Collection and marketing of non-timber forest products in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Almost all the states in India have Forest Corporations dealing in collection, processing and marketing of forest products. Poor forest labourers who were previously dis-organised have now been brought under the umbrella of various organisations like Forest Labour Cooperative Societies, Large-area Multipurpose Societies (LAMPS), Tribal Development Corporations (TDC) and Minor Forest Produce Federations (MFPF). The Tribal Federation (TRIFED), a government agency, is protecting the interest of the tribals by providing marketing support to state-level corporations, federations and cooperatives dealing with collection of Non-Timber Forest Products by involving tribals. The tribal cooperative society gets collection right of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) from forest department on payment of lease every year. The lease amount is decided after a thorough survey of the resources inside in the forest by the forest officials. The lease period normally falls from 1st June to 31st May. Collection and marketing of Non-Timber Forest Products being a tedious process several preliminary works and marketing channels do exist to carry on the work. Hence the study was taken up in the Kolli hills of Salem District, Sathyamangalam Forest Division of Erode District and in the Pollachi Division of Tamil Nadu to unravel the tie up activities involved in this collection and marketing of Non-Timber Forest Products. The societies involved, products collected and the collection rate fixed are dealt in detail.