Background
The Madhya Pradesh State Minor Forest Produce (Trade & Development) Cooperative Federation Ltd, Bhopal vide letter No. MFP/TF/2022/2582 dated 21 February, 2022 extended the invitation to take up a study on ‘Rapid assessment of production potential of MFPs in Madhya Pradesh’ to Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM). Accordingly, a study proposal was prepared by IIFM and mutual consultations were held with Madhya Pradesh Minor Forest Produce (Trade & Development) Cooperative Federation Ltd, based on which the research proposal was finalized.
The MFPs provide the products for food, shelter, medicines, fibers, energy, and cultural artifacts for many of the world’s poorest people and a considerable proportion of the less poor (Saha and Sundriyal, 2012; Hegde and Enters, 2000). Minor Forest Produce (MFP) collection has become the major source of income in the forestry sector in India as compared to timber. India has been recording consistent growth in the export of MFP over the last five years. It is the largest exporter of guar gum, sesame seeds and shellac, and the second largest exporter of medicinal plants in the world. The export of tendu patta from
India stood at US$ 3.04 million in Financial Year 2022 (April 2021 to July 2021 (https://www.ibef.org/exports).
The state of Madhya Pradesh is one of the MFP rich state, as per the FSI State of Forest Report 2021, the major recorded MFP as per the relative abundance are Helicteres isora (43.71%); Buchanania lanzan (28.62%); Boswelia serrata (12.44%); Emblica officinalis (7.49%); and Terminalia bellirica (2.71%). The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has advised the States Governments to undertake procurement of MFPs as per the Minimum Support Price (MSP). In the state of Madhya Pradesh thirty-two Minor Forest Producing species/items have been included in the list of MSP for MFP procurement scheme.
A study undertaken by IIFM in one of the forest division of Sehore in Madhya Pradesh reveals that the availability trend of MFPs were exponentially declining due to overexploitation, destructive methods of extraction, absence of an institutional mechanism to measure resource availability, and a lack of monitoring in extraction and volumes. This has resulted in the decline of the dependence of the local communities on MFP resources (Yadav et al., 2020).
The state of Madhya Pradesh, which is the largest producer of Tendu leaves, provides wages income to MFP collectors in the agriculture lean period and dry months of April-May. As per the study conducted by Yadav et al., in 2010, the average contribution of MFPs to the forest-dwelling community for the State of Chhattisgarh was found to be 31%; whereas it was 19.3% in Madhya Pradesh and 14.6% in Maharashtra (Yadav & Dugaya, 2012). Considering the importance of MFPs in the livelihoods and wellbeing of local people, especially in the developing world, it is intriguing why the sector still receives so little attention in development policies and budgets as well as in programs and budgets from
relevant government departments, such as for forestry, agriculture, rural development, environment or energy (Shackleton and Pandey, 2014).
The data with respect to the production potential of MFPs in the state of Madhya Pradesh is not available and there is no empirical study of MFP availability in the state. The information on availability of MFP and its trend over the years is important for the conservation of resource, harvest and market fulfillment analysis.
Objective
The broad purpose of the proposed study is to assess the production potential of 32 MFPs in the state of Madhya Pradesh at the range level using rapid assessment approach.
Team Members
Dr Manmohan Yadav, Professor & Dean, Faculty of Marketing Management (Team Leader)
Dr Chandra Prakash Kala, Faculty of Technical Forestry
Dr Advait Edgaonkar, Faculty of Ecosystem & Environment Management
Ms Asha Khanna, Faculty of IT & QT
Dr Dharmendra Dugaya, Research Assistant, Centre for SFM & FC
Bhopal-India Process 