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There is a need for better convergence between the Ministry of AYUSH and Agriculture departments to promote medicinal plants at a national level - this was suggested by Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare during a Stakeholder Consultation held on Monday at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi to promote the cultivation and use of medicinal plants across the country.

“There is a scope to increase domestic production of medicinal plants as inter-state trade and export of medicinal plants rise. Important medicinal plants have been included under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) scheme. A mission-mode program identifying good practices of cultivation, efficient techniques, etc., will help in the upliftment of the sector,” Devesh Chaturvedi said.

Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, said there is a huge possibility of growth in medicinal plant cultivation. “The AYUSH manufacturing sector has grown 8 times in the last 10 years and has vast export potential. The sector has enormous economic opportunities, and especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for AYUSH products including medicinal plants has grown immensely,” Mr Kotecha said.

Besides the Agricultural and AYUSH ministry, the meeting drew participants from the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, National Plant Medicinal Board (NPMB), State Horticulture Missions (SHMs), ICAR, State Medicinal Plant Boards, progressive farmers and leading private players from Medicinal Plant industry.

The session majorly focussed on:

• Exploring avenues for developing region-specific medicinal plant clusters.
• Facilitating partnerships between farmers and industry players for assured procurement and end-to-end value chain development.
• Discussing the establishment of dedicated mandis and marketing platforms to ensure fair prices for farmers.
• Promoting research, training, and extension services to build capacity among stakeholders.

There was also a suggestion of identifying crop-specific areas for the establishment of clusters dedicated to medicinal plants. These clusters would focus on area expansion, production, industry partnerships, farmer training and marketing through setting up specialised mandis for these crops ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers.

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