INTRODUCTION

Lac is a resinous secretion from a scale insect called Lac Insect (LacciferLacca) as a Protective veering that inhabits on Ber (Ziziphusmarutiana), Palas (Buteamonosperma) and Kusum (Schleicheraleosa). Shellac that is the final product after processing is Widely used in on fectionary, a food product, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, paints, Varnishes etc.

India is a major producer and exporter of Lac with an estimated annual yield which has Beenovering between 15000-20000 MT during the last one decade. India contributes About 60% followed by Thailand in world Lac trade. Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Maharastra, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh are the Lac producing states in the country. Jharkhand is one of the highest lac growing states across India.

Lac cultivation is one of the important secondary sources of income for villagers and this is particularly more in the tribal districts. The important Lac producing areas in the state are: West Singhbhum, Simdega, Gumla, Ranchi, Latehar and part of ShanthalParagana. Vagaries of weather especially change in temperature and heavy hailstorms during critical stages of insect life cycle effects the crop badly. This climatic uncertainty acts as a major deterrent for poor farmers to invest in this enterprise. In India, Stick lac yields are dependent upon various factors: the insect strain, the host tree and the management system. The annual yields of sticklac per tree as reported in various studies are 6-10 kg on kusum (S. oleosa); 1.5-6 kg on ber (Z. mauritanea); and 1-4 kg for palas (B. monosperma). In most cases, the productions are on the lower side and possibility exists to increase the average production per tree. This can be achieved through better management systems.

LAC DRIVE

SRLM had initiated the process of institution building across the state through formation of SHGs which congregated to further higher level institution comprising VOs, CLFs and BLFs of the poor. In order to sustain and enhance the institution it envisioned to garner the existing livelihood basket of each household. Jharkhand being rich in forest resources, JSLPS cropped the promotion of scientific Lac cultivation which was being practiced by the tribals in traditional way. It started through facilitation of SHGs for the identification of progressive lac farmers in their village. These progressive farmers which are called the AajeevikaVanopajMitra (AVM) were technically capacitated about scientific lac cultivation with the support of NGOs and institutions of national repute. Initially the host trees patches were identified and resource mapping of trees were done so that proper coding, grading of tress and planning for the further Lac cycles could be done. Residential trainings of AVMs on the process of pruning of host trees, inoculation, brood shifting, Phunki removal, spraying of pesticide at timely interval, techniques on use of lac related equipments, process of brood cutting. These AVM were categorised as Master AVMs and AVMs and were divided into a team of four to support hundred farmers. Each team had a senior and three junior AVMs. The teams further mobilised and capacitated members of their own villages with the help of training modules, training materials, illustrations, videos and practical demonstration at the site. After they had covered their respective village they mobilised villages of different blocks to aware farmers about the scientific method of lac cultivation. Today SRLM through its various projects viz Lac Drive, MKSP AAP and Special Project (Lac and Tamarind) has promoted scientific Lac cultivation among 16256 farmers in Jharkhand through pool of 210 AVMs. The aforesaid projects have not only provided a vision towards increasing the Lac production but also provided a pathway to build an end to end approach from production till processing for the farmers. The pedagogy has helped farmers to sustain brood lac for self-consumption for the next cycle apart from the brood and scrap lac production. This shall help in identification of production clusters across the state where the value addition at village level shall be carried out in the Primary Procurement Agency (PPA) which shall also act as the centre of aggregation and collectivization of scrap lac produce. The produce shall be further processed at the Lac processing centres under the ownership of the farmers at various production clusters. Further the PPAs shall help in establishment of market linkage across the relevant identified location so that price realisation for the produce is achieved efficiently.

OPERATIONAL APPROACH

A team of 4 persons (3 CRP & 1 PRP) will run the drive in a cluster of 4 villages covering 150 Lac farmers. In first cycle 14 CRP team will be deployed in 4 blocks where 42 CRP & 14 PRP will run this Lac CRP drive with 1400 lac farmers in 40-50 villages.
The CRP & PRP will stay in a village and provide training, field demonstration and inoculation of lac in their 25 days stay. CRP & PRP will provide his service for 25 days in 5-6 visits to support lac farmers in different stages of lac cycle (in 6 months) which includes during training & inoculation, Phunki removal, 1st & 2 spraying and at the time of harvesting. During the Lac drive the CRP will identify internal CRP from lac project villages who will be trained by JSLPS& IINRG. After successfully completion of training these internal CRP will handhold & provide technical services to lac farmers in service charge model. Overall this internal CRP strategy will be helpful in sustaining the project in a long run.
A sub-committee will be formed in Village Organization who will be given charge to monitor and facilitate this whole Lac drive. The members of sub-committee will also be provided with training on scientific Lac cultivation so that they can monitor the work of internal CRP and review the progress of drive. All the books related to Lac drive will be maintained in the sub-committee which also includes financial transaction.
All the selected SHG members will be provided with 5 Kg of broodlac for kusumi and 3 Kg of brood lac for Rangeeni as a loan and after successfully cultivating lac, in the next cycle they have to return 5.5 Kg broodlac for Kusumi lac and 3.5 Kg of brood lac for rangeeni lac to V.O. Following the principle of NRLM and its guidance document it has to ensure that the brood procurement shall be executed through community procurement norms under NRLM and also each lac related equipments and medicines shall be made available to community through service charge model.

WAY FORWARD

The project will focus on end to end solution of lac sector, therefore arbitrate into processing part is very crucial, where price realization and sustainable market linkage would be conventional through promoted business institutions. Producer groups would be performed as front line institutions where; competence building of community, technical orientation, implementation of scientific lac cultivations, support in brood lac production and scrap lac collection would be the major activities. In each producer groups, 40 to 50 members should be involved in scientific lac cultivation. In the combination of 10 PGs one primary procurement agency (PPA) would be planned, so that around 500 farmers would be the catchment of one PPA. One farmer will provide 50 Kg (Approx) of scrap lac in a year, hence in one PPA, the total scrap lac volume would be 25 Mt in one calendar year.
PPA shall be involved in many ways to market scrap lac; such as scrap lac selling through MSP with help of JASCOLAMPF, private processing unit, open market, any government or NGO promoted society and CLF level processing units promoted by SRLM. Proposed processing unit shall be tagged with cluster level federation, and in due course of time it would be part of the farmers’ producer organisation, which will be shaped at district level. In one processing unit selective PPAs would be tagged as raw material supplying unit. SRLM aims to support 20,000 farmers in scientific lac cultivation process by the FY 2017-18, where indirectly 5000 farmers shall be involved in processing unit through PPA. 10 processing unit would be proposed in the project and 10 PPA would be involved as raw material supplying units.
Each proposed processing units having two raw material supplying units in the form of PPA. Identification of PPA would be very critical to establish foolproof processing units. The criteria of selection PPA are mentioned in below lines:

1.Ability to provide 25 Mt of scrap lac in one calendar year.

2.Primary value addition such as grading and sorting should be done properly .

3.Good transportation and connectivity to all PGs and assigned processing unit.

4.It must be formed within the project area within production cluster.

The final product would be seed lac, which will be supply to relevant business units. Identification of market players to buy seed lac is being facilitated by SRLM with help of other relevant agencies. Buyer’s sellers meet and exposure to buyers unit shall be the process to identify potential buyers. The process should be initiate before to procure the scrap lac at the time production. The price of seed lac also fixed before to harvesting of lac, and then the negotiable price for seed lac would be fix for that current cycle. The whole process would be done between CLF and identified buyers.
In one year, 25Mt of scrap LAC would be processed; and across the project area 250 Mtof scrap lac would be converted to seed lac with desire market lessoning.