The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) has bagged the 'National Award for Excellence in Training' for 2015 in a contest organised by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
TRIFED, a multi-state cooperative entity under the Tribal Affairs Ministry, has been working for the socio-economic development of tribal people by way of procurement of and marketing of their products including minor forest produce, tribal handicrafts, organic and natural products, etc.
TRIFED's entry into the competition, captioned 'Improving efficiency and effectiveness of skill development and capacity building of minor forest produce gatherers training programmes', was adjudged second, behind ISRO, among the 50 contenders from all over the country by an independent jury, which included a nominee of UNDP, said a statement issued by the Tribal Affairs Ministry.
It works with a view to ensure better remunerative price for their products to enhance their standard of living and protect them from exploitation by middlemen and unscrupulous traders. Minor forest produce (MFP) is a major source of livelihood for forest dwellers as they spend most of their time in its collection and derive up to 40 per cent of their income from its collection.
Moreover, it offers to create 10 million workdays with strong linkage to women beneficiaries. But MFP trade is highly unorganised and tribals use traditional methods for collection, harvesting, storage and marketing.
TRIFED as part of its mandate provides skill development and capacity building training to tribals so that they can improve their income by improving the quality and quantity of the produce collected without destroying the trees.
TRIFED has also been focusing attention towards the procurement of tribal art, crafts, artifacts and marketing through "TRIBES INDIA", a chain of retail marketing outlets across the country.
In order to ensure uninterrupted inflow of quality products to meet the requirement of its growing customers, TRIFED has been successful in empowering the tribal artisans to attain excellency.
