Ogun State begins initiative to revive endangered medicinal plants

The Ogun State Alternative Medicine Board, OGAMB, has begun its herbal plantation farming on a 17-acre plot of land, comprising a variety of herbal plants and roots for local and international use.

The board’s chairman, Balogun Olaleye, stated this during the third-quarter meeting of the board, held at Oke-mosan, Abeokuta, on Thursday.

Olaleye noted that the board’s complementary role in the health sector could not be overlooked, hence the need to combat global deforestation, habitat destruction from agriculture and logging, and climate change.

He lamented that approximately 15,000 medicinal plants are at risk, especially in Africa and China, where those plants are almost becoming extinct due to over-harvesting.

According to Olaleye, the state Alternative Medicine Board would cultivate and monitor some of these plants to ensure their continued use locally and internationally and, eventually, as a source of income for the state.

He said: “There are about 50,000–80,000 known medicinal plant species worldwide; approximately 15,000 are currently threatened, and around 20 per cent of wild medicinal plant resources have already been depleted. Sustainable harvesting practices, cultivation and improved land management are crucial to mitigate this biodiversity crisis and prevent the loss of these vital natural resources.

“With the Ogun State Alternative Medicine Board’s initiative to cultivate herbal plants, some of these plants will be planted here in Ogun State and monitored to make sure that we retain them for the use of our people at the local and international levels and ultimately serve as a source of revenue for the state.”

Also speaking, the Registrar and Executive Secretary of the Board, Dr Kafayat Lawal, said the current administration’s decision to establish the board had begun to yield tremendous success, as UNICEF commended the board on the coordination of the traditional birth attendants across the state.

She affirmed that in due course, a collaborative training session would take place between UNICEF and OGAMB for traditional birth attendants across the state on more efficient practice and reporting of data in order to reduce child mortality rate in the state.

Ogun State begins initiative to revive endangered medicinal plants