Report of Master seminar

On
MARKET POTENTIAL OF MEDICINAL PLANTS
WITH REFERENCE TO SAFED MUSLI

Submitted In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree
of
Master of Business Administration
In
AGRI-BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
By
Pratik Gami

2019
SCHOOL OF AGRI-BUSINESS AND RURAL MANAGEMENT
DR. RAJENDER PRASAD CENTRAL AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
PUSA, SAMASTIPU
Acknowledgement
I feel entrancingly thrilled to express my profound sense of gratitude to, Dr. KM
Singh, Director of SAB&Rm for his zealous guidance and encouragement during
the course of this seminar. My duty is to bestow my deep and cordial thanks to
express my indebtedness to Dr. B. Kumar (Scholar-in-residence) for his affection,
constant support, valuable suggestion, guidance, encouragement, and active
criticism in the course of program. All the heuristic learning that I have done under
her will be the most comely thing in my life. Her didactic way of explaining things
had given me a lot to fetch. She is not only been fathomless ocean of knowledge and
wisdom to me but most of her handful of blessing has been my core of strength and
courage. I feel highly elated to record of my deep and heartfelt indebtedness to Dr.
Mohit Sharma (assistant Professor), for his affection, encouragement and for
giving me all those precious suggestion.

My duty is to bestow my deep and cordial thanks to Dr. A. R. Shravanthi (assistant

Professor) and Ms. Rashmi Sinha (assistant Professor) Words will be too meagre
to record inspiration, encouragement and blessings of my parents and my family
who supported me and had an intuitive conviction that I can do this. The devout that
they showed in me is the reason that made this work to reach its fruitful destination.

THANKING YOU
Yours sincerely-
Pratik Gami
Id-1805204009
Signature………………
Contents
1. Introduction of Safed Musli
2. Importance of Safed Musli
3. Commercialization
4. National and international scenario
5. Crop insurance
6. Market Potential
7. Economics od Safed Musli
8. Success story
9. Local Practices
10.Future aspects
11.Conclusion
12.Reference
Introduction-
Ancient man is known to have utilized plants as drugs
medicines, based on current knowledge we know that extracts of some
plants and trees are useful in crude and powder form i.e. Chlorophytum
Borivilianum as medicine in powder form, Rauwolfia Sarpentina roots for
hypertension, Papaver Somniferum extract or tincture as an analgesic etc.
Further we know that at least 121 chemical substances of known structure
are still extracted from plants that are useful as drugs throughout the
world. A large no of plants are used in traditional medical practices and
have been for more than 3000 years such as ayurvedic medicine, Unani
medicine, and Chinese traditional medicine etc. There are a large no of so
called herbal remedies, mainly sold in health food stores in developed
countries, many of which remain to be verified for their real therapeutic
effects, WHO have made an attempt to identify all medicinal plants that
exist in the world. It was admitted that compilation of name of medicinal
plants undoubtedly contain many replicators since botanical verification
was not attempted. Further the list only provided Latin binomials and the
countries where the plants were used, but excluded data indicating what
the plant were used for, more than twenty thousand species were included
in this list one of them in Safed musli which is scientifically known as
Chlorophytum Borivilianum.
Safed musli or Chlorophytum borivilianum (Chloros
means green and phyton means plant) is commonly known as Dholi musli and
locally pronounced by the tribes of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujrat as Koli,
Jhirna (Gharwal), Sepheta musli (Bombay) and Khairuwa (North-West Province).
Safed musli is being grown naturally in Himalayan tarai, Uttarakhand, Western
Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Southern part of Rajasthan, Western Madhya Pradesh
and North Gujrat. It is distributed in the eastern part of Himalaya, Assam and Bihar.
Generally, it grows in certain specified pockets on sloppy hill and widely distributed
in tropical and subtropical regions. Commercial cultivation of Safed musli has not
caught up in our country. The plant grows wild in its natural habitat hence no
statistics regarding area and production is available. The roots of Safed musli are
white, smooth and 3-5 inches long. A single plant produces 5-7 tuber roots. The
roots of Safed musli are used in therapeutic preparations against leucorrhoea. It has
found common uses due to its aphrodisiac properties and as a tonic for lactating
mothers and for women after delivery. Root is also used in commercial preparation
of steroidal hormones. Generally, it is used for increasing vitality. Besides this, it is
also used in many Ayurvedic preparations prescribed for joint pain, diarrhea and
diabetes and also used as a blood purifier. The tubers of Safed musli are also used
as a substitute for European salad. A large number of people live in the surrounding
of the forest for their subsistence. From the ancient times, the rural population used
roots, shoots, stems, barks, leaves, flowers, etc. for preparation of traditional
medicinal formulations to cure several human ailments. With the advancement of
medicinal science and development of newer branches of therapy, people diverted
herbal to laboratory based synthetic chemical drugs for quick relief.

