BHOPAL: During the colonial days, the British did not like the local brew made from Mahua flowers, so they simply banned it. More than a century later, Mahua flowers are set to travel to England for food and medicinal use. The colonial government had considered Mahua a dangerous drug and a threat to public health and morality.
In 2023, however, as part of a MoU inked between an England-based company, OForest Limited and the Madhya Pradesh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading and Development) Cooperative Federation - the apex body of MP’s cooperatives based three-tier non-wood forest products (NWFP) trade and development structure - around 200 tonnes of Mahua flowers are to be supplied to England for developing food products and non-alcoholic drinks, including flavoured tea, and medicines — keeping in mind the well-researched health benefits of Mahua, particularly to lung and heart patients.
Since generations the Mahua tree has formed an integral part of the lives of tribals, as its flowers and fruits have served as the raw material for food, massage oil, medicines, art and liquor. But now Mahua flowers plucked by tribals in the dense forests across Madhya Pradesh, are set to travel to England and will turn into fortified and energy foods/non-alcoholic drinks for people of the UK and other European nations.
Though Mahua plucking is prevalent in many districts of MP, eight districts, including Alirajpur, Umaria, Khandwa, Sehore, Sidhi, Narmadapuram and Mandla have been selected to supply the desired food grade and organically procured Mahua flowers to England.
“Among these eight districts, Mahua has been identified as the distinct product under the government’s one district one product (ODOP) scheme in Umaria and Alirajpur districts, owing to which the lion’s share in the required 200 tonnes, Mahua will come from these two districts only,” Federation’s managing director Pushkar Singh told this newspaper.
Under the MoU signed in December 2022, the food-grade and organically procured-dried Mahua flowers, will be taken by the English company at `110 per kg, out of which `90-plus per kg will go into the hands of individual tribal pluckers, which will be over 2.5 times over `35 per kg MSP at which they currently sell their produce.
“In 2022, the same English company had procured around 1.8 tonnes of Mahua flowers from Narmadapuram district as a preparatory measure. As that produce met their strict quality standards, they decided to ink MoU in December 2022 for a bigger supply,” Singh added.
‘Flower to be used in tea, medicines’ Since generations the Mahua tree has formed an integral part tribal life, as its flowers and fruits have served as the raw material for food, massage oil, medicines, art and liquor. Around 200 tonnes of Mahua flowers will be used in England for food products and non-alcoholic drinks, including flavoured tea, and medicines.
