people who provide planting materials. We, as an NGO, do not have a commercial set up. So we link people with the source they seek.
How is the market status when it comes to herbal products?
The Government of India needs to be sincere in promoting the herbal business, particularly the production of herbals because they talk about bio diversity etc. But government should take a bold step in ceasing collection from the farmers so that cultivation picks up. Also, right now people in this industry are being managed by people from the Forestry Department. The forest department are more seasoned to think of conservation etc. The need of the hour is to talk about production rather than conservation. Sharing a small example, we had the family control program in place. Then, in due course, the Govt. of India changed the term to Family Welfare. In the same manner, we should not just talk about conservation but talk about production. When we talk about production in the herbal market, people from the Siddha and Ayurveda industries should lead the show because they are the ones who require these herbals. The Government, I believe, should think from a different perspective and promote cultivation and not just talk about conservation. I strongly support that corporates like Dabur, Himalaya etc. should be firm that they are not collecting raw material from the wild. That should be a disclaimer on their label. It should be promoted that these herbals are cultivated. This will call for more participation in the herbal industry. Or else, we stand a chance to lose all the herbals. Even the healers will be devoid of herbals. One of the healers in our area are running short of herbals for treating their patients. We are exporting herbals in a huge manner. 75% of the herbals produced in India is being exported. We should focus on value addition. But somehow the importance of all this seems diluted.
Do you do value addition for all the crops?
Yes. Recently, I attended a workshop by J C Kumarappa. He was telling about how we should be focussed on both the export and local markets.
After that workshop, I started promoting Moringa leaves in my area too. I believe that everybody should consume 1 spoon of Moringa leaves morning and night. When it comes to value addition, one can develop Moringa candy, juice, oil, etc. We have to promote all this in the local market as well. Value addition is one of our key focus areas when we have our herbal meets as well.
Moringa has got maximum potential?
Moringa is a poor man’s food. People can consume it well and it is easily available and it is extremely high in iron content. It is the only affordable crop which is generous in aiding your body with haemoglobin. Statistics say that 50% of our women are anaemic. We can strengthen the base of our country with Moringa because the people are the base of a country.
Contact-
M.Jeyakumar,
Sr.Consultant,
Tamilnadu Council for Enterprise Development (TACED)
Saradha Complex, Simmakkal
Madurai – 625001
Tamilnadu
94431 59345,/94875 59345 /0452-2627989
taced1992@gmail.com
I am Jeyakumar and I am an entrepreneur promoter and entrepreneur trainer. I have been working with an organization called Industry and Consultancy Office of Tamil Nadu – ICOT. I worked with them for about 11 years and then left the job to start this movement and promote entrepreneurship in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. We started this NGO in the name of Tamil Nadu Council for Enterprise Development – TACED in short- in 1992. In the near past, we have been focusing a lot on herbal, coir and readymade garments. Our main aim is to promote entrepreneurship in our area. We are much focused on herbal cultivation, herbal trading, etc. We promote all this in a very systematic way.
If someone wants to indulge in this business, what will your advice be?
Based on their potential, we suggest which sector is best for them to dive into. Our vision is to convert 5% of cultivable area into medicinal plants cultivation and to promote Siddha and Ayurveda retail shops. That is, have one Siddha/Ayurveda outlet for every 5 Allopathic medical stores.
We promote the herbal business in an inclusive manner. We promote people who would like to open their own retail outlet, cultivate herbal plants, processing, trading, extraction, etc. We also organize herbal cultivation training and herbal business meets on a regular basis. So far, we have been instrumental in organizing 223 herbal business meets.
What motivated you to opt for herbal and medicinal plants?
We are consultants. The organization which I worked for earlier is a consultancy and training organization. With that background, we have been providing consultancy and training for many people in our area. We have been doing this since 1992. Analysing all the customers who come to us, we categorize them as:
1. People who want to set up a business immediately
2. People who are interested in deep analysis and can wait diving deep into their entrepreneurship venture
3. People who come seeking information for a lot later – they are just gathering data.
With this categorization in mind, we zeroed in on 3 businesses that we can support:
1. Readymade garments – this is something one can start immediately and they can see immediate profit too.
2. Coir industry: This is a business for the future.
3. Herbal Industry: This is a seasoned business.
We organise seminars on various industries and it is the herbal seminar that has attracted more than 600 people at Madurai. This has continually attracted good responses from the public. We must focus on the herbal sector because the herbal industry has a wonderful future – economically as well as for export. It is a healthy business. Whoever does this business, will have a fair knowledge on keeping themselves healthy and can make money as well.
