QUIESCENT NTFP TAMARIND YET IMPENDING ITS OPTIMAL INDUSTRIAL CONSUMPTION IN BASTAR

Abstract

The present paper has been presented on the basis of the authors involvement in the field of NTFP of Chhattisgarh from last two decades. This paper reveals that amid all the NTFPs tamarind contributes the highest income of approximately 35 - 40 % to the tribal people.It has been found from secondary sources that the total Tamarind production in India is about 30 Lakh Quintals which is almost 75% of total world production. The total estimated production of tamarind in the state of Chhattisgarh as per the data obtained from the CG Mandi Board and the Chhattisgarh Minor Forest Produce Marketing Federation (CGMFPFed) is approximately 4 Lakh Quintals per year. But according to the traders estimate the total tamarind production in Chhattisgarh ranges between 5 to 8 Lakh Quintals and varies from year to year as the production is dependent on the weather conditions.

In Bastar district t tamarind is traded through different Channels. Despite having such huge resources the rural tribal get very little margin out of this trade. The retailers (Kochia) and commission agents are the highest profit making channels. These tribal people are in need of lot of support in terms of their skill enhancement related to value addition, processing, packaging and grading of not only tamarind but also some other valuable NTFPs available in their vicinity. They also need support from government for its price fixation as they get very low price of tamarind from the middlemen. The lack of finance facilities, improper transport, insufficient storage and followed by high level of operational exploitation by traders often depresses the gatherers interest for tamarind marketing. Moreover if some processing units can be established in the region then it can be a reward for them to obtain better remuneration and it will also generate employment opportunities. Thus levelheaded intercession in this regard is need of time which will ultimately lead to augment the household income and further to improve the quality of living of the people.