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Development of Non-Timber Forest Product Species for providing Sustainable
Livelihood in India
N.G. Hegde
International Workshop on Global Partnership on Non-Timber Forest Products for
Livelihood Development organised by International Network for Bamboo and Rattan
(INBAR), Morocco. December 1-3, 2005.
Importance of NTFP
With the increasing population growth, the forest resources throughout the developing
countries in the tropics are under severe pressure. The situation in India is even more
serious as with only 2% of the world’s forests, the country has to serve about 15% of
the world population. While about 45% of the energy in the Third World is met from
wood, over 85% of the rural energy in India is met from biomass and about 50% of it is
collected from forests. Apart from 200 million tons fuelwood and 45-60 million m3
timber, forests in India provide about 50-60 million tons of forage and a wide range of
food, oilseeds, medicinal herbs and aromatics every year.
Historically, forests have been providing substantial support to rural economy. Forests
provide year round employment to 20 million people. For over 50-60 million people
representing over 250 tribal communities, forests form a part of the culture and natural
way of life. With fast depletion of the forest resources, the livelihood of the rural poor
and the tribal families living in and around the forests is further threatened, while
creating an ecological imbalance and loss of bio-diversity.
In India, out of the total land area of 329 million ha, only 77 million ha are classified as
forests. This represents only 22% of the total geographic area as against the
recommended forest coverage of 33%. However, the actual green cover is confined to
only 12% of the geographic area. Due to such reduction in the forest cover, there has
been severe scarcity of fodder, fuelwood and water and destruction of flora and fauna.
A large number of plant species are under severe threat, facing extinction. With drastic
reduction in the income from minor forest produce, unemployed local people are
indulging in illicit felling of trees to sustain their livelihood. Therefore, promotion of
Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) species, through productivity improvement and
value addition is necessary to reverse this trend and to sustain the livelihood of the rural
families, who have been dependent on NTFP since ages.
Types of NTFP
The NTFP of economic importance in India can be grouped into the following
categories.
1. NTFP for Food Security: Honey, mushroom, edible fruits and nuts,
foliage and rhizomes
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2. NTFP for Wood and Biomass: Useful for fuel, furniture, thatching, forage
and manure
3. NTFP for Medicines and Plant Protection: For human beings, animals
and for control of pests and diseases in agricultural crops
4. NTFP for Aromatics, Dyes and Oilseeds: For medicinal and industrial
uses
Among the above categories of NTFP, collection of food, fuelwood, fodder and other
types of biomass in categories 1 and 2 are crucial, as these are the basic needs for
survival of the local communities. The tribal communities living on the edge of the
forests have developed a unique system to make sustainable use of food and biomass
for their survival. In the absence of assured supply of these NTFP, particularly food
products, tribals migrate to urban and semi-urban areas to meet their basic needs.
Inspite of such a critical demand for these products, no serious efforts are being made
to enhance the productivity of these NTFP and ease the supply of these commodities
for local communities. Furthermore, inspite of severe shortage of NTFP, most of the
local communities are reluctant to procure commodities such as fuelwood, charcoal and
forage from alternate sources, due to poor buying power and chronic poverty.
With regard to the other two categories of NTFP such as medicinal herbs, aromatics,
dyes and oilseeds, there has been a good demand for many commodities, not only in
India but from all over the world. Systematic collection, value addition and marketing
can help in enhancing the cash income of the local population and promoting
international trade. However, there is a significant gap between the demand and supply
situation. Generally, the demand for these products has been fluctuating due to the
availability of alternatives, which are cheaper, although inferior in quality. As the
NTFP collectors are located in remote areas, a large number of middlemen are involved
in taking the products to processors and consumers. In such a situation, the NTFP
collectors neither receive correct information about the product demand and uses nor do
they get a fair price to even cover their labour charges for the collection of the products.
These problems should be taken into consideration while developing a strategy for
promotion of NTFP for providing sustainable livelihood to the local communities.
Problems of Promoting NTFP for Livelihood
Inspite of huge forest resources and abundant production of NTFP, most of these
products are not optimally utilised by the local communities. In case of non-edible
oilseeds such as Neem, hardly 20% of the total production is collected and utilised
while the remaining quantity is wasted. With regard to aromatics, dyes and medicinal
plants, there has been total neglect about their utilisation in general, barring a few
species, which have been over exploited. It is therefore necessary to understand the
problems of NTFP and develop a strategy to optimise their collection and utilisation.