Is Moringa economical, and what is the response for that crop?
We are focusing on 5 crops in a very inclusive manner:
1. Tulsi
2. Moringa
3. Vetiver
4. Phyllanthus Amarus, and
5. Hibiscus
These are the 5 crops we focus on and all these crops are cultivated using vertical farming. The Moringa gets cultivated such that there is no compromise on quality. We are located in southern Tamil Nadu and cultivate the traditional varieties of Moringa. We have organized two delegations – Moringa India Delegation 2017 and 2018. We have taken potential entrepreneurs to various locations where Moringa is being cultivated and processed. On an All India basis, our area leads when it comes to Moringa cultivation.
What is the genre of people who get in touch with you regarding herbal production?
Off late, it is the educated lot which is coming forward, rather than small and marginal farmers. It is mostly industrialists who wish to diversify their activities, and the younger generation, that is coming into the world of health products.
Do you offer only theoretical understanding or do you give hands on training as well?
We have both. We organise a one/two day training programme. The duration of the training program depends on the crop that gets selected. We keep mornings for theoretical classes and in the afternoon, we take them to fields where these products are cultivated, for hands-on training.
These field trips encourage conversations with farmers who are successful in the respective crop cultivation. We also take them to trading centres and get buyers to the training centres as well. We are 20 years into the game and have a fair understanding of exporting, the local market, the prices, the quality expected, the processing procedure etc. The 5 crops I mentioned earlier is just a start. We are gradually focusing on other crops like Coleus, Glorisa Superba, as well. We also promote trees like Neem etc.
Where are you located?
In Madurai – we are at the heart of the city. We have our small office and a training hall that can accommodate 70 people.
What would be the initial requirements if one wants to get into cultivation?
For Moringa we recommend 5 acres of land. There are people who think in terms of 1-2 acres; but we suggest starting with 5 acres because you need at least that much to avail for organic cultivation certification. We encourage only those farmers who have organic certification or else their products won’t fetch a good price. The normal price only ranges between Rs. 100-110, whereas the organic certified Moringa leaves would range from Rs 300/- onwards. So, we strongly recommend people for 5 acre cultivation. The soil preferred is red soil and water is hardly a concern. The water requirement is as low as once a week. We recommend only the PKM 1 variety. We provide comprehensive support for Moringa farmers and we get them networked with the big players in the market – people who cultivate on 20-30 acres. There are people who have entered the export sector too.
What would be the investment they will need to keep in mind?
For 5 acres, besides the land etc., they will have to be prepared for around 2 lakhs – that will be sufficient. The Tamil Nadu government provides subsidy for drip irrigation. 2 lakhs will be a sufficient amount for a 5 acre cultivation. This, of course, doesn’t include the land price. They can earn a minimum of 1 lakh per annum per acre. Also, Moringa cultivation is a recurring income for farmers. They can harvest leaves once in 45 days approximately. This can be dried and then marketed. About 2 months a year there won’t be any harvest. Other than that, Moringa can offer a steady income.
So, it is more or less a round-the-year crop?
Yes, almost! It gives you a harvest all the year with the exception of November and December. I believe that we need to be Samaritans and promote the Moringa in a big way for the medicinal value it holds. We can supply Moringa to the entire world. Moringa can grow very well in India, particularly in the southern states.
Do you promote only leaves?
We are also promoting seeds. But most farmers require cash flow and their best bet is the Moringa leaves.
Can you elaborate a little about Herbal Business Meets?
