30-Jan-2021: Inclusion of 14 New Minor Forest produce items under the Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce through Minimum Support Price scheme

Over the past year, due to the unprecedented crisis caused by the ongoing pandemic, the lives and livelihoods of people across all segments, and in particular, the disadvantaged tribals, across the country have been severely disrupted. At such a time, the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ has come as a beacon of change. Conceptualised and implemented by TRIFED in association with State Government Agencies  across 21 states of the country, the scheme has emerged as a source of great relief for tribal gatherers injecting more than Rs 3000 crores directly in the tribal economy since April 2020.This has been possible mainly due to the Government push and active participation from the States and has provided much needed liquidity in the tribal ecosystem, much needed in the adverse times.

Continuing with its earlier efforts to provide remunerative and fair prices to tribal gatherers of forest produces, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has revised the MSP for MFP list and has included 14 additional MFPs in the list. This recommendation of additional items is over and above the previous notification issued on May 26, 2020 (in which the list had been revised to include 23 MFPs) and May 1, 2020 in which the MSP revisions for the MFPs were announced.

The details of the newly included items along with their MSP are stipulated as under:-

Sl. No.	Minor Forest Produce (MFP)	Category F: Forest A; Agriculture M: Medicinal P: Processed S: Spices	MSP Proposed (in Rupees per Kg.)	Applicability as MFP item
I	Tasar Cocoon	F/H		Jharkhand
	Reeling Class Grade I- Specification- When Avg Shell weight 1.55 grams and above	F/H	Rs 3200/ thousand number	Jharkhand
	Unreeling Class Grade I – When Avg shell weight 1.40 grams and above	F/H	Rs 1500/ thousand number	Jharkhand
2	Cashew Kernel (Anacardiumoccidentale)	F/P	90	All India
3	Elephant Apple Dry	F/H	120	North East
4	Bamboo Shoot (Phyllostachys edulis)	F	70	North East
5	Malkangani Seed. (Celastruspaniculatus Wild)	F	100	All India
6	Mahul Leaves ( Bauhinia Vahlli)	F	15	Odisha, Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal
7	Nagod (Vitex negundo)	F	20	All India
8	Gokhru (Tribulus terrestris)	F	60	All India
9	Pipla/ Uchithi (dried berry) (Piper pedicellatum)	F	120	All India
10	Gamhar/ Gamari (dry bark) (Gmelina arborea)	F	20	North East
Il	Oroxylumindicum (dry bark)	F	40	North East
12	Wild Mushroom dry (Agaricussp)	F	400	North East
13	Shringraj (Eclipta Alba)	F/M	18	All India
14	Tree Moss (Bryophytes)	F/P	350	Karnataka

The Central government had introduced a minimum support price (MSP) for a select list of MFP through “Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce through Minimum Support price and development of Value Chain of MFP” Scheme in 2011 to provide a social safety net to these underprivileged forest dwellers, and to aid in their empowerment. TRIFED, as the apex national organisation involved in the improvement of the livelihood and empowerment of these tribal people, is the nodal agency for the implementation of the scheme. The Van Dhan tribal start-ups, also a component of the same scheme, further complements MSP beautifully and has emerged as a source of employment generation for tribal gatherers and forest dwellers and the home-bound tribal artisans.

To ensure that the ground gained is not lost and to strengthen the State level programme implementation and contribute to the empowerment of the tribal population, TRIFED has initiated Phase II of  the MSP and MFP scheme and the Van Dhan tribal Start-ups. During this phase, one of the major actions being planned is the convergence of the Van Dhan Yojana with the MSP for MFP Scheme. Together, these two initiatives offer a comprehensive development package for tribals promoting employment and incomes and entrepreneurship. With the implementation of several planned initiatives in the next year, TRIFED is continuing to work for the complete transformation of the tribal ecosystem across the country.

