Cultivation of medicinal plants in developing nations means of conservation and poverty alleviation.docVIP

Int. J. Med. Arom. Plants, ISSN 2249 – 4340 REVIEW ARTICLE Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 345-353, June 2012 Cultivation of medicinal plants in developing nations: means of conser- vation and poverty alleviation * B.J. AMUJOYEGBE , J.M. AGBEDAHUNSI, O.O. AMUJOYEGBE Department of Crop Production and Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Drug Research Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria Article History: Received 8 March 2012, Revised 2 May 2012, Accepted 3 May 2012. th nd rd Abstract: Plants, whether wild or domesticated are fundamental components of ecosystems on earth. They form the pro- ductive bases and the physical structures, support diversity of animals and other organisms. Human economies are highly dependent on the plants for supplies of material resources, such as food, housing, fibre, construction materials, fuel, craft materials and medicines. The nature of the plant cover significantly influences the quality of the climate, the availability of water supplies and the stability of the soil. How people use and manage wild plant resources will significantly influ- ence the sustainability of their livelihoods and the conservation of their diversity. Collection is the major ways of harvest- ing medicinal plants in the wild and this had significant impact on both the ecosystem and the survival of such plant. Cul- tivation of highly valued medicinal plants should be creating new dimension in the field of agriculture in developing na- tions. The need for developing countries to apply technologies and techniques of food crop production to program culti- vation of medicinal plants within the cropping system in order to improve the medicinal value of such plant. Keywords: Medicinal plants; Cultivation; Cropping Systems; Sustainability; Ecosystems. Introduction health care system survive is threatened by