Promotion of Medicinal and Aromatic plants is supported by NABARD through Rural Innovation Fund (RIF). The aim of the RIF project is to increase the level of income of down trodden and indigenous people especially tribal community in their homeland , by upgrading their traditional methods of collection and cultivation of minor forest produce with the usage of scientific methods and value addition resulting in biodiversity conservation and preservation of genome through peoples participation. The main focus is on Medicinal plants.
Objective

• To stay, identify and document the biodiversity of the project area especially the Medicinal plant flora
• To conserve, propagate and preserve the endangered species by awarenes Building with local people participation.
• To propagate the medicinal species in distribution to the local community
• Based group or organization for field trials (ex-situ propagation)
• To establish a gene bank (or herbarium) of local medicinal plant flora.
• To promote commercial cultivation.
• To establish godown and collection cum processing center.
• To encourage cooperative processing and marketing of Minor Forest
• Produces (MFP) by the local community people.

Activities

• Our Gene Bank Nursery for Commercially important medicinal plants has been established with nearly 50 common medicinal and aromatic plants. Plants survey,identification and their cultivation is done in small scale about endangered plants in particular forest area. At presents plants are identified on the basis of morphology .
• Farmers Club are being trained for identification of plants, proper time and method of harvesting by preservation of flora.
• After harvesting they are trained for preservation and storage.There is also plan to process cultivated and harvested Minor Forest Produce for value addition.
• Few local certified Baid are also associated with the project and who are conducting Health Checkup Camps at Nursery site every Thursday.
• Associated farmers are also trained in the Herbal Home remedies for common diseases.