National Medicinal Plants Board Boosts Conservation & Cultivation of Herbs in India

The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), a wing of the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, has been actively working towards the conservation, development, and sustainable management of medicinal plants in the country. 

The NMPB has supported 1498 projects throughout India under the Central Sector Scheme for Conservation, Development, and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants. 

As part of its efforts, the NMPB has supported 103026.32 hectares of land for in-situ and ex-situ conservation and resource augmentation. This includes the establishment of 24,000 herbal gardens, 1175 Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs), and 57 nurseries. 

The NMPB has also developed an e-platform, “e-CHARAK”, for the trade of medicinal plants and to provide easy market access. In addition, the NMPB has set up a helpline in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) Hyderabad. 

Under the National Ayush Mission (NAM), the Ministry of Ayush has supported the cultivation of 140 prioritized medicinal plants in identified clusters/zones across the country. The ministry supported 56,305 hectares of land, 220 nurseries, 354 post-harvest management units, 25 processing units, 42 rural/district collection centers/retail outlets, 10 seed germplasm centers, and 15 demonstration plots among other initiatives. 

The NMPB provides project-based support for various activities such as survey inventorization, in-situ conservation, ex-situ conservation, support to JFMCs and other communities for value addition activities, research and development, information, education, communication, and promotional activities. 

The NMPB has also supported 233 projects under IEC activities, 19 projects for the marketing of medicinal plants, and 57 projects for establishing nurseries to raise quality planting material.

Through its Regional Cum Facilitation Centers (RCFCs), the NMPB provides financial and technical assistance to farmers and stakeholders for the development of quality planting material. The NMPB has set up 7 RCFCs across the country to promote medicinal plant activities in different regions. 

The Ministry of Ayush has also supported 235 workshops, buyer-seller meets, exposure visits, and training programs for 19061 farmers under the IEC activities of the National Ayush Mission scheme.