HYDERABAD: What costs $5.39 in the supermarkets in the US is available for free in almost every backyard in India, especially in our state. But we rarely recognise the magic of the Moringa (munaga or drumstick) leaf, says Raman Madala, a native of Nizamabad and an alumnus of Osmania University and a financial officer at Freemont, California, who is now on a mission to promote the leaf. Target 2020 mission to be precise!
“If farmers in India get just 1 per cent of this price they will become lakhpathis. If we work with our farmers and bring the produce to the consumer, we can save millions of people from malnutrition.”
He has recently started Target2020, which he says is a global initiative to eradicate malnutrition problem from the world by the year 2020 with the help of Moringa tree. He says he has no personal gain in this and wants to do it to spread the good word. He quotes research by institutes such as the National Institute of Nutrition to conclude that the plant can be used as a replacement of spinach or methi. “Adults can take up to 15 grams and kids can take up to 5 grams per day to gain nutrition, good health and vibrancy.”
“Instead of spending Rs 100 for a coffee in a fancy place, spend the same by planting a tree in a school, 1,000 kids will benefit from the tree, its seeds and leaves for a lifetime. The government should sponsor such programmes as it teaches children to save the environment and teaches them the importance of appreciating nature and its benefits,” he says while adding that Vikramjit Duggal, SP Nalgonda, was among the first to support his initiative, he says. “Target2020 can be a global project which benefits everyone,” he adds while posting more about it in www.facebook.com/Target2020.org/
Raman believes that promoting Moringa gives a huge boost to the government’s Haritha Haaram project. “The state can save crores being spent on vitamins/drugs for school children. Moringa can also be used as health supplement in the women and child policy,” he says. Quoting a June 2014 UNICEF study, he says, “15 percent of kids below three years are under weight. Two-thirds of women below 50 years suffer anemia. Time we recognised diamonds like Moringa in our own backyard to treat it,” he concludes.
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