As per the new norms issued by the National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB), majority of the farmers in Kerala taking up cultivation of select medicinal plants, may not get subsidies. Almost all of them had submitted their project proposals to the NMPB through the State Medicinal Plant Board, according to sources.

The new norms stipulate that only proposals with a cost of over Rs 10 lakh will be considered for the subsidy. Moreover, each project proposal should be accompanied by a certificate of bank acceptance of the project by a Nationalised Bank.

As per the NMPB guidelines, promotional and commercial schemes are available for encouraging cultivation of medicinal plants in the country. Under the promotional scheme meant for state medicinal plant boards, government and semi-government institutions, a 100 per cent Central assistance in the form of grant is envisaged.

Under the other scheme, a 30 to 50 per cent grant for the cultivation of medicinal plants will be available to individuals too. Although the guidelines stipulated a minimum of two hectares of land by each farmer to become eligible for the grant, considering the special situation in the holding of land by farmers in Kerala, the State Medicinal Plant Board had passed a resolution urging the NMPB to reduce the stipulation on land holding to 50 cents and forwarded the same to the NMPB.

While explaining the guidelines at a workshop organised by the Ayurveda Medicine Manufacturers Organisation of India in August last year, NMPB Chief Executive Officer R B S Rawat had offered the Central Grant to farmers having less than two hectares of land.

But with the present stipulation of the National Board, most of the applicants from Kerala will be denied the benefit unless the State government takes up the matter with the Union Ministry of Health and the NMPB for appropriate relaxation in the conditions for the grant.