KORAPUT: Tribals of Koraput region are rich in their traditional knowledge, especially in the field of herbs, and this could be their wealth with the setting up of the Biju Patnaik Medicinal Plants Garden & Research Centre, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said while inaugurating the centre at Makaput village in Jeypore block on Saturday.

Sense of belonging

This institute with its research and development works would be able to create for tribals a sense of belonging with nature and its resources, he said.

M. S. Swaminathan, chairman of the M. S. Swaminathan Foundation, said the word "backward" should no more be used for the tribal population of the region for their rich knowledge base.

A participatory knowledge management system would be developed to foster genetic, trade and legal literacy, he said.

The centre would provide facilities for tribal farmers to communicate with experts from reputed institutions like Kotakkal Ayurvedic Sala through video conferencing. This would facilitate the process of learning the trade and developed practices among the tribals, he said.

Purandareswari Devi, HRD Minister in Central Government, and Surendra Naik, Agriculture Minister of the State, spoke.

Several booklets published by the Foundation were released and tribal persons were honoured for their exemplary work in the field by the Chief Minister.

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