Author(s): Shiv Mangal Yadav and Om Prakash Maurya

Abstract: This empirical study was carried out under operation research project in Jamtara and Dumka district of Jharkhand for achieving the lac cultivation as well as different constraints regarding lac cultivation. The study revealed that West Bengal state stood first in lac cultivation with about 2.814 million while Jharkhand ranked second by 2.647 millions lac cultivators. The availability of lac host plant was observed maximum (9.1 millions) in Jharkhand while Madhya Pradesh was second with 1.9 million host plant and Uttar Pradesh was third with 1.7 million host plant of lac. Two strains of the lac insect are generally recognized in India as ‘Rangeeni’ and ‘Kusumi’. There are two crops in each strain in a year. The strain ‘Kusumi’ produces crop Aghni in the month of January - February and crop Jethwi in June-July. The Rangeeni strain produces Katki crop in the month of October-November and Baisakhi crop in June-July. The supply of the lac crop from 2000-2001 to 2009-10 revealed that Baisakhi crop produced better among all crop but declining productivity was observed over the years. On export front it was observed that it was maximum during 2000-2001 and it showed a declining trend up to 2006-07 and again it increased during 2007-08 and 2008-09 and the declined in 2009-10. Thailand is main competitor of India in lac export. During 2001-02 the share of lac export of India was 76.71 per cent while Thailand was exporting only 23.29 per cent but during 2009-10, the lac export of India was declined up to 49.75 per cent while Thailand increased the lac export by 50.25 per cent. It was mainly due to less attention paid by the governments on this exportable commodities. The technological, financial and socio-economic constraints were observed as the main cause of low production and productivity of lac in Jharkhand. It is suggested that central as well as state government should provide financial and technological assistance to tribals and economically weaker sections, those are involved in the lac cultivation. The better and remunerative marketing facilities would go a long way in improving the better income and employment to lac cultivators as well as the better foreign currency through export to the government.

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