Abstract
Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) play a significant role in meeting the needs of tribal communities, particularly in the areas of health care, eradicating poverty and enhancing the standard of living. The primary occupation of Tripura’s tribes has been collecting NTFPs for many years. Given the significance of NTFPs, the current study focuses on analysing the constraints encountered by the indigenous people in the activity of NTFPs. The four districts of Tripura state were the location of the current study. A sample of 400 tribal households has been taken for the study. The primary survey was conducted through a structured questionnaire during 2022–2023. To measure the respondents opinions on different constraints in NTFP utilisation, a Likert scale was used for scaling the attitudes of the tribal respondents, and principal component analysis was used for identifying the determining constraints in NTFPs, which helps to investigate the underlying structure in the pattern of correlation between several variables. There are 28 constraints observed in the study, and out of those, seven major factor components were found; these are the constraints related to government regulation and intervention, market infrastructure, awareness of NTFP user guidance and technique, awareness of the value of NTFP products, lack of marketing functions, inadequate financial assistance, the application of the act and government support. The issue had an impact on the amount of NTFPs collected, the involvement of young people as NTFP collectors and the income of tribe members.
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