EXTENSION SYSTEM (marketing and quality control)
The key to the success of this project lies in creating an effective marketing system. As described earlier, the local market prices are too low to make cultivation of the plants an economically viable activity. The only solution is to make direct links with the herb companies who will provide a higher price.
However, this is not so simple, as there are a lot of formalities to carry out, a lot of paperwork, permits and certification, which for an NGO such as Ananda, with few resources, limited expertise and a lot of work in the field, presents many difficulties. Furthermore, the herb companies are interested in buying large quantities, which for the first few years will be impossible to supply.
During March and April 2004, Ananda had several meetings with two other local NGOs; SAHARA and JAGRITI, who are also working on a similar medicinal plant project. All three NGOs are facing the same challenges, the biggest of which is how to effectively market the medicinal plants once they are ready to harvest.
The
solution that we have developed is to create what is known as an extension
system (see picture on right). Through the extension system, the three
NGOs will be linked by an 'extension group', whose specific job will
be to carry out the marketing of the medicinal plants, creating a direct
link between the producers and the large herb companies.
The extension group will be made up of a core group,
which in the beginning will be just two people (Ben and Suri), with
a committee made up of one or two members from each NGO, who will meet
on a regular basis to make decisions.
The function of the extension group on the one hand will be to find buyers for each species of medicinal plant, to arrange organic certification, export permits, sustainable cultivation certificates, arrange all necessary lab tests and biochemical analysis to ensure high quality standards and oversee all packing and sending of plant material.
On the other hand, the function of the extension
group will be to provide training to the NGOs, Group Organisers and
Village Groups on how to cultivate, harvest and dry the plants according
to World Health Organisation Good Agricultural Practices, how to keep
documentation of all their activities to ensure tracability and provide
general education in sustainability issues. The 
extension
group will provide information to local growers on which plant species
are suitable for which land, whether their land is eligible for organic
certification, and where they can purchase seeds/seedlings etc.
The groups that are working most effectively can be documented on film or with photographs and shown on a projector in villages in other areas. In this way, ANANDA and JAGRITI, who are behind in terms of production, will be able to demonstrate to village groups in our respective areas how the project will function and how they can benefit.
The extension group will be presenting its activities through a website, which we hope will be online by June/July 2004. This website will provide detailed information on all of the extension group's activities, the different NGOs, the and plant species that will be available to buy. As soon as the website is online, we will put a notice on our homepage.