Centre approves cultivation of sea buckthorn on 250 hectares

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 11

The cold desert areas of five Himalayan states, including Himachal, are on the threshold of a new era of prosperity, following the approval of Rs 1,260 crore for the cultivation of sea buckthorn, a wonder plant with multiple qualities, by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Wonder plant with multiple qualities

Fruit and leaves of sea buckthorn are rich in vitamins (C, E, A, B, K), carotenoids, sterols, polyphones and omega fatty acids, which have a great demand in food, cosmetic and drug industries.

Rs1,260 crore project

• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has approved Rs1,260 crore for the cultivation of sea buckthorn, a wonder plant with multiple qualities
• The project was submitted to the Union ministry by the Sea buckthorn Association of India based at CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, Palampur, in February last year
• Under the project, sea buckthorn plantation will be raised on 2,500 hectares in Himachal, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir and 500 hectares in Sikkim and Arunachal over 10 years
• The farm varsity has imported 14 mild thorny and high-yielding Russian sea buckthorn varieties which will be introduced on small-scale under a scheme of the Horticulture Department on experimental basis

The project was submitted to the Union ministry by the Sea buckthorn Association of India based at CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, Palampur, in February last year. Under the project, sea buckthorn plantation will be raised on 2,500 hectares in Himachal, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir and 500 hectares in Sikkim and Arunachal over 10 years.

The plantation of sea buckthorns also known as “chharma” will be undertaken on 250 hectares in Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur districts in five years. ‘Chharma’ would be planted on 50 hectares in 2021-22, said Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur during his Budget speech.

Secretary, Sea buckthorn Association of India, Prof Virendra Singh, said grown at 2,500-4,500 metre, its fruit and leaves were rich in vitamins (C, E, A, B, K), carotenoids, sterols, polyphones and omega fatty acids, which have a great demand in food, cosmetic and drug industries, he said.

On the recommendations of the Ministry of Finance, Anand Kumar Prabhakar, Deputy Inspector General of Forest, had asked Principal Chief Conservators of Forest of the five states to prepare project proposals on sea buckthorn.

The university has also imported 14 mild thorny and high-yielding Russian sea buckthorn varieties, including table variety, which will be introduced on small-scale under a scheme of the Horticulture Department on experimental basis.