The State-Autonomous Regions and Provinces Conference has reached an agreement on the decree of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry related to medicinal plants, adopted in agreement with the ministries of Ecological Transition and Health. The agreement allows to define the list of species of medicinal plants cultivated and the criteria for harvesting and first processing of species of wild medicinal plants.
The draft of the interministerial decree transposes the provisions of Articles 1 and 3 of Legislative Decree N° 75/2018 "Single text on the cultivation, harvesting and first processing of medicinal plants". An innovative regulatory framework is introduced at European level for the medicinal plant sector, to the benefit of the many farms interested in starting a cultivation and first processing activity.
The decree regulates the collection of wild species and introduces specific training requirements for those who want to practice it, thus representing an additional tool for the defense of biodiversity.
The text, discussed and shared, both technically and legally at the Technical Table of Medicinal Plants established in 2019 at the MIPAAF, is based on the extensive and in-depth work of collecting and analysing scientific data, carried out by university lecturers and experts of accredited research bodies, with the active collaboration of representatives of the institutions involved, professional associations, associations of agricultural producers, companies and representatives of the Regions.