The West Bengal State Medicinal Plants Board was set-up in the year 2002 and is functioning under the control of the National medicinal Plants Board. Now to cope up the demand of reliable planting materials (seedling /sapling/ cutting etc.) through out the State a Nursery has been developed in 2 acres of land in two phases at the State Pharmacopoeial Laboratory & Pharmacy for Indian Medicine, Kalyani, Nadia on April, 2004 by receiving a grant of Rs.4 lac from National Medicinal Plants Board vide–Project No.GO/WB-1/2004; revalidated for 2004-2005. Project sanction letter no.Z.18020/09/2001-NMPB dt. 22.12.03. Within the said Nursery Project we are able to propagate a large number of seedlings/cutting etc. of about 34 numbers of important medicinal Plants species. Selling of such seedlings/cuttings etc. at the Govt.
Approved rate through out the State is very much encouraging. The selling of planting material throughout the year reflects a positive response in respect to demand of such things. It is observed that practically there is no authentic nursery of public or privet ownership in this State which may cater the demand of medicinal plantlets as par requirement of the interested.
On the other hand the rates of some selected planting materials that are supplied by some privet organizations are so high that the poor farmer can not procure them. But from W.B.S.M.P.B’s Nursery they are getting the opportunity to collect their planting material in very low cost by which they are encouraged to cultivate the medicinal plants. At present, it is observed that a trend of cultivation of medicinal plants through out the State is getting high because cultivation of paddy and other cash crops including high yielding variety does not seem to be profitable in all cases.