The Essential Oil Association of India (EOAI) meeting at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, held February 17–19, started out with a dedication and a promise: the dedication to more growth, agriculture and development of aromatic plants, and a promise of 300 acres of land for aromatic plant agriculture from the Madhya Pradesh minister for agriculture, Ramakrishna Kusmariya.
“It was a very positive note to begin the session,” says Rohit Seth, chairman of the organizing committee of EOAI. “The most important thing was that we could motivate the industry and the government to look at investing more because that is a key concern at this time. The demand for essential oils has increased, but not the supply. We also have a lot of concern about how to cut costs without harming quality and how to motivate more farmers to grow crops for essential oils.”
The event, which is held every other year, provides a forum for discussion and networking focused on the theme “Essential Oils in a Changing Global Scenario.”