Dabur to procure minor forest produce

Firm will initially procure five products including amla, dhatki, harida, satavari and bahada

Dabur India Limited will procure the minor forest produce (MFC) — the medicinal products, from the tribal people of five forest divisions in Odisha at fair prices in 2013-14.

Dabur, the country’s largest manufacturer of Ayurvedic medicines, has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Forest Development Agencies (FDAs) in Phulbani, Baliguda,  Koraput, Banei and Deogarh  recently to procure the MFC.  The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) had facilitated the signing of MoU.

Initially, Dabur would procure at least five forest products including amla, dhatki, harida, satavari and bahada from the FDA.

“The company is likely to procure some other products in the future,” said chief operating officer of Koraput Forest Development Agency (KFDA)-cum-divisional forest officer (DFO)-Koraput, Bijay Kumar Panda.

The price of different MFP was fixed at 50 per cent more than the selling price of the produce by the tribals in the last year, he said. “The producers can also sell the produce to any other company who offer higher price than that offered by Dabur,” added divisional forest officer, Phulbani Prakash Chand Gogin.

“It means the tribal people will get an assured market to sell their MFP,” Gogin said.

The arrangement will facilitate the tribal people to get fair price for the MFP, the forest officials said. In order to ensure value addition to the produce, the Dabur would also train the members of the Vana Suraksha Samitis (VSS) on proper plucking and processing of the MFP. The training has already started to the members of five VSSs of Laxmipur forest range in Koraput district.

In Koraput, the company would procure at least 5,000 kg Amla at the rate of Rs 43.25 per kg. Similarly 3,000 kg of Dhatki at a rate of Rs 18.75 per kg, 2,000 kg of Harada Rs 20.50/kg, 5,000 kg of Satavari at Rs 83.75/kg and 4,000 kg of Bahada at a rate of 15.50/kg would be procured, sources said.

Forty (40) VSS in Koraput and five in Phulbani district have been selected to sell their produce.

The NMPB had provided Rs 10-50 lakh to different forest divisions for development of infrastructure facilities through the nodal VSS. These facilities would help the tribal people to stock and process their products for value addition.