CIMAP book on 20 tribal areas released
A coffee table book by CSIR-CIMAP showcasing success stories of tribals in India was launched by the Minister of State for Science & Technology.
A coffee table book describing several success stories of tribals in 20 different such areas in India by CSIR-CIMAP was launched by Jitendra Singh, minister of state (independent charge), ministry of science & technology, in New Delhi, on Monday.
As many as 20 such clusters have been developed by the institute across 20 tribal areas in India with improved medicinal and aromatic plant (MAPs) varieties and technologies by CSIR-CIMAP. N Kalaisalvi, secretary, DSIR and director-general, CSIR, and Prabodh Kumar Trivedi, director, CSIR-CIMAP and scientists from CIMAP were also present during the release of the book.
“In these areas, where there is lack of electricity, roads and other basic facilities, the team of CIMAP has reached there and delivered its technologies and helped them improve their livelihood,” said the minister while launching the book.
“These clusters have been established in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Bastar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and several North-Eastern states. Crops like lemongrass, palmarosa, khus, mentha, tulsi, Kalmegh, and turmeric were given to the farmers. Along with this advanced distillation units have also been set up in these clusters,” said Trivedi.
“Interestingly, wild animals and adverse weather conditions also do not affect these crops and as a result conflicts between tribals and wild animals have reduced considerably. By planting these crops, the tribal people who were suffering from respiratory diseases due to working in coal mines are now getting an increase in their income due to the cultivation of MAPs crops,” said Manoj Semwal, scientist at CSIR- CIMAP
“About 3,000 tribal farmer families have been added to these clusters, who are cultivating an average of more than 5,000 acres today, also supported by the fragrance industry,” the director said.
