Value Addition to Minor Forest Produce: Gateway to Economic Empowerment of Jharkhand Tribals
| Published date | 01 March 2019 |
| Author | Shalini Saboo |
| DOI | 10.1177/0019556118809573 |
| Date | 01 March 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
65(1) 189–20 0, 2019
© 2018 IIPA
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DOI: 10.1177/0019556118809573
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1 Department of Contemporary Tribal and Customary Law erstwhile Centre for Tribal and
Customary Law, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India.
Corresponding author:
Shalini Saboo, Research Scholar, Department of Contemporary Tribal and Customary Law erstwhile
Centre for Tribal and Customary Law, Central University of Jharkhand, Ratu-Lohardaga Road,
Brambe, Ranchi, Jharkhand 835205, India.
E-mail: tanu_guddu7k@yahoo.co.in
Value Addition to Minor
Forest Produce:
Gateway to Economic
Empowerment
of Jharkhand Tribals
Shalini Saboo1
Few consumers realise that the cheap prices they pay are directly linked to the exploitation of some
of the poorest people on earth and the destruction of their forests.
—Andy White
Abstract
In all, about a billion people rely on forests for their food, fuel and income. In India
alone, forests account for over a fifth of the country’s total geographical area. Of
this, Jharkhand consists of 23,605 sq. km, that is, 29.61 per cent. Here, eight out
of ten tribals live in and around forests. About 60 per cent of these tribals are
dependent on forests. Despite this, it is a matter of extreme paradox that nothing
is being done in the state to utilise forests and its minor produce though things
are being done to strengthen the horticulture mission catering to only 17 per cent
of cultivable land. This article brings out the facts how ‘value addition’ to minor
forest produce (MFP) can not only generate income opportunity for tribals of
Jharkhand but can also add to the state’s revenue in a huge way. Till date, MFP and
its significance on ‘value addition’ have not even been flagged as an economic issue
in Jharkhand. For instance, products made after ‘value addition’ done to an MFP
like tendu leaves is generating a heavy revenue to the state. If the same is done
to other MFPs such as lac and karanj, it can transform the economic condition of
forest dwellers in the state. Figures reveal that value addition done to horticulture,
globally, is around 70 per cent but what has been done in India forms a mere 5 per
cent. To cater to this small portion, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has
been constituted at the Centre but for forest produce none exists. In Jharkhand
too, Mega Food Parks are being developed and only recently, foundation for an
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