On December 23, 2021, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda launched several ambitious projects of TRIFED (Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India) including the launch of the TRIFED VanDhan Chronicle, 14 Honey Farmer Producer Organizations and an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) to boost Tribal Samvaad Network.
- Participants: Ramsinh Rathwa, Chairman TRIFED, Yasumasa Kimura, UNICEF India, and Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED, have participated in the launch event.
Key Initiative Launched:
a.TRIFED Van Dhan: A Chronicle of Tribal Grit & Enterprise
i.Arjun Munda has launched the ‘TRIFED Van Dhan: A Chronicle of Tribal Grit & Enterprise’.
ii.The TRIFED Van Dhan Chronicle documents the work done for the promotion of tribal enterprises in the country and the achievements of tribal entrepreneurs under the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana.
iii.The chronicle gives an in-depth illustration of the activities undertaken by TRIFED including the introduction of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for select forest produces, training imparted, value addition that began in VDVKCs, new product lines developed achievements so far and future plans.
b.Promotional Videos on Tribes India:
i.9 Promotional Videos to spread the word and communicate effectively on Tribes India, TRIFOOD, MSP for MFP (Minor Forest Produce) & Van Dhan Vikas Yojana were also launched.
ii.Those informational videos have been developed by National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
c.MIS Portal on MSP for MFPs:
i.The MIS Portal for ‘MSP for MFPs’ was launched as the dashboard for the authorised users of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED.
ii.The dashboard contains the data pertaining to the list of procurement centres and their locations and the procurement of MFPs being done across the country.
iii.The portal is being launched to ensure ready and online availability of procurement-related data for analysis and fast and effective decision making and will ensure transparency in the procurement activities and performance and efficiency of the different states and districts.
d.Formation of 14 Honey FPOs:
i.Arjun Munda has launched 14 Honey Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).
ii.A central scheme titled ‘Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)’ was launched to ensure economies of scale for farmers over the next 5 years.
- Under this scheme, special emphasis has been laid on beekeeping by the formation of 100 FPOs in identified potential Districts/States.
- The National Bee Board (NBB), under the National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NHBM), has planned to develop the scientific bee-keeping value chain for honey across 100 clusters in the country.
iii.TRIFED has been made the implementing agency by the Ministry of Agriculture to undertake the formation of 14 Honey FPOs alongside NAFED and NDDB in the states of Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Gujarat.
Note – Beekeeping activity has been recognized as one of the important activities by Govt of India for its promotion and development to achieve ‘Sweet Revolution’ to enhance income of farmers.
e.Partnership with UNICEF for taking forward ‘Tribal Samvaad network’:
i.UNICEF and TRIFED have signed an MoU to launch ‘Tribal Samvaad network’ – Tribal network for Social and Behaviour Change (A people-to-people ‘prosperity’ platform built on the emergent digital, social, alternate and mobile revolution).
ii.The network includes more than 90 million tribals, 52,976 Van Dhan SHGs(Self Help Groups), 3110 VDVK Clusters, market associations, haat bazaars and the Tribes India network and the State agencies.
iii.Earlier UNICEF, TRIFED rolled out a campaign ‘Covid teeka sangh, Surakshit van, dhan udyam’ aimed at accelerating COVID-19 vaccination in tribal communities.
- The focus of the campaign is on three key Js i.e., Jeevan (Life), Jeevika (Livelihood) and Jaagrookta (Awareness) and the mantra of the campaign was ‘Samvad se Sambandh’.
- It was launched in collaboration with UNICEF and WHO and is being currently rolled out in 100 tribal districts across India.
f.Research Report in collaboration with JD Center of Arts on Tribal Livelihood of Odisha:
i.Arjun Munda has unveiled a report titled, ‘Tribal Livelihoods: From Sustenance to Sustainability’, which highlights the creative capabilities of tribal groups and their interconnectedness with the surrounding environment.
ii.TRIFED in collaboration with JD Centre of Arts undertook a socio-cultural research work and anthropological study of tribal art and tradition in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundergarh, Koraput and Rayagada districts of Odisha.
Recent Related News:
TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India), Ministry of Tribal Affairs is set to partner with NITI Aayog for implementation of Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVK) initiative under Van Dhan Yojna in 39 Tribal Aspirational districts identified by NITI Aayog.
About Ministry of Tribal Affairs:
Union Minister – Arjun Munda (Constituency – Khunti, Jharkhand)
Minister of State – Renuka Singh Saruta (Constituency – Surguja, Chhattisgarh), Bishweswar Tudu (Constituency – Mayurbhanj, Odisha)
