Marking Two Decades of National Medicinal Plants Board, Shripad Naik Chairs an E-event

On 24th November, 2020, To celebrate the Establishment Day of National Medicinal Plant Board, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State (IC), for AYUSH chaired an e-event which had been organized by NMPD itself. A “Status Report of NMPB 2020” and “Ayur-veg” e-book were released on the same occasion, as well.

"The AYUSH Minister, Secretary (AYUSH) Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha and other members of the Board complemented NMPB for its progress, achievements and contribution made for growth and development of medicinal plants sector in the country." (Reffering to PIB report.)

In recent years, nonetheless the cultivation trend of medicinal plants is moving with acceleration; yet the wild sources supply a substantial part of our requirements. In order to grow the demand for medicinal plants, the NMPB puts the in-situ & ex-situ conservation and increment of local medicinal plants at the center of activity, as well as the aromatic species of medical significance. The NMPB advance research & development, capacity building through trainings, raising awareness through promotional activities like creating herbal gardens at Homes/Schools.

The main objective of NMPB is outreaching the medicinal plants sector through creating a strong coordination between the stakeholders, i.e. farmers and traders, and manufacturers, which benefits  both parties. As an achievement, the income and livelihood of the farmers and tribes would be raised up by the effort. Also, this task would facilitate backward integration with the industry/ manufacturers through post-harvest management. Moreover, introduction of the new IT tools and market linking activities help both the farmers and the industry.

One of the points, which has been highlighted on the Foundation Day, was the medicinal plants significance for the growth of India’s farm sector. Since the medicines are crucial to have a healthy population that drives and sustains the economy, there is no doubt that medicinal plants are critical and strategic. However, it has always been neglected that how a great value is added to the farm sector by the medicinal plants, even to the smallest farmers. On the agenda of NMPB,  advocacy and motivation were the most important points of discussion; it has driven and sustained adoption of medicinal plants on a large scale. The Board has also gone over the encouraging investors in the area of cultivation and production scale medicine.

"Amidst the surge of global statistics revealing the growing economic importance of medicinal plants for developing countries and the increasing focus of the Central Government in India on medicinal plants as an important option for enhancing farm incomes, the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) has completed two decades of its existence," stated PIB.

On 24th November 2000 the Department of AYUSH has started cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of Biotechnology and Department of Agricultural Research and Education to form the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB). Now, due to offering consultations and support, this Board is an essential unit of the Ministry of AYUSH with the above mentioned Ministries and Departments; also it controls and supervises the medicinal plants sector.

An important achievement of NMPB has been the voluntary Certification Scheme for Medicinal Plants Production (VCSMPP). According to the PIB report, "This scheme, designed with the support of the Quality Council of India, encourages good practices among farmers in the matter of cultivation, field collection and maintaining quality of the medicinal plants products. This certification is, in many ways, a form of quality assurance, and it has resulted in easy marketing and export of medicinal plants products."

As mentioned by PIB, "the NMPB has reached out to thousands of farmers across the country through Fairs, Exhibitions, Species-specific campaigns etc., and supported them through various business development steps. These steps include digital solutions like e-HERBS (for geo-tagging and collecting field data) and the e-Charak mobile app (for market information). NMPB has executed projects in areas of relevance for the farmers, like sustainable harvesting, intercropping and post-harvest management. Export promotion is another area in which it has made significant contributions. The NMPB reaches out to farmers and traders through a regional as well as state-wise networking through the state and regional representations. Each state is having a State Medicinal Plants Board (SMPB) while there are seven Regional Cum Facilitation Centres (RCFCs) to co-ordinate between the SMPBs and NMPB."

The Board, also, has come out with the idea to have a yearlong celebration on commemoration of 20 years completion,  through performing various promotional and developmental activities.

On 24th November, 2020, To celebrate the Establishment Day of National Medicinal Plant Board, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State (IC), for AYUSH chaired an e-event which had been organized by NMPD itself. A “Status Report of NMPB 2020” and “Ayur-veg” e-book were released on the same occasion, as well.

"The AYUSH Minister, Secretary (AYUSH) Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha and other members of the Board complemented NMPB for its progress, achievements and contribution made for growth and development of medicinal plants sector in the country." (Reffering to PIB report.)

In recent years, nonetheless the cultivation trend of medicinal plants is moving with acceleration; yet the wild sources supply a substantial part of our requirements. In order to grow the demand for medicinal plants, the NMPB puts the in-situ & ex-situ conservation and increment of local medicinal plants at the center of activity, as well as the aromatic species of medical significance. The NMPB advance research & development, capacity building through trainings, raising awareness through promotional activities like creating herbal gardens at Homes/Schools.

The main objective of NMPB is outreaching the medicinal plants sector through creating a strong coordination between the stakeholders, i.e. farmers and traders, and manufacturers, which benefits  both parties. As an achievement, the income and livelihood of the farmers and tribes would be raised up by the effort. Also, this task would facilitate backward integration with the industry/ manufacturers through post-harvest management. Moreover, introduction of the new IT tools and market linking activities help both the farmers and the industry.

One of the points, which has been highlighted on the Foundation Day, was the medicinal plants significance for the growth of India’s farm sector. Since the medicines are crucial to have a healthy population that drives and sustains the economy, there is no doubt that medicinal plants are critical and strategic. However, it has always been neglected that how a great value is added to the farm sector by the medicinal plants, even to the smallest farmers. On the agenda of NMPB,  advocacy and motivation were the most important points of discussion; it has driven and sustained adoption of medicinal plants on a large scale. The Board has also gone over the encouraging investors in the area of cultivation and production scale medicine.

"Amidst the surge of global statistics revealing the growing economic importance of medicinal plants for developing countries and the increasing focus of the Central Government in India on medicinal plants as an important option for enhancing farm incomes, the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) has completed two decades of its existence," stated PIB.

On 24th November 2000 the Department of AYUSH has started cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of Biotechnology and Department of Agricultural Research and Education to form the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB). Now, due to offering consultations and support, this Board is an essential unit of the Ministry of AYUSH with the above mentioned Ministries and Departments; also it controls and supervises the medicinal plants sector.

An important achievement of NMPB has been the voluntary Certification Scheme for Medicinal Plants Production (VCSMPP). According to the PIB report, "This scheme, designed with the support of the Quality Council of India, encourages good practices among farmers in the matter of cultivation, field collection and maintaining quality of the medicinal plants products. This certification is, in many ways, a form of quality assurance, and it has resulted in easy marketing and export of medicinal plants products."

As mentioned by PIB, "the NMPB has reached out to thousands of farmers across the country through Fairs, Exhibitions, Species-specific campaigns etc., and supported them through various business development steps. These steps include digital solutions like e-HERBS (for geo-tagging and collecting field data) and the e-Charak mobile app (for market information). NMPB has executed projects in areas of relevance for the farmers, like sustainable harvesting, intercropping and post-harvest management. Export promotion is another area in which it has made significant contributions. The NMPB reaches out to farmers and traders through a regional as well as state-wise networking through the state and regional representations. Each state is having a State Medicinal Plants Board (SMPB) while there are seven Regional Cum Facilitation Centres (RCFCs) to co-ordinate between the SMPBs and NMPB."

The Board, also, has come out with the idea to have a yearlong celebration on commemoration of 20 years completion,  through performing various promotional and developmental activities.