MSP Hiked for Minor Forest Produce | 04 May 2020

Recently, the Central government has revised the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produce (MFP).

The MSP is the rate at which the government buys produce from farmers and tribals.
The idea of MSP is to counter price volatility of commodities due to the factors like variation in their supply, lack of market integration and information asymmetry.

The increased Minimum support price (MSP) ranges from 16% to 66%.
MSP for MFPs is revised once every three years by the Pricing Cell constituted under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
- However, the authorities have revised the MSP much earlier than 3 years.
This will offer much-needed support to tribal gatherers in view of the "exceptional and very difficult" circumstances prevailing in the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Centre has also asked all the states to speed up procurement operations.
The central government has also created an online monitoring dashboard, called the Van Dhan Monit Dashboard, for reporting the procurement activities undertaken at the state level.
- The dashboard is a part of the “TRIFED E- Sampark Setu” that aims to facilitate exchange of information to and from every Panchayat and Van Dhan Kendra, either through email or mobile phone.
States have appointed the Van Dhan Kendras as their primary procurement agents for MFP procurements from haat bazaars.

Van Dhan Vikas Kendras have been set up under the program ‘Van Dhan Yojana’ which was launched in 2018, in Chhattisgarh.
The Van Dhan Vikas Kendra caters to ten Self Help Groups of thirty tribal gatherers each.
The selection of the tribal beneficiaries and formation of the SHGs has been undertaken by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
The Van Dhan Vikas Kendras boost the economic development of tribals involved in the collection of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) and provide a sustainable MFP-based livelihood in MFP-rich districts.

MFP includes all non-timber forest produce of plant origin and includes bamboo, canes, fodder, leaves, gums, waxes, dyes, resins and many forms of food including nuts, wild fruits, honey, lac, tusser etc.
It provides 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 sales.