Revolutionizing Agriculture: New Avenues for Global Growth

Modernizing Indian agriculture means thinking outside the box and cultivating unique crops for the global market. Harnessing data science to thrive amid climate challenges, we recently focused on Arnica (Arnica montana L.) production in Jammu and Kashmir.

Arnica is used commercially in cosmetics, shampoos, hair tonics, anti-dandruff products, bath products and massage oils. Arnica oil is also used in perfumery.?

In the European Union, several defined arnica preparations like alcoholic tinctures are regulated as traditional herbal medicinal products (THMPs) requiring registration and pre-marketing authorization as per the quality standards monograph of the European Pharmacopoeia.

Addressing underdeveloped areas, we propose Arnica cultivation for small organic farms in the hills of Jammu and Kashmir, extending to the wider Himalayas.

Arnica montana, native to Europe, offers significant medicinal value, renowned for its healing properties. However, its wild populations have dwindled due to habitat loss, over-collection, and climate change. This scarcity has ignited a thriving market for Arnica products, presenting a unique economic opportunity.

Market Insights:

Romania is a key player in the arnica market, exporting primarily to Germany, Italy, France, and Switzerland. Germany, in particular, constitutes the largest share of Romania's arnica exports, driven by robust demand. The pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors in Germany alone require approximately 10 metric tons of arnica annually.

This demand-supply gap has also spurred interest in cultivating Arnica montana in other regions of Europe. India, with its growing demand for natural and herbal products, presents a promising market.

Following are the major key players in the arnica-based product and extract market: Weleda AG, Boiron, Dr. Hauschka, Kneipp GmbH, Hyland's; among others.

The location of prospective Arnica montana growing areas in the World and in India is shown on the map. The color scale indicates the density of probability. Red represents the highest probability, whereas light yellow means the lowest probability. White areas indicates locations where conditions are unsuitable for growing the crop. The results are the output of CropLocator, which is a proprietary AI solution developed by SBSF Agritech . The solution is based on Machine-Learning models and leverages global Climate, Weather, Soil and Geographical data, combined with a highly curated database of several million germplasms of crops and trees.

#agriculture #fao #digitalfarming #medicinalplants #jammuandkashmir

ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) , Pusa Krishi, ICAR- IARI , Weleda AG , Boiron France , Kneipp , Dabur India Limited , Patanjali Ayurved Limited , Hyland's