I will give you a small brief. When we started in 1997, we realised that it is very good for the herbal business. We collaborated with Nandini Consultancy Centre at Chennai. They have given us a lot of inputs on herbal business, and based on that we attended many seminars organised at Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, etc. Following that, we began organizing seminars. With that, people from companies like Himalaya, Dabur, etc. began inquiring about herbal products because there was a deficit for such products in the market. Taking a cue from their inputs, we plunged into cultivation. We started cultivation trainings as well. We called it the Herbal Cultivation Training (HCT). We did organise the training once a month and every first Tuesday we used to have a training programme organised. This training was open for farmers and people from other fields as well. We charged them a very nominal fee for a two-day training programme including field visits etc. On the basis of these training programmes, people began cultivating herbals. But, they could not market it and at that time, we were also not very sure about the market trends. As a result, farmers found it very difficult to keep up the cultivation. Also, because the marketing was not cracked, sometimes things got ugly with protests and law suits etc. That is when we realised that it is not just about how to cultivate but it all revolves around understanding the trade in and out. It was then that we started the Herbal Business Meets. We started it 10 years back and it has been organised very systematically and timely. It is organised twice a month – 2nd and 4th Tuesdays. This meet provides various inputs. We have exporters, traders, farmers, agripreneurs, youngsters, people from other fields of life etc. coming to be a part of it. We invite experts who may not be very popular but who are very strong in inputs. This way the participants get a comprehensive and focused information on herbals. We arrange sessions for Moringa, Phyllanthus Amarus, etc. and cover various topics like export, how herbal products can be sourced from north to south India, etc. These meets are so comprehensive, that anyone attending at least 5 meets regularly can attain complete information about herbal trading. The meet is being only organised at Madurai, currently. We charge a fee of Rs. 100 from the participants. The meet starts exactly at 10:30 am and it will go on until 1:00 p.m. It is a venue for great collaboration with people from different ventures. People come from Andhra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala etc.
Can you tell us about the Tulsi?
Right now though we are focusing on 5 crops, Tulsi takes the top position. It is our pet project. We promote Ocimum Gratissimum, popularly known as Rama Tulsi. Tamil Nadu is one of the leading producer of Tulsi. Our Tulsi got featured once in The Hindu and was spotted by an American Company who came over, studied our cultivation and placed an order with us for Tulsi. They began buying from our counterpart in Kerala for treating cancer. We cultivate Tulsi organically and it is now being supplied to the pharmaceutical industry.
Do you also provide planting materials for the herbal cultivation?
No we don’t do it directly. Having said that, we do connect the farmers or potential farmers with people who provide planting materials. We, as an NGO, do not have a commercial set up. So we link people with the source they seek.
How is the market status when it comes to herbal products?
The Government of India needs to be sincere in promoting the herbal business, particularly the production of herbals because they talk about bio diversity etc. But government should take a bold step in ceasing collection from the farmers so that cultivation picks up. Also, right now people in this industry are being managed by people from the Forestry Department. The forest department are more seasoned to think of conservation etc. The need of the hour is to talk about production rather than conservation. Sharing a small example, we had the family control program in place. Then, in due course, the Govt. of India changed the term to Family Welfare. In the same manner, we should not just talk about conservation but talk about production. When we talk about production in the herbal market, people from the Siddha and Ayurveda industries should lead the show because they are the ones who require these herbals. The Government, I believe, should think from a different perspective and promote cultivation and not just talk about conservation. I strongly support that corporates like Dabur, Himalaya etc. should be firm that they are not collecting raw material from the wild. That should be a disclaimer on their label. It should be promoted that these herbals are cultivated. This will call for more participation in the herbal industry. Or else, we stand a chance to lose all the herbals. Even the healers will be devoid of herbals. One of the healers in our area are running short of herbals for treating their patients. We are exporting herbals in a huge manner. 75% of the herbals produced in India is being exported. We should focus on value addition. But somehow the importance of all this seems diluted.
Do you do value addition for all the crops?
Yes. Recently, I attended a workshop by J C Kumarappa. He was telling about how we should be focussed on both the export and local markets.
After that workshop, I started promoting Moringa leaves in my area too. I believe that everybody should consume 1 spoon of Moringa leaves morning and night. When it comes to value addition, one can develop Moringa candy, juice, oil, etc. We have to promote all this in the local market as well. Value addition is one of our key focus areas when we have our herbal meets as well.
Moringa has got maximum potential?
Moringa is a poor man’s food. People can consume it well and it is easily available and it is extremely high in iron content. It is the only affordable crop which is generous in aiding your body with haemoglobin. Statistics say that 50% of our women are anaemic. We can strengthen the base of our country with Moringa because the people are the base of a country.
Contact-
M.Jeyakumar,
Sr.Consultant,
Tamilnadu Council for Enterprise Development (TACED)
Saradha Complex, Simmakkal
Madurai – 625001
Tamilnadu
94431 59345,/94875 59345 /0452-2627989
taced1992@gmail.com
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