NTFPs in India: Rhetoric and reality

Journal of Plant Studies, 2012

Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh is a backward district, with 37.72% of geographic area under forest cover and inhabited by 17.08% ethnic people who use the local tropical dry deciduous forests to extract Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) for self-consumption and economic subsistence. The analysis of NTFPs in six forest divisions of Adilabad district, viz. Adilabad, Bellampalli, Jannaram, Kagaznagar, Mancherial and Nirmal reveals the use of consumptive category of goods like wild food plants, honey, oils, fodder, etc. on one hand and the non-consumptive items like gums, resins, gum-resins, dyes, wax, lac, fibers, fuel wood, charcoal, fencing material, brooms, wildlife products, raw materials like bamboo and cane for handicrafts, etc. besides the medicinal plants. The NTFP diversity shows the cognitive ability of the people while the products extracted belong to 183 flowering plant species which represent 149 genera of 64 families (164 Magnoliopsida; 19 Liliopsida). The Legumes dominate the list with 31 taxa, followed by Rubiaceae (11) and Euphorbiaceae . Most of the NTFP species are phanerophytes (61% trees) and indigenous. The government of Andhra Pradesh has a procurement policy and price index for select NTFPs by which the stakeholders get reasonable seasonal www.ccsenet.org/jps 34 income through the collection and sale of beedi leaf, gums (karaya, thiruman, konda gogu), stem bark (narra mamidi), fleshy corolla (ippa), fruits (karakkaya, kunkudu), seeds (chilla, mushti, morli), etc.

Academia Letters, 2021

Medicinal plants sector is famous as a multimillion dollar growth option yet the farmers cry of not getting the market or fair price industries too ironically complain of shortage of raw material & its poor quality. It can provide decent livelihood options to millions of semi-illiterate & unskilled villagers subsisting in poverty on the forest margins, if developed properly. However, infamous initiatives like the failed Safed Musali propaganda have risked the credibility of the sector. So it was needed to do fact finding of the sectoral potential for sustainable growth for the poor in the forest margins/ dry lands. Hence, CCD, an NGO working across 4 states in central & southern India conducted a nationwide sample survey of medicinal plants & NTFP trade in first half of 2013 in 13 states & Delhi across India in collaboration with 13 local NGO’s. It surveyed about 300 gatherers/farmers, 100 traders & 10 companies were surveyed. NTFP (non timber forest produce) were also summarily studied as they support 10-20 more people & offer much more potential for sustainable growth. Best practices in Silk, Lac, Leaf plates- Brooms, Gums-resins product lines are documented for replication. The medicinal plants trade is about 250,000 ton/year worth Rs. 10 billion & 10% of NTFP trade. About 30% of it is Isabgol in volume, but just 20% in value. The trade is growing slowly in the past few years due to other competing livelihood option in the villages such as the employment guarantee schemes. The top species by volume are – Isabgol, Amla, Giloy, Bala, Harda & Beheda. The top species by value are Isabgol, Atish, Amla, Giloy, Satavar & Ashwagandha. The most priced species are – Atish, Guggul, Kutaki, Chirayata, Banapsha, Pipali, Kalihari. Most exported species include – Isabgol, Senna, Henna, Myrobyloans & Karaya gum. The share of cultivated species in the trade is 15 % by volume 20 % by value. There are Isabgol, Ashwagandha, Aloe vera (Kumari), Pashanbhed (Coleus), Kalmegh & Safed Musali. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal & Uttaranchal are leading producer states while Kerala, U. P., Maharashtra, Tamilnadu & Gujrat are leading consumer/ importer states. There is need to promote few clusters for bulk production on contract with industries of species in high demand & price/ imported today viz. Isabgol, Guggul, Mulethi, Ashwagandha, Satavar, Atish, Pipali, in Rajasthan, M. P., Uttaranchal/ Himachal states to be a viable enterprise with Rs. 2.5 million seed grant. The benefits of investing in developing good collection-agriculture & contract production include Rs. 10,000/- to 50,0000/- per family to gatherers or farmers respectively, which is 2-3 times their present earning from medicinal plants/ NTFP. Industries will also get quality raw material at fair price.

