Apr 20, 2020
The ministry of tribal affairs is mostly likely to increase MSP of 50 forest products that are collected by tribal people of forests. The list of products will include 20 new items namely turmeric, cardamom, ginger, ban tulsi, ban jeera etc… Forest products collected by tribals in northeastern states shall be included too.
To make tribal people financially independent, the Centre is planning to empower tribals by hiking the minimum support price (MSP) of minor forest produce (MFP) by 16-30% during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The list of products will include 20 new items such as turmeric, cardamom and ginger, ban tulsi, ban jeera. Forest products collected by tribals in northeastern states shall be included too.
This particular scheme was propelled by the Congress-led UPA government in 2013-14, which involves fixing of MSP for identified MFPs collected by tribals in remote areas. These tribal people then sell the MFPs in village mandis. If the market prices fall below MSP, the state government agencies step in to buy the produce from tribals. The decision to increase the MSP and to include more items in the list comes at a time when the Centre is concerned that the tribals would face miserable and not have sufficient money to buy basic necessities.
The village mandis or marketplaces have been closed down by state governments to avoid spread of COVID through overcrowding. Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), the nodal agency for the scheme, recommended the hike in price to ensure more disposable income for tribals. A decision was taken at a high-level meeting attended by 26 states through video conferencing recently. The MSP was last increased in FY January 2019.
For the second time in two years, so many forest products have been brought under the domain of MSP. The ministry had doubled the products from 24 to 50 in 2018. With the new additions, 70 MFPs would now be under MSP scheme. TRIFED managing director Pravir Krishna said, “The decision was taken as the tribals need more help at this time. During the lockdown there is a lack of essentials. If the government agencies do not step in, the tribals would be pushed to sell their products to middlemen who would not give them the right price. We want to ensure they have enough food and money for essentials.”