Weekly Current Affairs: April week-3 - MSP for MFP Scheme

TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs has asked the State Nodal Departments and Implementing Agencies to initiate procurement of Minor Forest Produces (MFPs) at Minimum Support Price (MSP) from the available funds under MSP for MFP Scheme.

• 'Minor Forest Produce (MFP)' refers to all non-timber forest produce of plant origin. It is an important source of livelihoods for tribal people are non-wood forest products.  
• MFP includes bamboo, canes, fodder, leaves, gums, waxes, dyes, resins and many forms of food including nuts, wild fruits, Honey, Lac, Tusser etc.
• The Minor Forest Produces provide both subsistence and cash income for people who live in or near forests.
• They form a major portion of their food, fruits, medicines and other consumption items and also provide cash income through sale.

The Scheme:

• The government introduced the scheme of “Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and development of value chain”.
• The MSP for MFP scheme was started in 2013 to ensure fair and remunerative prices to MFP gatherers.
• The scheme is designed as a social safety net for improvement of livelihood of MFP gatherers by providing them fair price for the MFPs they collect. The scheme has been started with following objectives
  • To provide 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.
• It is a holistic scheme for development of MFP trade including its value chain and necessary infrastructure at local level.
• The MSP scheme seeks to establish a framework to ensure fair returns for the produce collected by tribals, assurance of buying at a particular price, primary processing, storage, transportation etc while ensuring sustainability of the resource base.

About TRIFED:

• The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) came into existence in 1987.
• It is a national-level apex organization functioning under the administrative control of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India.
• TRIFED has its registered and Head Office located in New Delhi and has a network of 13 Regional Offices located at various places in the country.

Significance of MFP:

• MFP starts with the word “Minor” but is a major source of livelihood for tribals who belong to the poorest of the poor section of society. The Minor Forest Produce has significant economic and social value for the forest dwellers as an estimated 100 Million people derive their source of livelihood from the collection and marketing of Minor Forest Produce (Report of the National Committee on Forest Rights Act, 2011).
•  It is important for tribals for food, shelter medicines and case income beside providing critical subsistence during the lean seasons, particularly for primitive tribal groups such as hunter gatherers, and the landless.