Medicinal Plant wealth of our country is invaluable in terms of diversity and abundance. Deccan Plateau contributes maximum to the Medicinal Plants diversity of the Country. Apart from Traditional Systems of Medicine, the modern Medicine also utilizes the floral diversity and active principles with potential for treatment of disease are extracted from plants. During the past eight decades, there were efforts to introduce many  drug plants in to the agriculture for cultivation in our country. Studies on cultivation practices were under taken for these plants which were found suitable and remunerative for commercially . Agronomic practices for cultivation of Isobgol, Senna, Henna, Amla, Aswagandha, Aloevera, Piper longum and few others have been developed and Indian farmers have started showing interest in commercial cultivation of Medicinal Plants. The average foreign trade in crude drugs or the phytochemicals is estimated around Rs. 4000 crores.

Cultivation of Medicinal Plants is taken up extensively as a strategy to conserve the wild sources as there is imminent danger of these species getting extinct if the present trend of over-harvesting of Medicinal Plants from natural forests continues. Andhra Pradesh Medicinal & Aromatic Plants Board, established during 2002, is working towards encouraging cultivation of Medicinal Plants for not only improving the returns to farming community, but also for conserving the valuable Medicinal Plants wealth of Andhra Pradesh Forests. Programmes are devised for improving the rural livelihoods by way of cultivation, conservation and value addition of medicinal plants.