Traditional Chinese medicine and agriculture; organic life and sustainability for future

Abstract

Sustainability is a long-term and wide-ranging concept that requires producers to look to the future as well as the present, and consider both global and local situations. Cultivation of Chinese medicinal herbs and usage of traditional Chinese medicine significantly helps to promote sustainable agricultural development via growing demand for organic and herbal products in different regions. Chinese medicinal plants, both endemic and widespread, must be preserved since these plants could be renewable source for new drugs. Some advantages of organic farming of medicinal plants are to produce material in optimal quality and sufficient quantity, to protect medicinal plants against pests and disease, to maintain the genetic diversity of medicinal plants, the enhance the biosynthesis of efficacious substances, to increase growth rate and biomass yield of medicinal plants. On the basis of economic prospects, organic farming may lead to increase more market opportunity, to maintain high market price, to achieve optimal quality and economic returns and to secure economic growth and social stability. Traditional Chinese medicine plays an important role in sustainable agriculture and food systems, it also offers a holistic approach to prevent diseases while making appropriate use of organic and herbal products especially growth by small-scale family farmers.