Dr. Amit Vyas, MD Amul Dairy, attended the Industry Meet and Start-up Conclave on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Directorate of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research, Anand, as the Chief Guest during the inaugural session held on 24th March 2026. The event was attended by Dr. Manish Das, Director, ICAR-DMAPR, Anand, Dr. K. B. Kathiria, Vice Chancellor, Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Dr. Anil Kumar Dubey, Director, Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute (SPRERI), Dr. Jayeshkumar M. Parmar, Director, AYUSH, and CEO, Gujarat Medicinal Plants Board, Govt of Gujarat, Dr. S. S. Kalamkar, Director, Agro Economic Research Center (AERC), Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidhyanagar, Dr. Bimal Kumar Bhattacharya, Group Director, ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation-Space Application Centre, and Dr. Saswata Narayan Biswas, Director, Institute of Rural Management Anand, along with other dignitaries. In his inaugural address, Dr. Vyas emphasized the growing national and global significance of medicinal and aromatic plants in supporting agricultural diversification, strengthening rural livelihoods, and enabling the growth of the herbal, pharmaceutical, and wellness industries. He underlined the need for stronger alignment between industry demand, research institutions, and farmers to ensure quality, traceability, and sustainable value chain development. Drawing from the Amul cooperative model, he highlighted how structured aggregation, institutional support, quality assurance, and market linkages can transform emerging sectors such as MAPs, just as they have successfully transformed India’s dairy sector. He also shared Amul’s progressive initiatives in promoting Ethno Veterinary Medicine through natural and herbal formulations to improve dairy animal health, reduce dependency on antibiotics, and promote sustainable dairy farming practices. Dr. Vyas further appreciated the initiative of ICAR-DMAPR in creating a collaborative platform bringing together policymakers, researchers, industry leaders, startups, and farmers to deliberate on innovation-led and market-driven growth of the sector. On the occasion, he also visited the exhibition and technology showcase featuring startups and institutions working on value addition, processing, and commercialization of medicinal and aromatic plants, and commended their role in strengthening the innovation ecosystem and promoting entrepreneurship in the agri-allied sector.

Impressions:

The conclave witnessed participation from a wide spectrum of stakeholders and served as an important platform for strengthening partnerships between research and industry for the future growth of the MAP sector. Amul Dairy continues to support initiatives that promote sustainability, innovation, and farmer prosperity through science-led and cooperative-driven development models.