**Executive Summary:**
A stakeholder consultation, co-chaired by the Secretaries of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoAFW) and the Ministry of AYUSH, was held on May 5, 2025, in New Delhi. The consultation aimed to promote the cultivation and use of medicinal plants by exploring opportunities for collaboration and growth within the sector, and addressed key objectives for farmers and industry players.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
* **Overall Goals:**
* Promote the cultivation and use of medicinal plants nationwide.
* Increase domestic production, interstate trade, and export of medicinal plants.
* **Collaboration and Convergence:**
* Improve convergence between the Ministry of AYUSH and Agriculture departments.
* Collaborate with State Medicinal Plant Boards to promote medicinal plants at the national level.
* **Program Development:**
* Implement a mission-mode program for medicinal plant cultivation.
* Identify good cultivation practices and efficient techniques.
* **Economic Opportunities:**
* Recognize the significant growth potential in the AYUSH manufacturing sector.
* Capitalize on the increased demand for AYUSH products, including medicinal plants, post-COVID-19.
* **Session Objectives:**
* Develop region-specific medicinal plant clusters.
* Facilitate partnerships between farmers and industry players for procurement and value chain development.
* Establish dedicated mandis and marketing platforms to ensure fair prices for farmers.
* Promote research, training, and extension services to build capacity among stakeholders.
* **Cluster Development:**
* Identify crop-specific areas for establishing medicinal plant clusters.
* Focus on area expansion, production, industry partnerships, farmer training, and marketing.
* **Policy and Incentives:**
* Identify policy interventions and financial incentives to encourage farmers to cultivate medicinal plants.
**Impact Analysis:**
**Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of AYUSH, Ministry of Food Processing Industries:**
* *Impact:* Responsible for increasing domestic production of medicinal plants, and for facilitating convergence between departments.
* *Action Required:* Collaborate with State Medicinal Plant Boards to promote medicinal plants at the national level, and identify and implement policy interventions and financial incentives to encourage farmers to cultivate medicinal plants.
**National Plant Medicinal Board (NPMB) and State Medicinal Plant Boards:**
* *Impact:* Involved in promoting medicinal plants at the national and state levels.
* *Action Required:* Collaborate with relevant ministries and departments to support the mission-mode program for medicinal plant cultivation and the development of region-specific clusters.
**State Horticulture Missions (SHMs):**
* *Impact:* Implementation of the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) scheme, including medicinal plants.
* *Action Required:* Incorporate identified important medicinal plants under the MIDH scheme and support the area expansion and production of medicinal plant clusters.
**ICAR:**
* *Impact:* Provide research, training, and extension services to build capacity among stakeholders.
* *Action Required:* Conduct research to identify good cultivation practices and efficient techniques for medicinal plant cultivation.
**Progressive Farmers:**
* *Impact:* Opportunity to participate in medicinal plant cultivation and benefit from fair prices and industry partnerships.
* *Action Required:* Engage in training programs, adopt good cultivation practices, and participate in partnerships for assured procurement and value chain development.
**Leading Private Players from the Medicinal Plant Industry:**
* *Impact:* Opportunity to partner with farmers for assured procurement and end-to-end value chain development.
* *Action Required:* Collaborate with farmers to establish mutually beneficial partnerships and support the development of dedicated mandis and marketing platforms.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare: A government ministry involved in promoting agriculture and farmers' welfare, and a co-chair of the stakeholder consultation.
Ministry of AYUSH: A government ministry focused on traditional and non-conventional systems of medicine, and a co-chair of the stakeholder consultation.
New Delhi: Location of Krishi Bhawan, where the Stakeholder Consultation was held.
National Plant Medicinal Board (NPMB): An organization involved in the medicinal plant sector, participating in the stakeholder consultation.
State Horticulture Missions (SHMs): State-level organizations involved in horticulture, participating in the stakeholder consultation.
ICAR: An agricultural research institute that participated in the stakeholder consultation.
Shri Devesh Chaturvedi: Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture Farmers Welfare
Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH): A scheme under which important medicinal plants have been included.
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
Stakeholder Consultation in the Medicinal Plant
Sector to promote medicinal plants
Posted On: 05 MAY 2025 9:42PM by PIB Delhi
A Stakeholder Consultation under the Co-Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare, MoA&FW and Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH was held on Monday at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi
to promote the cultivation and use of medicinal plants across the country, observing participation from
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of AYUSH, 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.
In his opening remarks, Shri. Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers
Welfare, highlighted that there is a scope to increase domestic production of medicinal plants as inter-state
trade and export of medicinal plants. He highlighted the need for better convergence between Ministry of
AYUSH and Agriculture departments and collaboration with State Medicinal Plant Boards, to promote
medicinal plants at national level. He also mentioned that important medicinal plants have been included
under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) scheme, DA&FW. He stressed that
there is a need for a mission-mode program for medicinal plant cultivation, identifying good practices of
cultivation, efficient techniques, etc., which will help in the upliftment of the sector.
Shri Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH highlighted that there is a huge possibility of
growth in the sector. The AYUSH manufacturing sector has grown by 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.
Key objectives of the session majorly focussed on:
Exploring avenues for developing region-specific medicinal plant clusters.
lFacilitating partnerships between farmers and industry players for assured procurement and end-to-
l
end value chain development.
Discussing the establishment of dedicated mandis and marketing platforms to ensure fair prices for
l
farmers.
Promoting research, training, and extension services to build capacity among stakeholders.
l
During the meeting, various participants and stakeholders suggested 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.
In his concluding remarks, Shri Priya Ranjan, Joint Secretary (Horticulture), emphasized the need to identify
policy interventions and financial incentives to encourage farmers to take up the cultivation of medicinal
plants.
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PSF/ SRK/AR
(Release ID: 2127181)