Importance -
The term of medicinal plant includes various types of plants used in
herbalism and some of these plants have a medicinal activity. These medicinal
plants consider as rich source of ingredients which can be used in drug
developments and synthesis, besides that the plants play a critical role in the
development of human culture around the world,
Moreover, some plants consider as important source of nutrition and
as a result of that these plants recommended for their therapeutic values. These
plants include Safed Musli, Ginger, Walnut, Garlic and some other plants. Their
derivatives consider as important source for active ingredients which are used in
Aspirin and Toothpaste.
Medicinal plants have many important characteristics when used as a treatment are
as follows –
Preventive medicine – It has been proven that the components of plant also
characterized by their ability to prevent the appearance of some disease. This will
help to reduce the use of chemical remedies which will be used when the disease is
already present i.e. reduce the side effect of synthetic treatment.
Synergic medicine – The ingredients of plants are interacted simultaneously so
their uses can complement as damage other or neutralize their possible negative
effect.
Support of official medicines – In the treatment of complex cases like cancer
diseases, the components of plants proved to be very effective.
Musli is a tuberous plant and propagates only through the root. Sexual vegetative
reproduction is very rare and takes 18 months to mature. As it is a valuable forestry
product, whoever finds it, just picks it up and sells it to a local trader. In its natural
condition, production has been reduced to half in the last 3 years while in cultivated
condition, its production depends upon agro-climatic conditions and management
practices. Cultivation of this wonder crop is much more profitable than any other
crop of this season and provides good returns on investment in a short gestation
period of 7–8 months. The local people also cultivate it in their homes for trial
purposes and have realized how rewarding it can be.
Commercialization –

In Ayurvedic literature, Safed Musli is renowned as Divya Aushad with

enormous importance in the preparation of over one hundred different
medicines.

There is no gainsaying the fact that Safed Musli is an inevitable

ingredient in any immunity-strengthening drugs people are given to the
habit of taking a spoon of Safed Musli along with milk twice a day as a
part of routine health-care. There are also instances of Safed Musli being
used in various ways in varied parts of the country. That underlines the
reason for a great deal of demand for Safed Musli in India.

Safed musli can be sell in the market in three types which is Seedling,
Dried form after peeling and in Powder form of peeled musli.
From above forms of musli Dried form is more profitable which is differ
in rate according to quality –

Pure white dried form – 1000-1500 rs/kg

Yellowish White dried form – 700-900 rs/kg

Unpeeled dried form – 150-300rs/kg

Pure white dried form Yellowish White dried form Unpeeled dried form

Seedling is also profitable for farmers because it does not loose weight
like dried musli. The market price of seedling is 200-300rs/kg

Seedlings of Safed musli

Price of powder form of Safed musli is 3000 rs – 5000 rs per kg (price

vary based on product brand)

