Minor Forest Produce (MFP)

News:Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs has informed Lok Sabha about the Minor Forest Produce(MFP).

Facts:

About Minor Forest Produce:

• Minor Forest Produce(MFP) is a subset of forest produce.The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act,2006 defines minor forest produce as all non-timber forest produce of plant origin.
• These include bamboo, brushwood, stumps, canes, cocoon, honey, waxes, Lac, tendu leaves, medicinal plants and herbs, roots among others.

About MSP for MFP scheme:

• The Minimum Support Price(MSP) for MFP scheme was started by the Government of India in 2013 to ensure fair and remunerative prices to MFP gatherers.It is a Centrally Sponsored scheme.

Objectives:The scheme has been started with following objectives:

• To provide a fair price to the MFP gatherers for the produce collected by them and enhance their income level
• To ensure sustainable harvesting of MFPs.
• The Scheme will have a huge social dividend for MFP gatherers, majority of whom are tribals.

Implementation:

• Ministry of Tribal Affairs,Government of India is the Nodal Ministry for implementation of the scheme.
• TRIFED acts as the Central Nodal Agency for implementation and monitoring of the scheme through State level implementing agencies.
• Further,the State designated agencies will undertake procurement of notified MFPs directly from MFP gatherers at haats notified procurement centers at grass root level at prefixed Minimum Support Price.

Additional information:

About MSP:

• MSP is the minimum price paid to farmers for procuring food crops.It is announced by the Government at the beginning of the sowing season.
• There are two objectives of the Minimum Support Price system (a)To prevent distress sale by the farmers in case of a bumper crop and (b)To procure the grains for public distribution by fair price shops.

About TRIFED:

• Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) was established in 1987.It functions under the administrative control of Ministry of Tribal affairs.
• The basic objective of the TRIFED is to provide good price to the products made or collected from the forest by the tribal people.