Tribal Affairs Minister advises officials to focus on market needs to promote forest produces

Officials should shun the thought that they are going to provide jobs to tribal people and, instead, focus on requirements of market, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said on Thursday. Inaugurating TRIFED's workshop on 'tribal enterprise with focus on bamboo, honey and lac', the minister asked officials to keep in mind market demands and quality of products.

"I would like to stress we should remove the thought that we are going to give employment. This thought should be totally shunned that we are going to provide job since as soon as the efforts to this end stop, the things are back to square one. The need is to work according to the market," he said. The minister also suggested the officials of his ministry and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) to pay attention to balance in production and demand with undertaking gap analysis.

"The production cost should also be maintained as per the market needs as well as ensuring right price to the producers and quality of the products," Munda said. Under TRIFED's flagship 'Van Dhan' scheme, focus has been laid on bamboo, honey and lac with respect to ensuring adequate livelihood means to tirbal population in the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Van Dhan scheme on April 14, 2018 in Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh. Under the scheme thousands of Van Dhan Kendras are to be set up in tribal areas for skill enhancement and value addition. Minister of State of Tribal Affairs Renuka Singh said the scheme would prove to be a "milestone" in empowering tribal population in the country.

Bamboo is very important with regard to economy and ecology of the country. Not only its production begins within five to seven years of cultivation but it also supports a variety of flora and fauna, said tribal affairs secretary Deepak Khandekar. Under the scheme, development of bamboo will be taken up from plantation, harvesting, value addition up to marketing stages. It is expected to benefit 1.50 lakh tribal and forest dwelling families, according to a statement from the ministry.

The TRIFED is involved in creating a value chain beginning with raw honey to its diversified products in 10 states. A special research and development effort will be made to classify various types of honey. The agency is also trying to create domestic market in the country to promote consumption of lac produced by the tribal people in the country.

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