Shimla: To ensure sufficient plants of Sea buckthorn for the farmers, forest department is likely to develop Sea buckthorn nurseries on a large scale in the Spiti region.
Chairman-cum-ACS Forest R.D. Dhiman, in the General Body Meeting (GBM) of ‘Society for Improvement of Forest Ecosystems Management and Livelihoods,’ stated that nurseries will provide better quality plants for farmers and will also help to propagate in the region.
Sea buckthorn-based processing units would also be setup in the area. Similar efforts were afoot for the cultivation of Chilgoza in Kinnaur, Dhiman further added.
The ‘Society for Improvement of Forest Ecosystems Management and Livelihoods is the implementing agency of ambitious Rs. 800 crore project for “Improvement of Himachal Pradesh Forest Ecosystems Management and Livelihoods”, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and project is being implemented as part of Indo-Japan cooperation.
The GBM also discussed non-timber forest produce based activities for income generation and livelihoods of the communities in the project intervention areas. As such, it was decided to support the Village Forest Development Committees (VFDSs), Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Common Interest Groups (CIGs) by providing financial assistance to start on-farm and off-farm activities.
