AROMA mission

In Context

Recently a key decision was taken to commence Purple Revolution in Ramban District by encouraging ‘Lavender Cultivation under the CSIR-IIIM’s Aroma Mission through Ministry of Science and Technology on the lines of Doda and Reasi districts. 

About Aroma Mission

• It was launched in 2016 to boost the cultivation of plants like lavender,Aloe Vera, Mehndi,Menthol, Mint  which have aromatic medicinal properties through new technology developed by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).
• It is envisaged to bring transformative change in the aroma sector through desired interventions in the areas of agriculture, processing and product development.
•  It also seeks to provide technical and infrastructure support for distillation and value-addition to farmers/growers all over the country, apart from enabling effective buy-back mechanisms to assure remunerative prices to the farmers/growers.
• It aims to bring additional area of 30,000 hectares under cultivation of these crops by interventions of CSIR to further catalyze the cultivation of aromatic crops in about 60,000 hectares. 
  • This will help in production of an additional 700 tonnes of essential oil for perfumery, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, and use of these oils in value addition and herbal products would generate a business of at least 200 crores.

The objectives include

• Development of superior varieties and their agro-technologies and assessment of their suitability for specific agro-climatic regions.
• Value-addition of aromatic crops (High-end aroma chemicals and products) 
• Skill development activities
• Intellectual property generation, valuation and management
• Entrepreneurship development/Spin-offs
• Business development
• Making the public aware of Mission activities and achievements using an appropriate interface.

• Benefits
  • It will promote the cultivation of aromatic crops for essential oils that are in great demand by the aroma industry.
  • It is expected to enable Indian farmers and the aroma industry to become global leaders in the production and export of some other essential oils on the pattern of menthol mint.
  • It is expected to provide substantial benefits to the farmers in achieving higher profits, utilization of wastelands and protection of their crops from a wild and grazing animal
  •  More than 25,000 farming families would be directly benefitted and an employment of more than 10-15 lakhs mandays will be generated in rural areas.

• Achievements
  • CSIR has contributed significantly to the development, nurturing and positioning of the essential oil-based aroma industry in the country.
    •  This has led to the creation of an ecosystem benefitting the industry, farmers and next-generation entrepreneurs. 
  • It has generated rural employment of farmers, spurred entrepreneurship in aromatic oils and other aromatic products manufacturing, and lowered the import of essential and aromatic oils. 
  • Aroma Mission is attracting Start-ups and agriculturists from across the country, and during Phase-I CSIR helped cultivation on 6000 hectares of land and covered 46 Aspirational districts across the country. 
    • More than 44,000 persons have been trained and several crores of farmers’ revenue generated. In the second Phase of the Aroma Mission, it is proposed to engage over 45,000 skilled human resources with the aim of benefitting more than 75,000 farming families across the country
  • Phase II
    • CSIR has launched Phase-II of Aroma Mission in which it is proposed to engage over 45,000 skilled human resources and will benefit more than 75,000 farming families across the country. 
      • Apart from Lavender, many other high-value aromatic and medicinal cash crops have been introduced by CSIR in J&K.

Source:PIB