Tribals lose on minimum support price as Goverment drags feet

BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Ministry for Tribal Affairs extended the minimum support price (MSP) for minor forest produce (MFP) scheme to all the States on Monday, only around 5000 tribals of the State are beneficiaries of the scheme in the current financial year.

The Ministry had launched the MSP for 10 MFP commodities on January 3, 2014 in 9 Schedule-V States, including Odisha, where tribal population constitutes nearly 23 pc of the population. In October 2016, 14 more MFP commodities were covered under the scheme taking the total to 24.

The MFP commodities covered under the scheme are karanj seed, mahua seed, sal leaf, sal seed, Lac, chironjee, wild honey, myrobalan, tamarind, gums, kusum seed, neem seed, puwad seed, bahada, hill broom grass, shikakai, guggul, bael, Nagarmotha, palash desuda (flower), shatavari, madhunashini, kalmegh, tamarind (de-seeded).

The agencies appointed by the State Govermenent have procured 172.53 quintals of harida from 178 primary collectors and 10,339 quintal sal seeds from 4,728 persons so far. The State Government is yet to create a database of the primary collectors of the identified MFP commodities.

Announcing the pan-India extension of the scheme in New Delhi, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram said, the MFP could be the largest generator of revenue after minerals. Providing MSP for minor forest produce will help tribals in their progress and development, Oram said and emphasised on the use of social media and new technology to help the tribals sell their produces at best prices.

“The MSP scheme seeks to establish a framework to ensure fair prices for the produce collected by them, assurance of buying at a particular price, primary processing, storage and transportation while ensuring sustainability of the resource base,” Oram said.

The State Government has the freedom to fix the MSP for MFP upto 10 pc higher or lower than the price fixed by the Centre. The Ministry is also providing financial support to self-help groups for undertaking procurement operations on a scientific and systematic manner.