Plant-Based Sustainable Development—The Expansion and Anatomy of the Medicinal Plant Secondary Processing Sector in Nepal

Filippo Caporale, Jimena Mateo-Martín, Muhammad Faizan Usman and Carsten Smith-Hall
Additional contact information
Filippo Caporale: Department of Food and Resource Economics (IFRO), University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 25, 1958 Frederiksberg C., Denmark
Jimena Mateo-Martín: Department of Food and Resource Economics (IFRO), University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 25, 1958 Frederiksberg C., Denmark
Muhammad Faizan Usman: Department of Food and Resource Economics (IFRO), University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 25, 1958 Frederiksberg C., Denmark
Carsten Smith-Hall: Department of Food and Resource Economics (IFRO), University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 25, 1958 Frederiksberg C., Denmark

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-20

Abstract: There is an increasing global demand for medicinal plants. Nevertheless, the nature and scale of processing in national-level medicinal plant production networks, and how this can contribute to sustainable development, are poorly understood. This study (i) uncovers and explains the emergence of the Nepalese medicinal plant secondary processing sector, (ii) characterises the enterprises and identify the obstacles they face, (iii) quantifies the volumes and values of processed species and end markets, and (iv) discusses the potential to contribute to sustainable economic development. Empirical data were generated from key informant interviews and qualitative (n = 13) and quantitative (n = 79) semi-structured surveys of medicinal plant processing enterprises. In 2014–15, the sector purchased 3679 metric tonnes of air-dry raw materials (across 67 products) for USD 4.0 million, producing 494 tonnes of end-products valued at USD 11.2 million. The sector is characterised by small enterprises. Rising domestic demand drove the increase in the number of enterprises. Key business obstacles were export barriers, low access to technology, infrastructure and service barriers, labour challenges, socio-economic and political instability, and the inefficient bureaucracy. The actions required to change from being a supplier of raw materials and producer of lower-value domestic consumer products to integrating into the global economy as an exporter of higher-value products that are sustainably sourced are discussed.

Keywords: bioeconomy; Himalayas; medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs); processing; small and medium enterprises (SMEs); value addition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5575/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5575/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:14:p:5575-:d:382900

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().