Among the several noteworthy initiatives of TRIFED that were launched by Shri Arjun Munda, Minister for Tribal Affairs on December 23, 2021 was the TRIFED VanDhan Chronicle, an in-depth resource on the Van Dhan Yojana and TRIFED’s activities in this important scheme.  

Giving due acknowledgement to the role that the forests and the tribal gatherers play in the national economy, TRIFED has documented the work done for the promotion of tribal enterprises in the country as well as the achievements of tribal entrepreneurs under the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana in the the TRIFED Van Dhan chronicle. This Chronicle captures the underlying idea behind the scheme, details of what has been done, what is being done and the way forward which can be of assistance to the persons administering the scheme in future in an attractive and pictorial manner.

The chronicle gives an in-depth illustration of the activities undertaken by TRIFED which has impacted the life of almost 16 lakh tribals; including the introduction of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for select forest produces, the training imparted, value addition that began in VDVKCs, new product lines developed, new ideas for packaging and marketing implemented, achievements so far and future plans and can also serve as an instruction and information manual for officers working for the programs in future.

TRIFED has been implementing several noteworthy programmes for the empowerment of the tribals. Over the past two years, The ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ has impacted the tribal ecosystem in a major way. It has injected crores of rupees into the tribal economy. The objective of   “Mechanism for marketing of Minor Forest Produce(MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Development of Value Chain for MFP” which was formulated by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as a measure of social safety for MFP gatherers in 2013, is to establish a framework for ensuring fair prices for the tribal gatherers, primary processing, storage, transportation etc. while ensuring the sustainability of the resource base. Under this scheme, State governments have also started undertaking procurement. The minimum support prices for almost all MFP items have been revised in 2020 to provide enhanced incomes in the hands of the tribal gatherers. Presently 87 MFPs are covered under MSP for MFP Scheme.

The Van Dhan tribal start-ups, a component of the same scheme, has emerged as a source of employment generation for tribal gatherers and forest dwellers and the home-bound tribal artisans.  In less than two years,  52,976 Van Dhan Self Help Groups (VDSHGs), subsumed into 3110 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters (VDVKCs) of 300 forest dwellers each,  have been sanctioned by TRIFED. Under Retail Marketing, a total number of 144 Tribes India Outlets have been opened till date. Besides, two TRIFOOD Projects at Jagdalpur and Raigarh (Maharashtra) are being shortly commissioned for undertaking value-addition of various forest products being procured by beneficiaries of Van Dhan SHGs. TRIFED has continued to expand its operations through convergence of various schemes of different Ministries and Departments and launch the various tribal development programs in Mission Mode.  

One of the major activities of TRIFED has been in the capacity building of the tribal people through sensitization, institution building for livelihood enhancements and enterprise development of Tribal

communities. In this regard, TRIFED has been carrying out several programmes related to skill development and training the tribal communities, to assist them in effectively carrying out their economic activities and in exploring and creating opportunities to market the developed products in national and international markets on a sustainable basis.

With the emphasis of the PM on Vocal for local and building a self-reliant India, TRIFED, as the nodal agency working towards tribal empowerment, continues to launch and start new initiatives that helps in improving the income and livelihood of the tribal people, while preserving their way of life and traditions.

 

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