Chh'garh purchased highest value of minor forest produce in country: State govt

Chhattisgarh has purchased the highest value of minor forest produce in the country at minimum support price in this season, a state government release said on Thursday

According to the data released by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), minor forest produce worth more than Rs 18.63 crore has been purchased from forest dwellers and villagers in Chhattisgarh, which is the highest in India.

In addition to Chhattisgarh, only two states, Jharkhand and Odisha, have started procurement of minor forest produce, an official statement from the Chhattisgarh government said.

It said that according to TRIFED data, minor forest produce worth Rs 18, 67, 26,000 has been purchased in the country so far, out of which minor forest produce worth Rs 18,63,82,000 has been purchased by Chhattisgarh.

 

Minor forest produce worth Rs 3.39 lakh has been purchased in Jharkhand and Rs 5,000 worth of minor forest produce has been purchased in Odisha.

This figure of minor forest produce is increasing continuously in Chhattisgarh, the statement said.

According to the latest data of the state government, 72, 727 quintals of minor forest produce worth about Rs 21 crore have been collected from 1,32,272 collectors in Chhattisgarh during the current season.

In this hour of crisis and amid the COVID-19 lockdown, the forest dwellers and villagers of Vananchal are getting a lot of relief from the government's purchase of small forest produce at the support price and the cash payment process, the statement said.

At the same time employment opportunities for forest produce collectors have also increased. It is noteworthy that only seven forest produce were being purchased in the state from the 2015 to 2018 at support price.

Currently, the state government had increased the number of minor forest produce to 22 keeping in mind the interest of the villagers, which has now been increased to 23, the statement said.

Minor forest produce collected under the MSP scheme in the state in the current year include tamarind (including seeds), puwad (charota), mahua flower (dry), bahera, harra, kalmegh, dhavai flower (dry), nagarmotha, tamarind flower, karanj Seeds and honey.

Apart from this, minor forest produce such as Bel Anal, Amla (seedless), Rangini Lakh, Kusumi Lakh, Phul Jhadu, Chironji Kernels, Kullu Gum, Mahua Seed, Conch Seed, Jamun Seed (dry), Bybuding and Sal Seed etc. are also included.