Situational Analysis - Understanding of situational analysis, Objectives of situational analysis, Types of situational analysis, SWOT analysis, PEST Analysis,

GAP analysis, Porters five force analysis, Importance in Ayurvedic & Herbal industry Strengths : Wide variety of agro-climatic zones which allows us to grow almost every type of crop/herb in India. We also have the requisite expertise - technical/academic as well as operational. Only issue is that somebody, preferably a Govt. body has to take the initiative in the correct earnest. Weakness : Lack of awareness amongst the growers. Lack of Marketing infrastructure which leads to distress selling and hence low revenue generation amongst the few ones who dare to venture into something that is not routine. High Cost due to low yield & poor quality of the produce due to non-usage of latest/ scientific farming technic. Lack of proper Govt Support. Often it is found that Stae Government officials are not able to help the farmer in the correct way. Opportunities : Plenty. One can go on and on mentioning them. a) In gist, the huge potential for increased revenue generation both in the export as well as in the domestic sector is really very encouraging. b)We have a old cultural heritage of Ayurvedic medicine and hence identifying the correct crop for a particular agro-climatic zone is not a problem at all. c) Experts/NGOs can help market the produce. d) Generating employment amongst among the rural folk. Threats : Lack of education amongst the farmers makes them very vulnerable especially in the hands of unscrupulous people. Indiscriminate shifting from cereals to cash crop can affect the food balance. The 2 glaring examples that I would like to point out are : Plight of farmers in Kerala and Karnataka when they shifted enmasse to vanilla cultivation couple of years back. THe other one being soil erosion/ landslides in the hilly region of UP/HP for implementing wrong technic to cultivate paddy in the hilly slopes. I hope this discussion forum brings out the true issues involved and forces the Govt to address these issues and formulate a policy that helps everybody