Lack of information on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) resources and their management practices in the Churia hill regions have created problems in their conservation, management and development. Present study was carried out to scope the distribution, availability and ethnobotany of NTFPs in community forests of the Churia Watershed Management Project area of Sarlahi and Mahottari districts, Nepal. Participatory rural appraisal, focus group discussions and interviews were used to collect data and information. Study revealed the availability of a large number of NTFPs including medicinal and aromatic plants, as evidenced by the recording of 150 NTFPs. Local people have been using the indigenous plants for varied domestic purposes including food, construction, fiber, dye, medicine, etc., since long. NTFPs such as Eulaliopsis binata (Babiyo; leaf), Bauhinia vahlii (Bhorla; leaf)), Asparagus racemosus (Kurilo; root), Shorea robusta (Sal; leaf); and Dendrocalamus (spp.) (Bans; stem) appeared as highly potential for the establishment of local enterprise. Marginal farmers were traditionally accustomed to collect fruits of Phyllanthus emblica (Amla), Syzygium cumini (Jamun) and bamboo shoots as an off-farm employment opportunity to generate considerable seasonal income.

Forests, Trees and Livelihoods

Journal of Human Ecology, 2005

People of rural India especially forest dwellers extract non-timber forest produces (NTFPs) from forest for both commercial as well as consumption purposes. Various studies showed that poorest forest dwellers are highly dependent on NTFPs to sustain daily requirements of family needs. In protected areas, people's access to collect NTFPs has been either prohibited or restricted as per Wildlife Protection Act. The present study is an attempt to assess the extent of dependency on NTFPs after declaration of Buxa as protected area, dynamics of collection of NTFPs , people's perception about NTFPs collection etc. The study reveals that more than half of total families are dependent on NTFPs to supplement their daily requirements. Moreover, tribal populations are most dependent on NTFPs at BTR among all the social categories. It is observed that number of species as well as quantity of NTFP collection for sale increased considerably over the years. This might be due to the fact that villagers are increasingly dependent on NTFPs as potential income source as employment opportunity reduced drastically due to ban on clear felling coupes and artificial regeneration of plantations with the creation of Tiger Reserve. It is revealed that primary collectors i.e. local villagers are not getting remunerative price though secondary and tertiary collectors, in particular, are making maximum profits from NTFPs. Forest villagers of BTR regard NTFPs as more consistent and stable source of income with declining forest departmental works and crop depredation by wild animals.

The Initiation, 1970

This research entitled, “Prospects of Promoting NTFPs for Livelihood Improvement” was carried out in Habeli Community Forest of Nuwakot district with the specific objectives of assessing the status of NTFPs in the study area, studying the local people’s knowledge about NTFPs, their attitude towards collection and domestication, assessing the role of NTFPs to household economy and existing market system of NTFPs. Altogether 30 households were sampled to carry out the research and the information regarding biophysical and socio economic condition, perception towards NTFPs and their domestication were collected through various PRA and RRA tools like Household Survey, Group Discussion, and Key Informant Survey (KIS). People were generally familiar with the NTFPs and their importance and were slowly heading towards NTFPs domestication although on a small scale. The respondents have been utilizing their agricultural land to grow NTFPs like Asparagus racemosus, Emblica officinalis and othe...

Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 2018

Study entitled “Documentation of traditional collection methods of different NTFPs in Dhamtari forest area.” The study was carried out in three study sites Dugli, Nagri and Sihawa range Dhamtari, district of Chhattisgarh. The study reveals that the total 41 plants were documented belongs to 16 Tree, 5 Shrubs, 7 herbs, 5 Grasses, 7 Climbers and 1 Bio – products species. All NTFPs are not harvested and collected in the study area, a few NTFPs, which have commercial and domestic values in the market, are collected by local people. The products, which are collected by people, are flower, fruit, rhizome, tuber, mushroom, leaves, bamboo shoots, seed, etc. Among all these viz. fruits, seeds and leaves especially Buchanania lanzan (Char fruit), Diospyros melanoxylon (Tendu) and Bauhinia vahlii (Mahul) leaves are largely collected. 41 different plant species extracted as most abundant NTFPs, which were used for food, fodder, fuel, medicine, household and commercial purpose.