29-May-2020: Tribal Affairs Ministry announces inclusion of 23 additional Minor Forest produce items  in Minimum Support Price List

Ministry of Tribal Affairs has announced Inclusion of 23 additional Minor Forest Produce (MFP) items and stipulation of their Minimum Support Price (MSP) under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme titled "Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and development of value chain of MFP". This  decision enhancing the coverage from 50 to 73 items comes in view of the exceptional and very difficult circumstances currently prevailing in the country on account of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the potential of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs scheme to offer the much needed support to the tribal MFP gatherers.

This recommendation of additional items on 26 May, 2020 is over and above the previous notification issued on May 1, 2020, in which the MSP revisions for the existing 50 MFPs were announced. The increase across various items of Minor Forest Produce ranged from 16% to 66%. (in some cases such as Giloe, the increase has been up to 190%). The increase is also expected to provide an immediate and much needed momentum to procurement of Minor Tribal Produce across all States.

14 of the newly added items, otherwise agricultural produce, are not commercially grown in the North Eastern part of India but are found to grow in the wild in forests. Hence, the Ministry has favourably considered to include these specific items as MFP items for the North-East.

Further following 9 items available in forest areas across India have also been included in this notification with Minimum Support Price : 

1. Van Tulsi seeds (Ocimumgratissimum)
2. Van Jeera (Vernonia anthelmintica)
3. Tamarind Seed (Tamarindusindica)
4. Bamboo Brooms (Thysanolaena maxima
5. Dry Anola (Phyllnthusemblica) (Dry)
6. Kachri Baheda (Terminalia bellerica)
7. Kachri Harra (Terminalia chebula)
8. Seed lac (Kerria lacca)

The details of the newly included items along with their MSP are stipulated as under:-

Sl. No.	Minor Forest Produce (MFP)	MSP Final (in Rupees per Kg.)	Category F: Forest A; Agriculture P: Processed	Applicability as MFP item
I	Van Tulsi seeds (Ocimumgratissimum)	16	F	All India
2	Van Jeera (Vernonia anthelmintica)	70	F	All India
3	Betel nut raw (Areca catechu) Raw	30	A	N.E. States
4	Betel nut Dry(Areca catechu) Dry	200	AP	N.E. States
5	Mushroom Dry (Agaricusbisporus) Dry	300	AP	N.E. States
6	Black rice (Oryza sativa L)	100	A	N.E. States
7	Johar Rice (Oryza sativa)	50	A	N.E. States
8	King Chilli (Capsicum chinense Jacq)	300	A	N.E. States
9	Mustard (Brassica nigra)	40	A	N.E. States
10	Raw Cashew (Anacardiumoccidentale) (Raw)	450	A	N.E. States
Il	Cashew Nut (Anacardiumoccidentale)	800	AP	N.E. States
12	Tamarind Seed (Tamarindusindica)	11	F	All India
13	Bamboo Brooms (Thysanolaena maxima)	60	F	All India
14	Ginger dry (Zingiberofficinale)	50	A P	N.E. States
15	Perilla dry(Perilla frutescens)	140	A	N.E. States
16	Rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa)	200	A	N.E. States
17	Nutgall (Rhuschinensis)	150	A	N.E. States
18	Zanthoxylum  Dried (Zanthoxylumarmatum	200	A	N.E. States
19	Jack Fruit Seeds (Artocarpusheterophyllus)	45	A	N.E. States
20	Dry Anola (Phyllnthusemblica) (Dry)	60	F	All India
21	Kachri Baheda (Terminalia bellerica)	20	P	All India
22	Kachri Harra (Terminalia chebula)	23	P	All India
23	Seed lac (Kerria lacca)	677	FP	All India

The Ministry has provided flexibility to States to fix MSP upto 10% higher or lower than MSP declared by the Government.  This notification is aimed to address several issues of exploitation by local traders, ensuring fair returns on their produce.

The Central Government had introduced a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for a select list of MFP through “Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce through Minimum Support price and development of Value Chain of MFP” Scheme in 2011 to provide a social safety net to these underprivileged forest dwellers, and to aid in their empowerment.

