New Delhi: Asafoetida rich in medicinal properties will now be cultivated in India. India consumes 50% of asafetida produced in the world. The country's first asafoetida plant was planted in the village of Quaring under Lahaul at an altitude of about 11 thousand feet above sea level. The plant of asafetida seeds brought from Afghanistan has been scientifically developed in the laboratory of Himalayan Institute of Biosampled Technology at Palampur.

The institute has selected Lahaul-Spiti district for the first time in the country to produce asafetida as a trial. If this IHBT initiative is successful, asafoetida will revolutionize the economy of tribal farmers. As of trial, asafoetida plants have been provided to only 7 farmers in the valley at present. In the quarry, Dr Sanjay Kumar, director of Himalayan Institute of Biosampled Technology, planted asafetida in the farm of former ZP vice-president Riggin Hierpa.

He said that asafoetida is not yet produced in the country. By bringing asafetida seeds from Afghanistan, the institute has developed a technique to grow the plant from it. The annual consumption of asafoetida in the country is around 1200 tonnes. India imports 90% asafetida from Afghanistan, 8 from Uzbekistan and 2% from Iran. The Institute has prepared 6 varieties of asafoetida plants at the Research Center at Palampur.

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