As per the study entitled ‘Medicinal Plants in India: An Assessment of their Demand and Supply, Ved and Goraya (2017)’ conducted by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) and supported by the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), the annual demand of herbs / medicinal plants in the country was estimated about 5,12,000 Metric Tonnes in 2014-15. As per the study, about 1178 medicinal plant species are recorded in practices of trade, out of which 242 species are traded in a high volume of more than 100 MT per annum. Further analysis of these 242 species revealed that 173species (72%) are collected from wild sources.
Ministry of Ayush, Government of India had implemented the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the National Ayush Mission (NAM) from the financial year 2015-16 to 2020-21 to promote the cultivation of Medicinal Plants throughout the country. Under the Medicinal Plants component of the National Ayush Mission (NAM) scheme, support was provided for:
- Cultivation of prioritized medicinal plants on farmer’s land.
- Establishment of nurseries with backward linkages for raising and supplying quality planting material.
- Post-harvest management with forwarding linkages.
- Primary processing, marketing infrastructure etc.