Lac cultivation is the best alternative source for doubling the income of farmers but the Government is yet to take necessary initiative for facilitating and promotion of Lac cultivation in the State. Even after being the third largest Lac producing State, around 75,000 Lac households in Madhya Pradesh are underpaid for its cultivation.

It may be noted that Madhya Pradesh is the third largest Lac producer of India which produced 2,235 tonnes Lac annually. The major Lac producing districts in Madhya Pradesh are Balaghat, Seoni, Mandla, Chhindwara, Dindori, Narsinghpur in Jabalpur Division and Hoshangabad and they contribute about 80 per cent of the Lac production in the State.

State Forest Research Institute (SFRI), Jabalpur, Scientist, Dr Aniruddha Majumdar, while talking to ‘The Hitavada’, informed that Lac has multiple uses in making of jewellery, pharmaceutical industry, furniture industry etc. Madhya Pradesh has tremendous potential for providing additional source of income to farmers through Lac cultivation. He informed that around 10,000 Lac cultivators exist only in Nainpur development block in Mandla district while Seoni and Balaghat districts are hub of Lac cultivation as there is only Lac processing unit at Barghat development block in Seoni district.

Dr Majumdar added that during a survey it has been found that majority of the tribal households of Lac growing regions carry out Lac cultivation. As a subsidiary occupation to agriculture, it is a very remunerative crop, paying high economic returns to farmers and also earns foreign exchange through its export. Lac cultivation generates employment opportunities, particularly in the off-agricultural season. Currently, Lac farmers are getting Rs 100 to 150 per kilogram for raw Lac through middlemen against its actual market price of Rs 400 to Rs 500 while the market price of processed Lac is Rs 1,600 per kilogram. He, along with his team, is working for training and awareness of farmers for proper cultivation and processing of Lac to provide its better cost in the market. Dr Majumdar informed that establishing Lac processing units in the State will definitely prove fruitful for providing additional source of income for farmers in tribal dominating districts.