The main objective of this project is to improve resource conservation and livelihood security in rural and marginalized communities in the Thethi National Park. The project consists in the designing of a mechanism of a subsidy scheme that allows a seamless replacement of the current cultivation of small land plots from potatoes and corn to the cultivation of local Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAP) that have significantly higher market value. The plants cultivated are Gentiana lutea and Primula Officinalis. The scheme used compensates the ?missed income? equal to the income the farmer would have had if he was cultivating the land with potatoes and decreases over time (1-3 years) as the MAP enter into production.
The remoteness and the isolation of these communities make them vulnerable to unfair price policies that can lower their margin of profit significantly. The project provides another important assistance to these communities in the form of is the support and coordination to strengthen linkages between growers of MAP and buyers in an effort to provide a fair market.