Assistance for Cultivation of Medicinal/Aromatic Crops

What is the Assistance for Cultivation of Medicinal/Aromatic Crops scheme?

Assistance for Cultivation of Medicinal/Aromatic Crops is a horticulture component of the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department, Government of Gujarat. Gujarat's own scheme directory at mariyojana.gujarat.gov.in lists it in Gujarati as Aushadhiya / Sugandhit pako na vavetar mate sahay, and describes it as support for planting medicinal and aromatic crops.

The purpose is straightforward. Medicinal and aromatic crops; isabgol, ashwagandha, senna, lemongrass, palmarosa, mint and similar plantings — need a different set of inputs and a different market from cotton, groundnut or wheat, and the first season carries real risk for a farmer switching over. The scheme absorbs part of that establishment cost so alternative agriculture becomes a realistic option.

According to the Gujarat scheme directory, the component pays 75% of the cost of cultivation or Rs 11,250 per hectare, whichever is lower, and it is available on a planted area of 0.20 hectare to 4.00 hectares. Assistance is calculated per hectare, so a farmer planting one hectare draws up to Rs 11,250 and a farmer planting the full four hectares draws up to Rs 45,000, always subject to the 75% ceiling on actual cost.

Who is eligible for medicinal and aromatic crop assistance?

You can apply if:

• You are a farmer.
• You are a resident of Gujarat.
• You possess cultivable land between 0.20 hectares and 4.00 hectares, held in your own name and shown on your 7/12 record.
• You hold a bank account in your own name for the direct transfer.

You cannot apply if:

• Your holding is below 0.20 hectares. The floor exists because very small plantings are not viable for the crops covered.
• You want assistance on more than 4.00 hectares. Area beyond the ceiling is not eligible; you can still plant it, but the subsidy stops at 4.00 hectares.
• You are not a resident of Gujarat, or the land is not in Gujarat.
• The land record is not in your name. Tenants and sharecroppers without a 7/12 entry are not eligible, because the 7/12 certificate is a mandatory document.

There is no income test and no caste restriction on this component. Farmers of all categories, genders and communities may apply.

What documents are required?

Keep scanned copies ready before you start the online form. iKhedut asks you to upload documents against a confirmed application, and a missing 7/12 is the single commonest reason an otherwise valid application stalls.

How to apply for the medicinal and aromatic crops scheme on iKhedut

1. Open the iKhedut portal at ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in.
2. On the home page, click Schemes, then choose the relevant scheme group (Agricultural Schemes, or Horticulture Schemes where the component is listed there in that year's window).
3. Find Assistance for Cultivation of Medicinal/Aromatic Crops in the list and click Apply. The application page opens.
4. Click Apply New and fill in the form with your personal details, survey number, the area you intend to plant, the crop, and your bank account details.
5. If you spot an error, use Update Application to correct it before confirming. Corrections are not possible after confirmation.
6. Confirm the application. An unconfirmed application is not forwarded for scrutiny.
7. Take a printout of the confirmed application and keep it with you.
8. Track progress, re-print, or upload documents later through the Applicant Corner at ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in/public/frm_Applicant_Corner.aspx.

Is there an offline route?

iKhedut is the single official channel for this component, and there is no parallel paper application. Farmers who do not have a computer or smartphone can complete the same form at a Village Computer Entrepreneur (VCE) at the gram panchayat, at a Common Service Centre, or with help from the Taluka Agriculture Officer or the District Horticulture Officer, who handle the field verification anyway. The contact list for those offices is published on iKhedut at ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in/Public/frm_Public_Contacts.aspx.

How does payment work and how long does it take?

Assistance is paid into the applicant's own bank account by direct transfer. Before payment, the application goes through three stages: online confirmation by the farmer, scrutiny and pre-sanction approval by the district horticulture office, and physical verification of the planting. Because the subsidy is anchored to actual planted area and actual cost, the verification visit matters: keep the purchase bills for planting material and inputs, since the 75% calculation is applied to documented cost.

When can I apply?

Gujarat does not publish a single fixed last date for this component. iKhedut opens scheme components in windows, usually announced a few weeks in advance and often aligned to the start of the kharif or rabi season, and closes them once the year's target is filled. The practical advice is to check the iKhedut home page at the start of the season, because a window can be as short as two to three weeks. The department has also migrated to iKhedut 2.0, and a Gujarati user manual for the new interface is published on the portal.

Why applications get rejected

• Holding outside the 0.20 to 4.00 hectare band shown on the 7/12.
• 7/12 not in the applicant's name, or an outdated extract.
• Bank account name mismatch with the Aadhaar and land record.
• Application confirmed but documents never uploaded through the Applicant Corner.
• Planted area smaller than the area claimed, found at physical verification.
• Duplicate claim for the same survey number in the same year.

Most of these are fixable. Obtain a fresh 7/12 from the e-Dhara centre, correct the name on the bank account so it matches Aadhaar exactly, and re-apply in the next window.

How this component fits into Gujarat's wider horticulture programme

Assistance for Cultivation of Medicinal/Aromatic Crops is one line item in a much larger horticulture effort, and knowing the neighbouring schemes usually saves a farmer a second application.

The Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) is the umbrella programme under which Gujarat supports fruit, vegetable, medicinal, spice and flower crops. The state's scheme directory describes MIDH as covering cluster planting of horticultural crops, rejuvenation of old orchards, integrated nutrient and pest management, protected cultivation, mulching, horticultural mechanisation, nursery and grafting training, post-harvest management and market development. Medicinal crops are named explicitly among the crop groups MIDH covers, so a farmer moving into medicinal cultivation can often combine this planting subsidy with an MIDH component for drip irrigation, mulching or protected cultivation on the same land.

The Integrated Horticulture Development Programme (HRT-2) is the other one to know about, because it funds the step that follows planting. Its published component list includes new distillation units for medicinal and aromatic crops, along with farm mechanisation such as power tillers and mini tractors, processing units, packing material assistance under post-harvest management, and transport cost support for exporting horticultural produce.

That sequencing matters commercially. Aromatic crops such as lemongrass, palmarosa and mint earn far more as distilled oil than as harvested biomass, and a distillation unit is the difference between selling a raw crop at whatever the local trader offers and selling a graded product. A farmer planning to move into aromatic crops should look at this planting component and the HRT-2 distillation component together, rather than treating the planting subsidy as the whole support available.

Where to get help

• iKhedut Applicant Corner: ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in/public/frm_Applicant_Corner.aspx
• iKhedut contact directory: ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in/Public/frm_Public_Contacts.aspx
• District Horticulture Officer or Taluka Agriculture Officer for scheme-specific questions and verification
• Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department: agri.gujarat.gov.in

Applying on iKhedut is free. No fee is payable to any agent for registering an application or for "getting the subsidy released".