Gua/Noamundi, Sept 11: Tata Steel Foundation (TSF) which is dedicated to providing quality education, healthcare, sustainable livelihood opportunities, community empowerment through agricultural development, market linkages, youth skill development, preservation of ethnicity and culture of indigenous communities and promoting entrepreneurship, has introduced new livelihood intervention this year, Scientific Lac Cultivation.
Scientific practice of lac cultivation involves proper care and regular pruning of host plants, inoculation, timely spraying of pesticides, harvesting, phunki removal, collection and processing.
Over the years, the farmers of Noamundi have benefitted from the different interventions and methods provided by TSF. Among the benefitted farmers, Mangal Kerai, 55 years of age, lives with 5 members at Sukripara village, comes under Dudhbila Panchayat of Noamundi block. Initially, he underwent an exposure cum training programme at Jhalda, West Bengal conducted by TSF, Noamundi. Later, he was involved in scientific lac cultivation with a high motivation level and earned Rs.61100 in the first season (6 months). Mangal, who comes from a poor family, was always only engaged in rain-fed agriculture, previously his annual income was 30 to 35 thousand rupees, but including the second season, he will earn more than a lakh.
Cultivation of Lac is highly remunerative. On an average, half kg of brood lac can yield a minimum of 5 kg and is sold for Rs. 800 per kg. La c cultivation is a low cost livelihood measure that has the potential to financially empower the villagers. Tata Steel Foundation’s pilot project, Lac Cultivation, in the first season from January to July 2022 has resulted in 92 farmers inoculate 6.85 quintal Brood Lac with total production of 29 quintal. The total volume of direct cash income ensured to the lac growers is 25.80 lakhs. The first season generated an average income of Rs. 28043/- per beneficiary. From June 2022 to January 2023, 362 farmers inoculated 38.40 quintal amount of Brood Lac.
A total of 17 villages have been covered, with an expected yield of minimum 200 quintal and an expectation of one crore direct cash income. In the future, 1000 lac producers will be involved in the third season, which will run from January to July 2023.