Aadi Mahotsavas have bridged the gap between the tribals and their consumers, believes Pravir Krishna, managing director, TRIFED. In an interview with Ankita saxena, he talks about increasing tribal income through minor forest produce
According to the managing director, the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) Limited, stands for tribal good. He feels that the government can only facilitate and help create opportunities for the marginalised communities but it has to be a tribal led movement to mobilise them into the mainstream. Edited excerpts from the interview:
What has been the response to the Aadi Mahotsavas?
Aadi Mahotsavas have been one of the major and roaring success stories of TRIFED and Tribes India. Initially, these were aimed at providing opportunities to some artisans to come to Delhi to do business but, these fairs became such a huge attraction that last year, we hosted almost 17 Aadi Mahotsavas in almost all state capitals. Over 200 artisans participated in each of these fairs and managed to transact business worth Rs 21 crore. This platform is a way to provide the tribals with direct access to the larger markets.
The artisans live in deep jungles and more often than not, end up selling their products to middlemen at a very low price. With Aadi Mahotsavas, the artisans are now able to reach the consumers directly and in turn earn 10 times more than their normal income. These festivals have not only galvanised the tribal communities but also showcased their craft as well as allowed TRIFED to make a name for itself.
This year, we have received over 5000 requests from artisans and we plan to host at least 30 such fairs to accommodate all of them. Thus, the scale has become larger and the number of participating tribal communities has also increased. This year, the first festival is going to be hosted from 17 May in Manali, followed by Shimla from 1 June and the rest will be notified thereafter.
Are you planning to host some mini fairs on the lines of Aadi Mahotsavas?
Yes, we are planning to host 500 exhibitions on the lines of Aadi Mahotsavas in tier I, II and III cities so that the artisans have a bigger window to sell their products. TRIFED acts as a facilitator for these tribals where we provide them with transport and lodging, free of cost.
How is TAM different from other exhibitions?
A Tribal Artisan Mela (TAM) is organised with a view to identify new artisans and new products at the sourcing level in states, districts and villages, to expand the tribal producer base. This is the empanelment procedure where we go to a cluster of tribal producers who make say sarees, paintings or cane and bamboo furniture, set up camps and then assess the quality of products, and ability to supply. The tribals are empanelled after they clear the strict standards which are set because these products are meant for retail purposes. If we find potential, we also train the tribal producers to help them polish their products and become market ready to meet the demand.
Emphasis on strengthening and expanding supplier base as well as on creating sustainable marketing system is crucial to a balanced growth of livelihood opportunities for tribals. Currently, we have empanelled 2,500 groups and 70,000 individuals as tribal artisans. We plan to scale this up to 5,000 groups and 250,000 individuals this year.
How is TRIFED helping the tribals increase their income?
Almost 70 per cent of tribal income comes from the sale of products either using their skills, in case of handlooms and handicrafts or by selling the minor forest produce (MFP). TRIFED has introduced an ambitious scheme— ‘Van Dhan Programme’, with a budget of about Rs 1000 crore per annum, under which we plan to set up 60,000 self help groups over the next two years for collection, value addition and marketing of MFP. We have tied up with community service centres and almost 3,48,000 commercial, IT enabled groups will train and facilitate the tribals in value adding the minor forest produce at the district and village level.
For example, raw tamarind sells for Rs 30/kg. If you remove the seed and the fibre, it sells for Rs 200/kg. Tamarind can be made into chutney, powder and other products which can be sold atRs 600/kg. We will train the tribals to value add the MFP in the comforts of their homes and thus increase their income. 50 items have been identified as MFP and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has announced minimum support price (MSP) for procurement of MFP at a fair price to the tribals.
We have also tied up with ISRO to help us identify MFP with satellite imaging. What AMUL did to Anand in Gujarat through milk, is what we aim to do for the tribal community through MFP. Our aim is to do business worth Rs 500 crore for the handlooms and handicrafts segment and Rs 1,000 crore per annum under the ‘Van Dhan Programme’, which will benefit over 4,500,000 tribals.
What is the status of expansion of TRIFED outlets?
We have already expanded our network of outlets from 36 to 104 and plan to increase this to 200. Of the 104 outlets, 57 are our own sales outlets, 33 outlets are on consignment sale and 14 are franchise outlets which are located across the country. We want to leverage the franchise model and open at least 1,000 of such outlets this year. Our emphasis is also on opening more outlets at airports. We have 12 outlets at airports currently and intend to open 14 more.
How is e-commerce increasing sale of tribal products?
We have now perfected the digital marketing segment and have partnered with Amazon India and Amazon Global, Flipkart and Snapdeal, to make the tribal products available online. On Amazon, we started with a sale of Rs 3,000 and have already reached Rs 30,00,000 worth of sale. We plan to scale e-commerce business from all platforms to Rs 2 crore. Apart from this, we also have our own website and have also introduced a mobile app.
It is important to note, that since we procure the products directly from the tribals, they are reasonably priced and are competitive for the quality they promise. Recently, we offered a flat 33 per cent reduction on one lakh items to dispel the doubt that tribal products are expensive. The e-commerce business has allowed us to increase the tribal income by 20 per cent already.
