The need for cultivation of medicinal plants in southern Africa

Traditional medicine is an important part of healthcare in southern Africa. Most drugs are prepared from plants, all of which are collected from the w ild. This has led to a large number of medicinal plants coming under severe threat and sustainable harvest is no longer a viable option. Therefore, a new strategy for developing these medicinal plants as commercial crops is n eeded. This could be both as an alternative crop for larger, commercial far ms and for the small-scale farmer. Cultivation data need to be linked with pharmacological assessments of the crop during the development of protocols .