Powder form of Safed musli

National and International scenario –

The global markets of Safed Musli are in U.S.A. Britain,

European countries, Australia, Japan and even China. Japan and China
have the highest per capita consumption of botanical medicines in the
world. Safed Musli have annual demand around 35000 MT while only
15000 MT is produced. Safed musli (Chlorophytum borivilianum) root
powder is in great demand for power and sexual energy capsules. Safed
musli increase energy, provide healthy hormone function, enhance muscle
movement and widely used in Ayurvedic medicines. The world is demand
of Safed Musli is over 50,000 Tons, and is much higher than present
production, which is less than 5,000 Tons in various farmlands in India.
Best Nutrition Products U.S.A is seriously looking for farmers who would
like to grow these medicinal plants especially in Orissa. Nearly ten
quintals of fleshy root (wet) per hectare collected is reduced to 200 kg
(about 20% of wet root weight) after processing and drying. In the
domestic market, the rates range between Rs 800 to Rs 1800 per kg
depending on the quality of the product. The Medicinal Plants Board,
Government of India has recognized Safed Musli as 6th important herb to
be protected and promoted. The Board encourages mainstream cultivation
of Safed Musli by farmers by extending a subsidy of 20% through
National Horticultural Board on project cost.

Safed musli crop insurance-

Whereas the Insured by a proposal and declaration, which

shall be the basis of this insurance contract and is deemed to be
incorporated herein has applied for insurance hereunder contained and
has paid the premium as consideration for such insurance to the
“Insurance Company”. Now the Policy witnesses that subject to terms
and conditions, clauses and exclusions contained herein or enclosed or
otherwise attached hereon if after payment of the premium the Safed
Musli crop described in the schedule of the policy or any part thereof
 shall be destroyed or damaged during the currency of the policy period
directly due to:
1. Fire
2. Lightning
3. Acts of Terrorism
4. Riot and Strike
5. Storm, cyclone, typhoon, hurricane, tornado, flood and inundation
6. Earthquake
7. Impact damage by Rail/Road vehicles/Wild animals

Market Potential -

Many countries in the Gulf, Europe including USA have been

major importers of the dry roots of Safed Musli for a very long time, for
its use in the making of various herbal products and thinks to the
increasing awareness and appreciation of the goodness of herbal products.
The demand for Safed Musli has been phenomenally growing across the
globe. As many tall claims are being made about the attractive returns and
economic potential of growing the medicinal plant Safed musli, more and
more farmers are taking up the cultivation of this high-investment crop.
however, there is need to exercise caution and survey the market and look
for attractive buy-back arrangements before plunging into it on a large
scale.

Economics of Safed musli – Gross and net return from Safed musli
cultivation are highly variable. Several factors, such as cost of planting
material, level of yield achieved, the percentage of total roots processed
for sale, labor wages and selling price of processed roots, effect the
economics of production. However, the cost of planting material and
peeling off cost of roots are most important and greatly affect the
economics of cultivation. Net returns of Rs 4-5 lakh/ hectare are reported.
However, at an average input cost, root yield (500-600 kg/ha) and root
 selling price (Rs 200-300/kg). a gross and net returns of Rs 1.0 to 2.0
lakhs.
Economics of Safed Musli cultivation per hectare
Particulars Amount (Rs.)
Compost-12 trolleys @Rs. 900 each 10,800
Land preparation+ bed raising 12,000
Planting material 1 tonne or 1 lakh double tubers @ Rs. 3,50,000
3.50 each
Sowing 8,200
Weeding & pest control 7,000
Irrigation & supervision 9,000
Harvesting 18,000
Peeling 60,000
Packing, transportation & misc. 35,000
Total cost of inputs 5,10,000
Total output (1,000 kg peeled, dry roots @ Rs.1,000 / kg) 10,00,000
Net profit 4,90,000

According to G D Mittal (Mittal Musli farm & research Centre at

Jalgaon in Maharashtra )

Read more at:

