The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA)'s plan to introduce a Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism for 13 items of minor forest produce (MFP) has been approved by the Planning Commission.
It is important to understand the strong linkage that exists between food security, forest and resource conservation. Studies conducted over a decade in India clearly point to the fact that a majority of people in this country survive within a biomass based subsistence economy.
Non timber forest products (NTFPs) play a vital role in sustaining rural communities, particularly those living adjacent to forest areas. In India, it is estimated that over 50 million people are dependent on NTFPs for their subsistence and derive their earnings from these products after consuming about 60% of NTFPs.
New Delhi: The environment and forests ministry took half a step towards ending the monopoly of the forest department over the Rs 10,000 crore annual bamboo trade in the country. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh wrote to chief ministers of all states to alter their rules and instruct the state forest officers to treat bamboo as a minor forest produce.
Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) generate sizeable magnitudes of income and employment in different parts of the world for the tribal and poor people. The evidence is based on the review of past studies across different continents. The study presents a collective evidence for the role of NTFPs in development in low and underdeveloped sectors of the world.
Forest people across India are being denied their legitimate right to collect and trade in minor forest produce. Down To Earth correspondents travelled to Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, MP, AP, Maharashtra & Orrisa to unravel the conspiracy.
The study to examine the growth and instability in production and export of Indian lac is based on secondary data collected for 38 years spanning from 1970-71 to 2007-08. The data were analyzed by using exponential function and instability index.
