DHENKANAL: Absence of buyers for sal seeds has dealt a severe blow to tribals and poor villagers in the district who depend on seasonal products for a living. More than 30,000 tribal and non-tribal families depend on sal seeds, a minor forest produce (MFP), for a livelihood.

Tribals, especially women, in Kankadahada, Kamakshyanagar and Parjang blocks largely depend on sale of sal seeds as source of seasonal income. They collect seeds and sell them for a period of one and a half months before the Raja festival.

Our family members engage for about four to five hours daily for sal seed collection in May and June, said one Sita Murmu. The collectors said, a company from Sambalpur used to procure sal seeds from them to make oil, soaps, fish fodder and other value-added products. But, it has not come this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With unscrupulous traders and middlemen keen to take advantage and making moves to buy sal seeds at throwaway prices, the villagers have sought help from the Forest department to prevent distress sale. “We can’t afford distress sale in these dire times. The Government must stand by us in times of emergency,” said tribal leader Umakant Mahant. DFO B P Acharya said though 69 forest products are included in MFP, he is unaware of the current market rate and collection process of sal seeds.