Government Provides up to 75% Subsidy for Cultivation of Medicinal Plants, Herbs

The Ministry of Finance has allotted Rs.4000 crore package for the promotion of Herbal Cultivation under Atma Nirbhar Bharat. A draft scheme for the cultivation and marketing of medicinal plants has been prepared by the Ministry of Ayush. A proposal has been submitted to the Cabinet for approval.

The Government of India's Ministry of Ayush implemented the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National Ayush Mission (NAM) to promote the cultivation of medicinal plants. Market-driven cultivation of 140 prioritized medicinal plants in identified clusters/zones was supported and implemented in a mission mode through selected State Implementing Agencies across the country, including Andhra Pradesh, under the NAM Scheme's “Medicinal Plants” component.

As per the scheme guidelines, the support was provided for:

• Cultivation of prioritized medicinal plants on farmer’s land

• Establishment of nurseries with backward linkages for raising and supply of quality planting material

• Post-harvest management with forwarding linkages

• Primary processing, marketing infrastructure, etc

Encouragement to Farmers:

To encourage farmers to cultivate Medicinal Plants, the Ministry of Ayush has provided subsidies of 30%, 50%, and 75% of the cultivation cost of prioritized plant species across the country, including Andhra Pradesh. From Fiscal Year 2015-16 to 2020-21, the Ministry of Ayush supported 4349 hectares in Andhra Pradesh under cultivation of Medicinal Plants with a budget of Rs. 744.60 lakh under the National AYUSH Mission (NAM) scheme.

Central Sector Scheme on Conservation, Development, and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants:

The National Medicinal Plants Board, Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, is implementing this scheme which supports the following activities:

• Information Education and communication (IEC) activities like Training / Workshops / Seminars/ Conferences etc

• In-situ conservation / Ex-situ conservation

• Livelihood linkages with Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) / Panchayats / Van Panchayats / Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) / Self Help Groups (SHGs)

• Promotional activities include the establishment of nurseries, marketing, and trade of medicinal plant produce.

The National Medicinal Plants Board, Ministry of Ayush, has supported the Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board with two training programs and one nursery project. NMPB has also supported 01 awareness programs for stakeholders on the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plant resources to the Andhra Pradesh Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Board, Andhra Pradesh, from 2015-16 to 2020-21.

About e-CHARAK Mobile App:

• The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of Ayush, facilitates market linkage for medicinal plant raw materials rather than AYUSH products. The National Medicinal Plants Promotion Board (NMPB) has launched the e-CHARAK mobile application as well as a web portal for the promotion and marketing of medicinal plants/herbs.

• ‘e-CHARAK’ is a platform for information exchange among various stakeholders, primarily farmers, involved in the medicinal plant sector throughout the country. The "e-CHARAK" application supports various local languages and provides a fortnightly market price of 100 Medicinal Plants from 25 herbal markets throughout India.