The Hindu Business Line : AP tribal farm produce at Western malls likely

Organically grown cotton and cashewnut by tribal farmers in the forest lands of Andhra Pradesh would soon appear on the shelves of leading garment chains and super malls of Europe and US, if the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) here has its way.

As part of a twin strategy of protecting tribal interest in land and taking their development to the general population by way of ensuring a decent sustainable livelihood, ITDA has initiated market intervention measures. The agency is in the process of roping in industry majors to pick up agricultural produce of tribals at attractive prices.

Helping tribal women

Apart from measures to support the tribal farmers, ITDA is also aiming at helping the tribal women by forming them into self-help groups and assigning them the responsibility of procuring produce from farmers on behalf of the industry majors on a commission basis, the ITDA Project Officer at Rampachodavaram, Mr J. Murali, told Business Line.

Towards helping the tribal population with livelihood plans, ITDA is documenting the tribals' land cultivation status, patterns, crops and untapped resources.

"There are 1.46-lakh tribals living in 135 villages here with 2.8-lakh hectares of forest land in their possession. Olam International, a leading global supply chain manager of agricultural products and food ingredients, has shown interest in procuring cashew nut from the tribal farmers here. Cashew nut is currently grown in around 40,000 acres here with a total of close to 10,000 tonnes of production per annum. We are going to begin negotiations with Olam International soon," Mr Murali said.

Cotton procurement

Similarly, both Arvind Group and Naandi Foundation have shown keen interest in procuring organically grown cotton.

"As against the market price of Rs 900-Rs 1,000 per quintal of cotton this year, Arvind and Naandi have shown interest in picking organically grown cotton at a price of up to Rs 2,500 per quintal. Though they preferred absolutely no use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers in cotton farming, they are ready to purchase cotton grown by using chemical fertilisers at a price of up to Rs 2,200 per quintal," Mr Murali said.