Developing a Market Information System for Removing Market Imperfections in the Trade of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India

Increasing consumer awareness and preference for herb-based natural products including herbal medicines, has resulted in an unexpected surge in the demand for Mediclnal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) and thus over-exploitation of the medicinal wealth present in the forests. The markets for most Non-Timber Forest Products including MAPs are highly unorganized and secretive and thus suffer from various market imperfections mainly due to the lack of information about the demand and supply of the products being traded to ihe disadvantage to the collectors and cultivators and sustainable resource availability. The situation thus calls for the need of information, which is reliable and readily available to the various stakeholders of medicinal plants trade including the policy makers and implementing agencies. A conceptual framework for such a Market Information System (MIS) with its various stakeholders, type of information, and the output to be generated is discussed in this paper. The suggested MIS is at a conceptual framework and has to be tested in the field at a division level before it is refined and finalized for its actual implementation. The design and implementation of such MIS on Forest Management Unit (FMU) level can help solve many impediments in the development of the MAPs sector on-a sustainable and equitable basis.