On 25 January 2025 N S Mint held the first edition of the Krishak Unnati Sammelan, a conclave for the mint farmers who supply our plant. More than 200 local farmers came to meet experts and discuss how to earn more from mint.
Dr R K Upadhyay, Principal Scientist at CSIR-CIMAP, spoke on cultivation practice and resource management. He introduced Kharif Mint Technology (KMT), which lets farmers grow mint in the monsoon season so that rainfall covers much of the crop's irrigation, and explained which intercrops benefit soil health and oil recovery.
Farmers also saw a new distillation technique that cuts the oil lost as vapour during steam distillation and raises oil yield by at least 20–25%. The cooling system it needs fits onto existing field distillation units, so farmers can adopt it without buying new equipment.
To get the technique started, N S Mint gifted a cooling system to Mr Sarvesh Saini of Basla village, one of the first farmers to grow mint in the Sambhal region, in 1972. His unit is now a working example for neighbouring farmers.
Low prices driven by synthetic menthol have shrunk the area under mint in recent years. Higher yields and lower costs keep natural mint worth growing, which is why we invest in the farmers behind our supply.
Originally shared on N S Mint's LinkedIn.
