The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) recently directed its local offices in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat to take a more pro-active role in both identifying the plants and the areas.
Lac cultivation was a part of an important activity of tribes in Gujarat, in districts like Vadodara, Dhod, Godhra, Banaskanta and Sabarkanta.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Dr SK Tandon, additional director general, engineering division of ICAR and in charge of the project said, “We want the full potential of the lac cultivation should be utilised so that the traditional economic preoccupation could be converted into an attractive income proposition.”
Dr Tandon added, “While we have involved the NGOs and our local units to make the tribes aware of the economic potential of lac production, we would like to explore other areas in other States where the plants and congenial climatic conditions are available.”
He said areas in Ranchi and Bankhedi in Madhya Pradesh and in five districts of Gujarat, the local units of the ICAR with the help of NGOs are spreading awareness among the tribes about how to “exploit the available potential”.