Johor set to be herbal hub

NST: With the growing trend towards alternative medicine, Johor is capitalising on the herbal industry with the support of the private sector. Farmers have started to venture into the field to make Johor a major supplier of herbal products.
Besides the already popular tongkat ali and kacip fatimah, farmers have cultivated herbs on a big scale.
A five-year action plan has been drafted to make Johor a global centre for the cultivation, processing and manufacturing of herbal products.
Parcels of land have been identified in Kota Tinggi and other districts for research and development to process and refine the herbs for international markets.
State Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Ahmad Zahri Jamil said the herbal industry had great potential to expand due to the huge demand.
In Peninsular Malaysia and neighbouring islands, between 6,000 and 7,000 species have therapeutic or medicinal properties.
These plants include noni, naga buana, semambu, selasih, putarwali, pegaga, mengkudu, cekur, kunyit, temu, misai kucing, jerangau, gelam, gelenggang, lempoyang, keladi tikus, setawar and ati-ati. Some of the herbs have been processed into tonics, pills and capsules.
Several parties have cultivated herbs on a big scale, such as Nasuha Herbal Farm in Pagoh, Muar, and Che Ru Khor Moral Uplifting Society in Endau, Mersing, run by a Buddhist charity body.
Nasuha farm director Rohaya Ahmad said its 1,500ha plantation produced six to 10 tonnes of raw herbs and spices daily.
"We plant more than 135 types of herbs," she said.
In the 1.2ha herbal farm run by the Che Ru Khor Moral Uplifting Society, fresh herbs are given out free to patients. More than 200 types of herbs are grown on the farm.
Farm committee chairman Lim Kwan Cheang said they send the herbs to more than 200 patients every month.