//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/962310686.cms?utm_sourc
e=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
why has this plant become so popular?
Safed musli (Chlorophytum borivilianum) is a medicinal plant
which has been used extensively in Ayurveda for centuries. it is used in
the preparation of general health tonics, aphrodisiacs, an essential
ingredient in Chyawanprash and good for lactating mothers. now that
more and more people are looking for alternative therapies and natural
cures to their health problems, many commercial ayurvedic drug
manufacturers like dabur, zandu and baidyanath buy this medicinal plant
in to use in Chyawanprash and other ayurvedic preparations that are being
manufactured on a large-scale. moreover, there is great demand for good
quality Safed musli in gulf countries from where it is re-exported
to Germany, Japan, Britain and USA.
what is the market value of this medicinal plant?
in '94 when started experimenting with the cultivation this plant
it was selling at rs300 per kg. at present, the farm-grown can fetch rupees
1,000- 1,500 per kg while the forest musli costs from rupees 500 -800 per
kg. The musli grown in farms is of better quality as the processing method
is better. However, there is no change in medicinal value. we have come
to know that the cost abroad is approximately $80-$100 per kg. which is
the major market for the sale of this plant. what is size of the market? there
is a huge market in khari bowli in Delhi where any amount of Safed musli
can be sold through commission agents. sometimes, in peak season
truckloads of the musli come there but no records are maintained. it is also
sold in Mumbai and Indore. there are no all-India figures on the acreage
and quantity grown. there are several growers in Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. in my opinion it is grown on
approximately 400 to 500 acres of cultivated land. but the coming planting
season in April will see the acreage trebling to 1500 to 2000 acres. as there
are restrictions on forest grown musli, it is believed that traders classify it
as Shatavri or asparagus and sell it.
is there a market for such large quantities of the plant?
as per my knowledge, about four years ago the global production
was only 5,000 tonnes whereas the demand was for 35,000 tonnes. even
at conservative estimates, the demand may have doubled by this time.
apart from the many companies making Chyawanprash, we have heard
that Kellogg’s is researching the use of musli in breakfast cereals. another
company in Vijayawada sell extracts of Safed musli. what are the
economics of growing Safed musli? Safed musli can be grown in all agro-
climatic zones in India. it is planted in April/May and harvested in
January/February, after approximately 10 months. about 500 kgs of
planting material at the rate of rupees 350 per kg is required per acre in
the first year. there are several claims made but I feel that there will be no
returns in the first year. in the second year, your own planting material
can be used to plant in three acres which will give profits of about
rupees 1 lakh per acre. in one acre we get a yield of 2000-3000 kgs of
fresh produce. after drying only 20 per cent. some develop them as
planting material which again fetch about rupees 350 per kg because
drying and processing the roots is a time-consuming and costly affair. but
soon the demand for planting material will also taper- off so we must find
easier methods of processing the roots. in fact, we have announced a
reward for anybody who gives better suggestions for processing musli. as
musli is used in the paste form in chyawanprash, we are in talks with some
manufacturers to sell them fresh unprocessed produce at rupees 200 per
kg which will be beneficial to both.
are there assured buy-back schemes so that farmers do not face heavy
losses?
 we have buy-back arrangements with our buyers but at a lower rate.
we can help them market it on their own by sharing the list of major musli
buyers in the country.

