Minor Forest Produce | 06 Oct 2021

Why in News

On October 5, 2021, the Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Association signed a contract with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to improve the collection of minor forest produce in the state.

Key Points

• Under this contract, institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research will provide latest equipment and technical guidance to Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Association for collection, storage and processing.
• The use of the latest equipment and technology available under the agreement will reduce the labor of the people engaged in the collection of minor forest produce and will ensure improved collection.
  
  • Along with this, new products will be included in 'Chhattisgarh Herbals' with ease in cleaning, sorting, warehousing of forest produce with the use of new technology and production capacity of Van Dhan Kendras will also increase.
• Apart from this, with the use of technology available from various ICAR institutions, collectors and self-help groups get more income, increased dividends and social welfare schemes run by Chhattisgarh Minor Forest Produce Association, such as social security, insurance, scholarship etc. will get more benefits.
• It is noteworthy that earlier Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Association has signed an agreement with Indian Millet Research Institute (IIMR) for better processing work of Kodo-Kutki and Ragi.
• This agreement is an important step taken by the state government towards the betterment of minor forest produce collectors, tribals and other traditional forest dwellers families in Chhattisgarh.
• It is noteworthy that ICAR is an autonomous organization working under Agricultural Research and Education under the Ministry of Agriculture and Agriculture Welfare, Government of India. It is the apex body in the country to coordinate and guide in agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and animal science.