DEVELOPING A SECTOR BY CREATING COMMUNITY-OWNED ENTERPRISES BASED ON THE CULTIVATION AND PROCESSING OF ESSENTIAL OILS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

The Technology Transfer for Social Impact Center of CSIR and the Sustainable Livelihoods Programme of Department of Science and Technology work in partnership to develop the medicinal plant and essential oil sector in South Africa. The approach is to identify and address key technical, marketing and regulatory obstacles that have inhibited the growth of the sector to date. In addition, a portfolio of projects, aim of establishing new enterprises in rural communities based on cultivation and processing of medicinal and essential oil plants, is implemented. The indigenous essential oil species under cultivation include buchu, rose geranium and Lippia javanica on a total of 75 ha, currently being expanded to a total of 240 ha. Roman chamomile, German chamomile, peppermint and rose damascena as well as the indigenous species, Eriocephalus punctulatus and E. africanus are cultivated on pilot sites. Indigenous medicinal plants include Pelargonium sidoides, Sutherlandia frutescens, Hoodia gordonii, Harpagophytum procumbens and Siphonochilus aethiopicus. The climatic diversity of the country allows the cultivation of a variety of species, but also leads to significant differences in chemical profiles of essential oils produced from the same genetic stock. A desired 1:1 ratio of geraniol (21.3%) and citronellol (21.4%) was obtained for rose geranium oil produced in coastal regions under conditions of water stress. In contrast, certain interior areas being irrigated yielded oil containing geraniol and citronellol in a ratio of 1.0:2.3. In order to develop a model that relates agronomic conditions to oil quantity and quality, data are gathered using twelve telemetric weather stations installed on project sites.