TRIFED, as the apex national organisation involved in the improvement of the livelihood and empowerment of these tribal people, is the nodal agency for the implementation of the scheme. The Scheme has been a resounding success in offering basic support to the tribal gatherers and has helped in improving their lives. 1,126 Van Dhan Kendras have been set up as Tribal start-ups onboarding over 3.6 Lakhs beneficiaries. Many of these units have commenced production and started sales of their value-added products.

17-Apr-2020: MHA issues order to exempt certain activities regarding Minor Forest Produce

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued an order to exempt certain activities under the consolidated revised guidelines to all Ministries/Departments (https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/MHA%20order%20dt%2015.04.2020%2C%20with%20Revised%20Consolidated%20Guidelines_compressed%20%283%29.pdf), regarding the Nationwide lockdown to fight COVID-19.

The order exempts from lockdown restrictions certain activities as below:

• Collection, harvesting and processing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP)/ Non-timber Forest Produce (NTFP) by Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers in forest areas.
• Bamboo, coconut, arecanut, cocoa, spices plantations and their harvesting, processing, packaging, sale and marketing.
• Non-banking financial institutions (NBFCs) including Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) and Micro Finance Companies (NBFC--MFIs), with bare minimum staff.
• Cooperative Credit Societies.
• Construction activities in rural areas to include water supply and sanitation , laying/erection of power transmission lines and laying of telecom optical fiber and cable along with related activities.

28-Feb-2019: Ministry of Tribal Affairs launches schemes of Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produce to cover 50 items

Shri Jual Oram, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs launched the ambitious scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Van Dhan, the scheme for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produce Scheme (MFP) and Development of Value Chain of MFPs at a National Workshop organized by TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Representatives from 30 States participated in the workshop where detailed interaction took place about various aspects of these schemes.

Shri Jual Oram launched the following schemes on the occasion: -

1. MSP for MFPs
2. Release of guidelines (a) Scheme of MSP for MFPs (b) Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram
3. TRIFOOD project of TRIFED and Ministry of Food Processing Industries
4. TRIFEDs CSR initiatives –“Friends of TRIBES”/ Exchange of MOUs
5. Release of Special edition of TRIBES HAAT
6. DBT Scholarship portal of Ministry of Tribal Affairs
7. Van Dhan TVC

Almost 5.5 crore tribals residing in the dense forest areas of the Country will benefit from the Schemes of Minimum Support Price and Value Addition. The Scheme will offer remunerative Minimum Support Price for 50 commercially viable items to the Tribals. MFPs now covered the entire range of forest produces. MSP has been raised by 30% to 40%. This would go a long way in adding to the income of the Tribals. The procurement mechanisms at the Haat Bazars where tribals bring their commodities had now also been worked. 307 District Collectors have been given responsibility through the State Agencies to provide Minimum Support Price to the tribal gatherers. It is proposed to set up almost 6000 Van Dan Vikas Kendras comprising 300 tribal gatherers each in the Country providing employment to almost 45 Lakh tribals.

Van Dhan Scheme programme promotes enterprise and marketing skills in tribals. This will be a game changer in the very near future, if implemented diligently. The tribals presently get only 20 – 30% of the value chain of the Minor Forest Produces. This situation will change after Van Dhan scheme which aims to take this share to 70 to 80%. The Prime Minister of India launched the Van Dhan Scheme in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on 14th April, 2018.

Launching the TRIFOOD Scheme, a joint initiative of Ministry of Food Processing Industry, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED, Shri Oram stated that under this scheme a tertiary value addition center will be set up in Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh and Raigad in Maharashtra at a cost of approximately Rs.11.00 crores. A highlight of this is the production of “Heritage Mahua” drink. The traditional Mahua tribal drink will be mainstreamed and marketed all over the Country under this project. He praised the efforts of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED to take all these programmes to the present level and hoped that TRIFED will leave no stone unturned to reach the tribals residing in forest areas.

Shri Oram also launched the “Friends of Tribes” initiative of the Ministry. TRIFED has tied up CSR funds to promote tribal livelihoods. He was happy to note that socially oriented Public Sector Organisations like BPCL, IOCL and SPMCL have sanctioned approximately Rs. 10.00 crors for promoting Van Dhan operations in Barwani, Rajnandgaon, Dewas and Hoshangabad Districts of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

11-Jan-2019:  Revision of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produce (MFP)

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) has added nine minor forest produce (MFP) items to its minimum support price (MSP) for MFP scheme.

