System of Procurement

MFP is gathered by the people living in forested areas. Some amount of primary processing, such as drying of leaves, deseeding, etc. are taken up by gatherers. These are then sold to private traders or State Government agencies. An exception here is bamboo, which is harvested under the supervision of the Forest Department (in some areas with the help of JFMCs). State Governments exercise control over the use and trade of MFP through various Acts and regulations. For trading in MFP, States generally followed following practices:

Monopoly by State owned or supported agencies and Free market i.e. sale of MFP by gatherers to traders.