Shridhar Patidar's seeds have blossomed forth in arid Dhar

In the neglected tribal district of Dhar near Indore in
Madhya Pradesh, the 100-acre farm of the Patidars seems to be an
anachronism. The farm is equipped with telephones, fax, e-mail and even
has its own website. All this is courtesy the Patidars’ decision to tread new
paths, and thanks to their innovative cultivation ideas, many farmers in
the surrounding areas are prospering.
Shridhar Patidar and his three sons one of them is an engineer and another
a law graduate were not content with growing the usual crops of the area:
Soyabean, cotton and tomatoes. So, in ’82 they began growing fruits.
Their orchards yielded good crops of hybrid mausambi, chiku and ber. “A
ber grown in our orchard weighed a record 90 grams,” claims Mukesh,
one of Shridhar’s sons. But they only found their dream crop a little later,
in ’98. After attending a training program organized by the MP Centre for
Entrepreneurship Development, the Patidars got interested in medicinal
plants. Then began a period of experimenting with several varieties after
which they settled for Safed musli (Chlorophytum borivilianum) and
lemon grass.
Safed musli, a plant that’s helpful for diabetes and asthma patients as well
as for several gynecological problems, is an important ingredient in a wide
range of ayurvedic, Unani and homeopathic medicines. It’s also in great
demand in West Asia for its supposed aphrodisiac properties. It’s the root
of the white musli that has the medicinal applications, and the plant is
quite well-known and commonly available. However, as K.R. Murli, an
ayurvedic doctor, points out, most of the stuff found in the market is
highly adulterated. The doctor adds that while more than 300 varieties of
white musli are available in the world, the Borivilianum is almost extinct
and therefore it’s very difficult to get it in pure form.
That’s where the Patidars step in. They claim they are the biggest growers
of the crop in the country. About 90 per cent of all varieties of the plant
are found in Africa while the rest are spread all over the world. In India,
till about 10 years ago, the plant was found only in forests, where it was
collected by tribes aware of its importance. Now, after the Patidar’s lead,
the valuable plant is being cultivated. The process began about a decade
ago, but despite that most plantations are still small in size. But as
Shridhar affirms, cultivation has helped avert the danger of extinction.
They began the cultivation on a 17-acre patch of land on their farm in ’99,
which has now expanded to 50 acres. While scientific agricultural
technology is being used, the crop has been generating a handsome yearly
income for the family—Rs 2 to 3 lakh per acre. There are other benefits
too: the crop requires little water, a boon in an area plagued by an acute
water crisis, cattle avoid eating it nor is it susceptible to common plant
diseases. For every kg sown the yield is four to five times higher, and the
selling price is around Rs 1,500 per kg. After successfully experimenting
with the plantation, the Patidar’s christened their farm ‘Patidar Musli
Farm and Research Centre’ and started offering free consultancy to other
farmers. The Patidars don’t provide the seeds cheap: it’s sold at Rs 500
per kg. Despite that, many farmers have started cultivating it and the high
returns have brought about a new prosperity in just two years. And neither
are the beneficiaries limited to the surrounding areas. One of the recent
visitors to the farm was Jaspal Singh Nabardar from a village near
Bhatinda in Punjab. Seeing the success of the farmers, he’s now
determined to replicate it in his own village. Farmers from Uttar Pradesh
and Rajasthan have also been to the farm. Even a German tourist visited
the farm to gather information about the cultivation after reading about it
in a magazine, says Shridhar.
Most of the Patidar’s produce is sold in cities like Mumbai and Delhi.
Now, Shridhar wants to form an all-India group of growers to jointly
explore the export market in Europe, America and other western
countries. The Patidars have also built two air-cooled storage sheds to
preserve stocks of the crop. The sheds cost Rs 30 lakh, but are accessible
free of cost for all Safed musli farmers. In addition to this, the Patidars
have installed a small distillation unit on their farm to extract the essence
from lemon grass. The essence is used to give lemon flavor to soaps and
other cosmetics. It’s been a boom time for farmers in the region, and they
only have the Patidars to thank for it. Shridhar’s address: Patidar Musli
Farm and Research Centre, Jotpur, Tehsil Manawar, Dhar (MP) 454446.
Local practices of Safed musli –
Some farmers in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh of Safed musli do not peel
the musli by traditional practice of peeling or suggested by scientists, the have
discovered their own technique for peeling they called it maize peeling.
Process of peeling –
• Sowing of Maize in between the beds of Safed musli during the month of
September.
• Let them grow till knee height.
• Check the moisture in soil or we can check the peeling after 5th of October in
every 2 days so we can get pure white peeled Safed musli.
• After getting the smooth peeling of fingers of Safed musli we can peel and
spread in the sun light for drying.
This peeling technique is not used by most of the Safed musli farmers, I have
observed in very smaller number of farmers.

Concept behind maize peeling –

Safed musli is a root crop, we have to observe musli at the interval
of every 3-5 days and the peeling pattern lasts for only 15-20 days during the month
of October. Safed musli require less moisture in the soil during peeling, cropping of
maize between the beds of Safed musli absorb the moisture from the soil and gives
suitable environment for peeling, after removing the moisture from soil with the
help of maize the skin of Safed musli is so smooth that we can remove the skin by
just rubbing on the fingers of Safed musli or sometimes we just pluck the Safed
musli from soil and skin is removed automatically, as far as I have observed this is
the simples and efficient technique for peeling of Safed musli.

