SAMBALPUR: In a bid to increase the tribal forest dwellers’ income, the district administration has decided to launch a Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) - based value chain project under Central sponsored Mahila Kisan Shashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) scheme.
A detail proposal will soon be submitted by the Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) to the Central Government for approval. Under the project, ORMAS has identified four NTFPs like sal seeds and leaf, tamarind and char seeds for marketing as per the specification of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act.
The marketing society will mobilise forest dwellers into producers groups which would be federated into producer companies with the support of SHGs. They would be provided with training on value addition of the products and its marketing. These value chain development initiatives would contribute significantly to the forest dwellers’ income from the NTFP related activities, the officials said.
A survey is being conducted in forest areas under Bamra, Kuchinda, Jamankira, Jujomura, Naktideul and Rairakhol blocks to identify the sources and volume of NTFPs.
Assistant Director of ORMAS Srimanta Hota said nearly 4000 tribal households will be covered under the project. Training on making of sal leaf plates, de-seeding of tamarinds, and de-coating of sal and char seeds would be provided to them.
The SHGs will be engaged as primary procurement agency after being licenced by the panchayats concerned. They will collect the NTFPs from the forest dwellers and sell to the Tribal Development Co-operative Corporation of Odisha (TDCC). The SHGs will be entitled to a commission of 2two per cent for every transaction made by them, he added.
The project has been aimed at augmenting income of tribal forest dwellers and FRA beneficiaries during the off-season. It will also help in curbing exploitation by middlemen during procurement and ensure minimum support price fixed by the Government to the forest dwellers, he added.
Meanwhile, a team officials from the State Government on Thursday visited Sambalpur to review the preparation of proposal. The ORMAS officials are likely to submit the proposal to the Ministry of Rural Development on August 21.