The ministry, through a notification dated January 11, 2019, added these items, thereby taking the total number of MFPs covered under the list to 49. The nine new items are: Bakul (dried bark), Kutaj (dried bark), Noni/Aal (dried fruits), Sonapatha/Syonak pods, Chanothi seeds, Kalihari (dried tubers), Makoi (dried fruits), Apang plant and Sugandhrnantri roots/tubers.

Tribal communities are dependent on MFP. They collect hundreds of forest products and survive on them. Therefore, we have been increasing the number as well as the MSP for these products.

The decision was taken by Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) based on the recommendations of the pricing cell, constituted by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED). On December 27 last year, the ministry had revised the MSP of 23 items of MFP items and had introduced MSP for 17 new MFP items.

While the ministry has been increasing the number of MFP items in the scheme, media reports have indicated that the allocations made under the scheme have been heavily under-utilized — as around 90 per cent of the funds remain unutilized since the inception of the plan.

Five years after the scheme was introduced, the utilisation statistics remain poor. The Centre had earmarked Rs 1,172 crore for five years till 2018-19. Ministry of Tribal Affairs’ statistics reveal that only 11 per cent of the total outlay — about Rs 128 crore — has been spent. About Rs 360 crore released to state governments are lying unspent in the state coffers. Minor forest produce worth Rs 78 crore are lying unsold in godowns of state agencies.

The MSP for MFP scheme was started by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2013 to ensure fair and remunerative prices to MFP gatherers. The total outlay for the scheme is Rs 967 crore as Centre’s share for the planned period (2013-14 to 2016-17), according to TRIFED.

The government, especially MoTA and TRIFED, should be active enough to issue the parameter of Fair Average Quality (FAQ) so that state agencies can go ahead and implement the scheme. Earlier 17 included MFP FAQ Parameters was not communicated to the concerned state procurement agency by TRIFED. Similarly, with the newly added MFPs, in the absence of FAQ, the designated agency will not collect MFPs under the scheme.

27-Dec-2018: Government introduces Minimum Support Price for 17 new items of Minor Forest Produce

The Government has revised the Minimum Support Price of 23 items of Minor Forest Produce items and has introduced MSP for 17 new MFP items. The 23 items whose MSP has been revised include those Minor Forest Produce items which have been covered under the scheme since its inception in the year 2013-14. The revised MSP also includes those MFP items which were announced on 31.10.2016 except Palash Flower (wet variety).

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, in a notification, has asked all the State Governments to bring these changes to the notice of State nodal agencies and the State implementing agencies. TRIFED will be required to keep a watch on market prices and display on website besides sharing with the States to facilitate implementation of the scheme. There shall also be an endeavor to develop market linkage between State agencies, through State nodal department for bulk users/buyers.

In view of the general cost escalation on all fronts the question of revision of MSP of the MFP items had been under consideration of the Government for some time. Consequent upon receipt of recommendations of the MFP Pricing Cell for revision of MSP of the MFP items already existing in the scheme, as also the recommendation for the inclusion of additional MFP items, the Ministry, after due deliberation, has now decided to revise the MSP of the 10 MFP items which have formed a part of the scheme from its very inception as under:

The MSP of the thirteen (13) MFP items which were introduced into the scheme w.e.f. 31.10.2016 was reviewed and the Ministry, after due deliberation, has now decided to revise their MSP as under:

* The MFP Pricing Cell did not recommend any revised MSP for Guggul (Sterculia urens). 

With a view to increase the coverage of the scheme in terms of MFP items, studies have been conducted on some more MFP items which are collected by tribals in most of the States for their livelihood. Based on the recommendations of the Pricing Cell constituted by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED) this Ministry has decided to announce the inclusion of seventeen (17) more MFP items in the scheme along with their MSP as under:

The MSP of the MFP items as mentioned above shall be operative with immediate effect and shall remain valid till further revision.