Parliament Question: Conservation and cultivation of medicinal plants in tribal areas

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AYUSH RAJYA SABHA ADMITTED UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2732 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17th MARCH, 2026 “Conservation and cultivation of medicinal plants in tribal areas” 2732. Smt. Mamata Mohanta: Will the Minister of Ayush be pleased to state: (a) whether projects under the Central Sector Scheme for conservation, development and sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants have been implemented in Odisha, including Mayurbhanj district; (b) whether such initiatives have supported cultivation, conservation and livelihood opportunities for tribal farmers; and (c) the steps taken to further strengthen medicinal plant cultivation, market access and income enhancement in tribal regions? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF AYUSH (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV) (a): The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of Ayush is presently implementing “Central Sector Scheme for Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants” throughout the country including the State of Odisha. Under the scheme, the project based support is provided for following activities: i. In-situ conservation through development of Medicinal Plants Conservation and Development Areas (MPCDAs). ii. In-situ/Ex-situ resource augmentation. iii. Ex-situ conservation through establishment of herbal gardens.iv. Livelihood linkages with Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) / Panchayats / Van Panchayats / Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) / Self Help Groups (SHGs) etc. v. IEC activities like Training / workshops / Seminars/ Conferences etc. vi. Research & Development. vii. Promotion of marketing and trade of medicinal plants produce. viii. Forward and backward linkage in supply chain of medicinal plants. The activity wise number of projects supported under the above scheme in state of Odisha including Mayurbhanj District are as below: Sr. Activities Supported No. of Project No. of project No. Supported supported in Mayurbhanj District 1. Conservation, Resource Augmentation and support to Joint Forest Management 27 - Committees (JFMCs) etc. 2. Herbal Garden 10 01 3. Nursery/Quality Planting Material/ species 06 01 specific campaign 4. Information Education & Communication 16 - (IEC) 5. Research and Development (R&D) 02 - 6. Activities supported through Regional Cum Facilitation Centers (East Region) of NMPB i. Stakeholders Meet 06 - ii. Training Programmes 11 02 (b) and (c): Under the above Central Sector Scheme, project based support is provided through State Forest Departments to Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs)/Panchayats/ Van Panchayat/SHGs/BMCs etc. for setting of local cluster for value addition, drying, warehousing and augmenting marketing infrastructure etc. and generate livelihood to these forest fringe communities including tribal farmers. These initiatives / activities supported under the aboveCentral Sector Scheme have helped in promoting cultivation, Conservation and livelihood opportunities for farmers including those from tribal regions also. To strengthen medicinal plants cultivation, market access and income enhancement of the farmers across the country including tribal regions, NMPB, Ministry of Ayush through its Regional Cum Facilitation Centres (RCFCs) provide Quality Planting Material (QPM) of medicinal plants and impart training on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and Good Field Collection Practices (GFCPs). In addition, Government of Odisha has taken steps by conducting awareness programmes through training/ seminars/ workshops, State level & Regional Level Kalinga Herbal Fairs, distribution of IEC materials and exposure visit to strengthen medicinal plant cultivation, market access and income enhancement in tribal regions. The State Medicinal Plants Board, Odisha is also providing technical support for cultivation of medicinal plants. To provide a platform for trade of medicinal plants & easy market access, the NMPB, Ministry of Ayush has launched “e-CHARAK” mobile application as well as web portal for the promotion and marketing of medicinal plants/herbs. The “e-CHARAK” is a platform to enable information exchange between various stakeholders mainly farmers involved in the medicinal plants sector across the country. The “e-CHARAK” application supports different local languages and it also provides fortnightly market price of 100 MPs from 25 herbal markets across India.