After announcing minimum support prices (MSP) for certain minor forest produce, the Madhya Pradesh government is contemplating to bring more commodities under MSP. So far, the state has announced MSP on shellac and chironji.
“Government is likely to announce MSP on more minor forest produce soon. It is yet not decided but some forest produces like amla, harra, bahera, mahua and honey are likely to come under the ambit of MSP,” a government source informed Business Standard.
The state government had fixed MSP for shellac hosted on palash tree (butea monosperma) at Rs 100 per quintal while that on kusum tree at Rs 120 per quintal. For Chinroji kernel, the MSP has been fixed at Rs 80 per quintal.
The state government has outsmarted the Centre which is still deliberating on the issue. On the other hand, political rivals of the government have termed it as a gimmick of cultivating support of tribal-dominated areas.
Tribal families in forest villages eke out their living by collecting the minor forest produce. The volume of NTFP (non-timber forest produce) trade is huge in the state. Though, drastic legal measures have eliminated middlemen, but their active presence in the trade cases of minor forest produces adversely affects the poor tribal families.
This decision however seems to benefit tribal families in a large number. The potential trade of Chironji, according to government sources, is nearly 490 quintals in the state. Eastern parts of the state are witnessing shellac cultivation as supplementary income of small farmers.
Madhya Pradesh is the third largest producer of shellac in the country accounting for 2,870 metric tonnes (MT) production annually. In 2005, it produced approximately 4,000 MT of scrapped shellac, which is about 19 per cent of India's total shellac production and was thus ranked second after Jharkhand.