Marketing of Non-Timber Forest Products: Comparative Analysis of Organized Large-sized Agricultural Multipurpose Societies and Unorganized Channels in Karnataka

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play a crucial role in rural livelihoods by providing food and nutritional security and supplementary income, particularly for tribal and forest-dependent households which accounts for nearly 71.23% of total forest sector revenue in India and contribute significantly to the subsistence economy in tribal regions. The three NTFPs reveal that honey the consumer price was highest under large-sized agricultural multipurpose societies (LAMPs) being ₹633.60 and lowest under UO-I (₹399.00). The PSCR was highest in UO-I (72.68 %) and lowest in LAMPs (45.77%). The marketing efficiency declined from 2.66 in UO-I to 0.84 in LAMPs. In tamarind, the producer share in consumer rupee (PSCR) decreased from 71.43% in UO-I (Unorganised Channel-I) to 40.23% in UO-IV with marketing efficiency from 3.68 to 0.94 respectively. Similarly the lichens, PSCR declined from 91.07% in UO-I to 56.54% in Unorganised Channel IV UO-IV with marketing efficiency from 21.25 to 1.72, respectively. The findings suggest that organized channels enhance market outreach; unorganized channels remain more profitable for collectors. Thus strengthening the LAMPS through transparency, timely payments, and reduction in bureaucratic delays is essential to make organized channels more attractive and to ensure equitable benefit-sharing among forest-dependent communities in the study area.