~ 232 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2018; SP3: 232-235 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2018; SP3: 232-235 Upasana Mohapatra D Scholar, Department of Agricultural Economics, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India Shreeshail Rudrapur Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, COH, Mudigere, Karnataka, India Deepa B Hiremath Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, NAU, Bharuch, Gujarat, India Shruti Mohapatra D Scholar, Department of Agricultural Economics, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India Correspondence Upasana Mohapatra D Scholar, Department of Agricultural Economics, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India National conference on “Conservation, Cultivation and Utilization of medicinal and Aromatic plants" (College of Horticulture, Mudigere Karnataka, 2018) Medicinal and aromatic plants sector in Karnataka: An economic perspective and SWOT analysis Upasana Mohapatra, Shreeshail Rudrapur, Deepa B Hiremath and Shruti Mohapatra Abstract Medicinal and aromatic crops occupy an important position in the socio cultural, spiritual and health aspects of Indian rural population. These have become an integral part of the culture and rituals. Karnataka has one of the richest traditional medicine cultures in India. The demand exceeds the supply of medicinal plants in Karnataka. At present, around 90 per cent of the supply of the raw material is directly from the forest and mostly from outside the State. Cultivation of a few species began only recently and that meets only about 10 percent of the demand. Cultivator to pharmacy and cultivator to pharmacy via trader are the frequently resorted market routes. Karnataka is one of the leading States that has a significant presence of Ayurvedic and Unani manufacturing companies. Presently there are 71 Ayurveda; Unani, homoeopathy and nature cure & yoga colleges in Karnataka. Some of the strengths of medicinal and aromatic crop sector in Karnataka are the existence of deep cultural and historical roots of traditional Indian medicine and the knowledge of the properties and therapeutic use of plants; A positive policy of state and union Governments for the development of medicinal and aromatic plants cultivation. The weaknesses associated with this sector are over-exploitation of natural resources from their wild habitats, lack of information in cultivation and marketing, and inadequate information on international demand and supply. The international market for herbal products is growing at an annual growth rate of seven per cent per annum; A growing market demand for high quality products certified for sustainable, environment-friendly collection and production, and consumer preference and concerns for organically grown products is increasing are some of the opportunities whereas depletion of natural resources at an alarming rate, high fluctuations in the market prices and vagaries of nature like droughts, floods and forest fires are the threats to the MAP sector in the state. Keywords: MAPs, strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats Introduction Human beings have been utilizing plants for basic preventive and curative health care since time immemorial. Recent estimates suggest that over 9,000 plants have known medicinal applications in various cultures and countries, and this is without having conducted comprehensive research amongst several indigenous and other communities (Farnsworth and Soejarto, 1991) [3] . The medicinal and aromatic crops are firmly emerging on the scene in Indian agriculture from three different perspectives. First, the traditional health system under Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani has become popular mainly due to the holistic treatment, cost of treatment and least side effects. This has spurred the demand for medicinal herbs and aromatic plants. Second, the herbs and plants were collected from the natural habitat and under minimal supervised environment. As a result, the density of medicinal and aromatic plants in the natural habitat started declining at a faster rate. This over-exploitation of these plant species has led to the cultivation of these under field conditions. Lastly, medicinal and aromatic crops have better economic opportunities as against the traditional field crops. The price of these crops as raw-material to the pharmaceutical industries has increased substantially. That fetches higher price to the cultivators and collectors. This is also encouraged by the increasing demand of these crops in the world trade. All these have led to the emergence of medicinal and aromatic crops as alternatives to some of the traditional uneconomic crops, in a few regions of India. As compared to the traditional crops, the cultivation of medicinal crops has many advantages. These include: Medicinal crops provide better returns than traditional crops; Have