Indian medicinal herb Cyperus scariosus (Nagarmotha), a native to Madhya Pradesh, grows in plenty at the riverbeds.

Medicinal plants and herbs are traditionally recognized as the primary healthcare system in many rural communities because of their effectiveness, lack of modern medicinal alternatives and cultural preferences. Herbal products demand is growing rapidly throughout the world and various pharmaceutical sectors are currently conducting extensive research on plant materials for their potential medicinal value.

Commonly known as Nut Grass, the plant grows in sandy as well as in loamy soil moist fields. Nagarmotha have been widely used as anti-inflammatory, astringent, antimicrobial, hypotensive, stimulant of central nervous system, hepatoprotective, antidiabetic, analgesic.

It continued to be served as an important ingredient in rural tribal set up used in the indigenous system to treat a variety of diseases including diarrhoea, epilepsy, gonorrhoea, syphilis and liver damage. The essential oil obtained on the steam distillation of rhizomes of the plant has its value in perfumery and is also known to possess antibacterial, antifungal, antidepressant and spasmolytic activities.

“Plenty of Nagarmotha is available near the riverbed but we hardly recognise its importance and value. We used to sell these herbs loosely to the local vendors at a nominal price. The Small Holder Farmers Collective (SHFC) and the Cluster level Facilitator (CLF) in our village took the initiative to link this to the larger market,” shared Kalyan Adivashi, one of the SHFC member of Saasan village.

Nagarmotha is available in nearby Beela and Saasan village of Sagar district under the Caritas India’s Smallholder Adaptive Farming and Bio-diversity Network (SAFBIN) program. The scheduled tribe community of these areas are traditionally using and selling the roots of the herb in the local market.

Apart from ensuring local food and nutritional security, linking small farm produces and other potential products with the appropriate market to increase small farm income is also one of the major objectives of the SAFBIN program. Manav Vikas Seva Sangh (MVSS), the implementing partner organisations in Sagar and the SAFBIN team took the effort to form a smallholder farmers producer organisation (FPO) in Sagar region and provided necessary technical support in identification and collectivisation of potential products including farm and forest for value addition and market linkage.

Successful experience from collective wheat selling in the last season encouraged smallholders to collectivising and aggregating other products at their respective locations. Nagarmotha, as one of the most potential products with increasing demand in the market also selected for collectivise selling. The smallholder farmers in coordination with the cluster-level facilitator (CLF) and the local Village Research Person (VRP) discussed the various marketing opportunities available at the local level.

Since FPO is yet to be registrated under the company act, it was decided to sell collectively to gain more profit, though the collection will be done at the individual level.

It was found that a total quantity available is almost 85Mt (850 quintals) of Nagarmotha in the periphery of the locality. Out of the total quantity, 1Mt fresh root nodules collectively sold @ 1000/- per quintal to the manufacturing units of Tikamgarh and Kannoj by small farm families of Saasan and Beela village under the sustainable harvest parameters.

“We are so excited to see the return received. The collectivisation has helped in lowering our labour and gaining a higher return. Thankful to SAFBIN team for the much-required support provided to us. Definitely, this initiative has helped us to look forward as an alternative opportunity to improve our income especially during the offseason,” says Ratna Adivashi of Beela village.

This medicinal plant has helped the small farmers to gain additional revenue to lead be sustainable even in the offseason. The farmers are planning to strengthen the FPO by adding more farmers and selling Nagarmotha collectively to gain more profits.