Major factors affecting the collection and optimum utilisation of NTFP are listed
below:
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1. Unfavourable Government policies;
2. Lack of awareness and techniques about harvesting, storage, processing and
marketing;
3. Wide gap between the NTFP collectors and users due to physical distance
and unfair trade practices by several tiers of middlemen;
4. Uncertain demand and competition from alternative synthetic products;
5. Lack of awareness among the public about the advantages of using NTFP.
Role of BAIF in Promotion of NTFP
BAIF Development Research Foundation is a Voluntary Organisation engaged in
providing sustainable livelihood for the rural poor including the tribals. Most of these
tribals living in and around the forests have been dependent on collection of NTFP.
With the depletion of these resources, they are involved in shifting cultivation on the
periphery of the forests to ensure food security. However, in the absence of scientific
agricultural practices and inadequate supply of critical inputs, agriculture has been
contributing to soil erosion and further deforestation instead of providing sustainable
livelihood.
The important NTFP collected by the tribals in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh
and Karnataka are presented in Table 1. The products like Terminalia bellerica,
Terminalia chebula and Emblica officinalis are available in plenty and they have good
demand in the local market. Nevertheless, the tribals are finding it very difficult to
collect the available NTFP due to poor price realisation and hurdles faced by them due
to adverse Government policies. Furthermore, the collection of these products alone
will not be able to provide them sustainable livelihood. Realising the above problems,
BAIF has initiated the promotion of NTFP in selected locations in Maharashtra (Thane,
Nandurbar and Nashik districts) and Gujarat (Valsad and Navsari districts) in India.
These districts located in the Western Ghat hill ranges are dominated by different types
of tribals. As in other parts of the country, these tribals who were mainly dependent on
NTFP for their livelihood, have also been deprived of their income due to denuding
forest resources and poor price realisation for NTFP. In the absence of alternative
sources of livelihood, BAIF has promoted the establishment of agri-horti-forestry on
the degraded lands owned by these tribals, while arranging the collection of locally
available NTFP as a supplementary activity.
Table 1: NTFP Collection Promoted by BAIF
NTFP Maharashtra Gujarat Madhya Pradesh Karnataka
Medicinal T.bellerica,
T.chebula, Emblica
officinalis
Oilseeds Madhuca indica Madhuca indica Azadirachta
indica, Derris
indica, Madhuca
latifolia
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Food Buchanania lanzan, Madhuca indica, Tamarindus indica,
Carissa carandus, honey Madhuca indica,
Madhuca indica honey
Gum, Wax Boswellia serrata, Acacia sp. Garcinia morella
and Resins Anogeissus
latifolia, Acacia
catechu
Tans and Acacia sp. bark, Acacia sp.
Dyes Terminalia nut
Bamboo Bambusa sp., Dendrocalamus, Dendrocalamus,
Dendrocalamus sp., Ochlandra sp. Ochlandra sp.
Ochlandra sp.
Others Butea monosperma Butea sp. Butea sp. Butea sp.
The major component of BAIF’s agri-horti-forestry programme is the establishment of
drought tolerant fruit species such as mango, cashew, custard apple, tamarinda,
emblica, etc. on 0.4 ha land. While nurturing the fruit trees till fruit bearing stage, the
tribal families are encouraged to cultivate foodgrains and vegetable crops in the
interspace to ensure food security. The field borders and bunds are used for growing
different types of shrubs and trees having multiple uses.
This strategy has not only helped them to earn their livelihood but also to conserve the
natural forests, which in turn has enhanced the production of NTFP in the neighbouring
forests. To enhance the income further through NTFP, BAIF has been organising
training for farmers to adopt proper harvesting and collection techniques, improve the
shelf life through proper drying and storage practices and establish direct linkage with
the users to enhance price realization.
To improve the productivity of NTFP, BAIF proposes to take up the following studies
on a pilot scale.
Proposal for Enhancing the Income through NTFP
1. Objectives: The general objective of the proposal is to enhance the income
of the local tribal communities who are dependent on the collection of
NTFP, through productivity improvement and higher price realisation.
The specific objectives are:
1. Evaluation of the germplasm available in different parts of the district
and select superior accessions for wider replication;
2. Development of good harvesting techniques to enhance the quality of
NTFP and reduce cost of collection and harvesting;
3. Develop techniques to increase the shelf life of different NTFP;
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4. Documentation and revalidation of traditional knowledge on usage of
NTFP, particularly for medicinal purposes.
2. Location of the Study: Jawhar and Mokhada blocks in Thane district of
Maharashtra and Dharampur and Vansda blocks in Navsari district of
Gujarat.
3. Species to be covered under the study: Terminalia chebula, Terminalia
Bellerica, Citronella and Palmarosa.
4. Duration of the study: 2-3 years
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