[MPWG] Herbal Gardens in Schools

[C Prakash Kala]

Herbal Gardens in Schools

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   The Government of India has set up the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) under the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to coordinate all aspects of medicinal plants sector across the country.  Since its inception in November 2000, the Board has been providing financial assistance to various kinds of research and development projects under its promotional schemes through a variety of research institutes of Central and State Governments, Universities and non-government organizations. NMPB efforts have generated immense interests among the different stakeholders of the medicinal plants sector. 
Recently in 2006, the Board has launched a new scheme for involving the school students in the medicinal plants sector. To inculcate the sense of belongings from the childhood with the surrounding biodiversity and its conservation, especially of medicinal plants, which provide a holistic health care in both traditional and modern systems of medicine, the Board has started to provide financial assistance for setting up herbal gardens in schools. Attempts are being made to select at least 500 schools from all over the country in the initial phase. The scheme seeks to cover schools upto senior secondary/ intermediate level. 
According to this new scheme, funding will be allocated on per hectare cultivation of medicinal plants. It is presumed that schools may not have much area for medicinal plants cultivation, therefore the funding will be provided for raising herbal garden of about 1/10 of a hectare in each school. For developing one herbal garden of about 1000 square meter the financial assistance will be limited to Rs. 10,000/- for setting up and Rs. 4,000/- for maintenance during 2nd year. The cost of establishing herbal garden will include the land development, irrigation, transportation of planting material, organic manure, barbed wire fencing, etc. Since each state and Union Territory has its own State Medicinal Plants Board (SMPB) working for NMPB, the funding provided by NMPB will be routed through the respective SMPB. 
For developing herbal gardens in schools, the concerned SMPBs will arrange to provide technical support with the help of state forest/ horticulture/ agriculture department of Agricultural Universities/ Research Institutions, whatsoever is nearby to the school. Besides, the SMPB will provide the quality planting material. Only use of organic manure / bio-fertilizer is suggested for raising herbal gardens. A school may grow about 5-10 medicinal plant species out of the total 32 prioritized species of the Board. However, the selection of medicinal plant species for developing herbal gardens is not restricted to prioritized species of the Board. Marketing of cultivated medicinal plant species will be made through networking of SMPB, drug manufacturers and traders.  
 	In order to meet the objective, the Herbal Garden Scheme of the NMPB has been circulated to all SMPBs for wider dissemination of the scheme. Within six months (April to September 2006) a total of 359 project proposals on School Herbal Gardens have been received from 13 States/ Union Territories. After screening and internal reviews of all 359 proposals received, 238 proposals were found suitable for financial assistance, which costs Rs. 33,32,000/-.  The state-wise break up of the proposals received and the amount of funds to be allocated to respective SMPB is given in Table 1. Within a short period of 6 months submission of project proposals by 359 schools located at different corners of the country reflects the interest and awareness of schools in the medicinal plants. This interest will be a milestone in developing the medicinal plants sector and the conservation of biological diversity in the days to come. 

Chandra Prakash Kala and Bikram Singh Sajwan
National Medicinal Plants Board, 
Chandralok Building, 36- Janpath, 
New Delhi - 110 001

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