EMPOWERING TRIBALS: Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh with the members of the Indervelli Mahila Samakhya which maintains the ambulance (in picture) which was allotted to it under the Giri Pragathi programme.

ADILABAD: Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said lac farming would be given a boost in the States of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh with the support of the Shellac and Forest Products Export Promotion Council (SHEFEXIL) under the Union Commerce Ministry. He said SHEFEXIL would provide training and market support to lac producers who are predominantly tribal women in these States.

Interacting with lac producers of Pittabongaram village in Indervelli mandal, Mr. Jairam Ramesh said the States in which the activity would be promoted had abundant potential for lac production.

Value addition

SHEFEXIL would do value addition so that the product is exported at better prices. Further on the role of SHEFEXIL, the Union Minister said it would facilitate lac producers to trade directly with the exporters. He said this would eliminate the role of middlemen, which would affect the income to the lac producing family.

Funds sourced

The Union Minister said funds needed for the lac promotion activity were being tapped from the Swarna Jayanti Swarozgar Yojana, the Employment Guarantee Scheme and MPLADS. Besides, expenses needed for marketing the produce would be borne by SHEFEXIL, he added. Saurabh Gaur, Project Director, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Utnoor, informed that in Adilabad district the activity would be taken up in 19 mandals over a period of three years.

Some 20,000 landless tribal families would be allotted 100 lac (Butea Monosperma) trees so that each family could earn about Rs. 20,000 a year from two seasons.

On the status of the activity, Mr. Gaur said four brood lac farms are in the process of being established at Pittabongaram, Utnoor, Gundala of Narnoor mandal and Bazarhatnoor. Already, SHEFEXIL had trained 39 tribal women in pruning and inoculation of the Moduga or Palash trees. These women were now known as village botanists. The marking of trees for allocation to the tribal families had also been completed, he added.

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