Indigenous Medicinal Plants

Indigenous Natural Products derived from plants have been traded in the Southern African region for centuries. The global healthcare trend towards alternative and natural health remedies provides a unique opportunity for increased export of medicinal plant products from Southern Africa. There is a need for government to invest in research into commercialisation of indigenous plant products and to provide support to emerging businesses that are selling indigenous plant products on the formal market.

The indigenous medicinal plant trade in KwaZulu-Natal is worth about R62 million annually - more than the annual maize harvest in the Province. The product range is enormous and includes over 1000 medicinal plant species. Indigenous plants are a source of fuel, craftwork material, food supplements and food items such as jams and beverages manufactured from indigenous fruits for many people in the Province. The amount of plant material traded in KwaZulu-Natal is estimated at 4 500 tonnes per year. Most of this material is traded in the informal street markets, Durban and Umlazi being the largest of these.

Two thirds of the population of the Province, relies on traditional medicine for their primary health care needs. Traditional medicine is deeply rooted in Zulu culture and is unlikely to be replaced by western medicine. There is a widely held belief in Zulu culture that health, disease, success or misfortune are not chance events but the result of the active influence of individuals or ancestral spirits. For this reason, traditional healers are held in high esteem in Zulu culture and are regularly consulted by a large proportion of the population. Diviners (iSangoma) are consulted to find out what a problem might be. An herbalist (iNyanga) is then recommended by the iSangoma to treat the ailment. Indigenous plants are used by the traditional healers to divine and to treat.

Opportunities exist in

i) Promoting the development of processing skills

ii) Promoting the development of Business Skills

iii)Protecting wild stocks

iv)Investing in the cultivation of high-value species

v) Investing in the commercialisation of new products for the higher value formal markets.

eThekwini Municipality: Case Study in Supporting the Indigenous Natural Products Industry

Extensive trade in medicinal plant products takes place within the eThekwini Municipality (Durban, South Africa).It is estimated that:

1 500 tonnes of plant material is traded per annum, with a value of R21 million (the raw unprocessed products).
Some four million products are dispensed through prescription per year, adding R152 million to the value of the trade (total trade value per annum is thus R173 million).
13 950 income-generating opportunities are provided by the medicinal plants. eThekwini Municipality Interventions.
Promoting improved processing of medicinal plant products: eThekwini Municipality has invested in two hammer mills (heavy-duty grinders) for the Herb Market at Warwick Junction.
Providing Market Information.
Promoting cultivation of medicinal plant products:

http://www.cpwild.co.za/.