Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda on Wednesday urged Chief Ministers of 15 States to advise their State nodal agencies to undertake procurement of minor forest produce (MFP) at minimum support price in right earnest.
Among these States are Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat Madhya Pradesh Karnataka, Maharashtra; Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Rajasthan and Odisha.
Poor and marginalised including tribal communities are the most vulnerable in the current situation precipitated by the COVID-19 outbreak. As this is peak season for collection and harvest of MFP in many regions, it is imperative to initiate certain proactive measures to ensure the wellbeing of the tribal communities and their economy based on MFP by ensuring their livelihoods, the statement quoted Munda as saying.
He said that this is essential to obviate the movement of Middlemen from Urban areas to tribal habitations and thereby check any eventuality of infection spreadingamong the tribal communities. Funds are available with these States and additional funds, if any required, shall be made available by the Ministry.
The Minister also asked the States to share the particulars of all district level nodal officers handling the work with the Ministry. For any further support, the Managing Director of the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED) could be contacted, he saiid.