Future aspects –
Inulin type fructans have latterly received a special denomination in
scientific community. The polymer has been conferred with number of prebiotic
and medicinal benevolence. A few reported medicinal benefits of inulin containing
herbs are antitussive activity prevention of post gastrectomy anemia and osteopenia
antidiabetic activity, immunomodulatory activity. They have also
been found useful for targeting drugs to colon and prevention of colon cancer. Since
Safed Musli contains appreciable quantity of fructans so there is an ample
possibility for exploration of mentioned medical attributes in the herb. These
polymers may have a role in the purported. Rasayana action of the herb. This virgin
aspect needs to be thoroughly investigated to enhance the commercial value of the
herb. Therapeutic and medicinal values of a plant are major concerns for imparting
a prominence and propelling the sale of any medicinal herb in the global market.
Although, Indian share has not gained the desired global prominence and has been
overrun by superpowers in the field like Germany, China and Japan still it is not a
dooms day situation. In modern context, a thorough identification of biologically
active marker compound, a complete and systematic chemical identification and
determination of medicinally useful components from the herb is very important
for developing a standardization profile of the herb. Proper standardization of any
medicinal herb is very important as per the WHO guidelines before any herb can
truly find its potential market in the global arena. An important aspect that has to be
dealt with utmost care is of creating awareness amongst the state farmers growing
Safed Musli. The farmers must be well versed with pros and cons of growing Safed
Musli, they must be cognizant of a possible fiasco that may occur if an equal heed
is not paid to the processing and formulation development from the herb. An
important aspect that has to be dealt with utmost care is of creating awareness
amongst the state farmers growing Safed Musli. The farmers must be well versed
with pros and cons of growing Safed Musli, they must be cognizant of a possible
fiasco that may occur if an equal heed is not paid to the processing and formulation
development from the herb. From the current trends available, it can rightly be said
that if scenting and quick steps are not taken for the preparation of commercially
viable products from Safed Musli then no sooner the roots of gold may just lose
their shine and glitter. It is not just by promoting the agricultural aspect that a true
value of herbal drug may be recognized. It is a blend of cultivation, adequate
processing, formulation, marketing and subsequent globalization that makes any
herbal drug judiciously successful in the market. To keep the white tubers glowing
and golden a firm step in increasing research input on the plant is the need of the
hour.
Conclusion –
Safed musli a medicinal plant which is very important as a medicinal
use and also it can help in growing the farmers income. Safed musli is adopted by
very less farmer, it is currently cultivated in 8 states only, if government provide
some subsidies on Safed musli cultivation then it will help other farmers to adopt,
Safed musli marketing channel also have some issues like, Marketing channels for
Safed musli are still unorganized as it is currently sold through agents, middlemen,
traders, pharmaceutical companies and retailers. There are huge margins of profit
on the route from collector/producer to consumer. Government do not have proper
research on Safed musli, if they work on Safed musli then it will help in some export
business also because the demand of Safed musli in the world is very high and no
country is able to fulfill the demand of Safed musli right now.
References –
1. webMD(https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1268/safed-
musli

2.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329712149_Safed_musli_chlorophytu
m_borivilianum
Safed musli chlorophytum borivilianum.
3. The Insurance Times (http://www.bimabazaar.com/safed-truth-of-safed-musli)
4. Economics of Production and Marketing of Safed Musli, Indian Institute of
Forest management, Bhopal
5.CIMAP,Lucknow
http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/12295/1/NPR%202%286%29%20
308-313.pdf
6. Business standard www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/risk-
cover-for-safed-musli-10305150
7. The Insurance Times (http://www.bimabazaar.com/safed-truth-of-safed-musli)
8. https://www.krdmuslifarm.com/market_demand.htm
9. National horticulture board