FICCI organized the fragrance program titled 'Journey to Sustainable Vetiver Cultivation and Processing: Farmers, Scientists, and Processors Awareness Meet' and Capacity Building in Puducherry, India in collaboration with CSIR-CIMAP, with the support of Ultra International Limited and International Fragrance Association (IFRA) which focused on Vetiver Processing and the farmers involved in Vetiver Farming where senior officials and scientists from CSIR-CIMAP shared about the Benefits of Sustainable Cultivation, value addition and cost-effective Processing technologies of Vetiver cultivation, IFRA Green Chemistry Compass Tools, amongst others. The programe focused on needs & Challenges of Farmers, which also included insights & practical knowledge for better growth. Ms Bhuvana Nageshwaran, Co-Chair of the FICCI Task Force on Fragrances and Director of Ultra International Limited, Dr Prabodh Kumar Trivedi, Director of CSIR-CIMAP Lucknow, Mr. Sandeep Srivastava, Honorary Advisor to the International Fragrance Association, Mr Alok Kalra, Ex-Chief Scientist and Program Manager, at CSIR-CIMAP, Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR-CIMAP, Mr Rajesh Kumar Verma, Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR-CIMAP, along with other officials from FICCI and CSIR-CIMAP, participated in the program. Ms Bhuvana Nageshwaran Co-Chair of the FICCI Task Force on Fragrances highlighted that “Today is an opportunity for India in Vetiver Market as there is a shortage taking place worldwide in Vetiver and India can be a player in the International Market” whereas Dr. Prabodh Kumar Trivedi, Director of CSIR-CIMAP Lucknow highlighted that few years ago “India was importing Vetiver Essential Oils and now India has started exporting Vetiver Essential Oils, also appreciated the faith of Farmers in CSIR-CIMAP & Aroma Mission. The program saw more than 150 attendees, including more than 100 farmers engaged in Vetiver cultivation and industry leaders from India Vetiver Foundation, Yathaavat Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Aroma Power Raise Private Limited, Jasmine Concrete Exports Pvt Ltd, Excel Agro amongst others post which the dignitaries and people from the industry visited the Vetiver fields in the Cuddalore region of Tamil Nadu and interacted with local farmers.
