Bhubaneswar: The tribals and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) living in the state can now avail the benefits of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for 49 non-timber forest produce.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has now recently included nine more forest produce to ensure that more produce collected by the forest dwellers and tribals could be procured by the state procurement agencies — TDCCOL in case of Odisha.
The new products included in the list comprise Bakul (dried bark), Kutaj (dried bark), Noni/Aal (dried fiuits), Sonapatha/Syonak pods, Chanothi seeds, Kalihari (dried tubers), Makoi (dried fiuits), Apang plant and Sugandhrnantri roots/tubers. The ministry has also set the MSP for these produce.
Earlier the ministry had revised the MSP of some of the produce which were announced to be implemented in Odisha since 2014 while later it added 17 more products under its ambit in December 2018. Now with the addition of nine more produce, the total minor forest produce which could be procured by the state has reached to 49.
Tribal livelihood experts claim that Odisha is likely to get benefits with the increased ambit but the state government has to work harder to extend the benefit of the central assistance and other state aid to the deserving tribal communities.
“The increased scope will certainly aid the tribals but there are a number of other issues that the state should consider to extent the benefits to the tribal community. There are still funds for tribal livelihood which the state agencies have failed to utilize properly. There is lack of infrastructure for smooth marketing of tribal products which should get impetus,” said Chittaranjan Pani, a researcher in tribal livelihood issues.
Pani also added that the lone procurement agency of the state which has been entrusted with the task of marketing tribal produce and ensure their welfare has failed to concentrate on the tribals.