AGARTALA, March 26 (TIWN): Forest Minister Naresh Jamatia on Saturday inaugurated the Livelihood forestry fair at Nazrul Kalakshetra organised by Centre for Forest based livelihood and extension.

Centre for Forest based livelihood and extension Agartala has organised this fair. The CFLE Agartala came into existence on July 2012. It is centre under rain forest research institute RFRI Jorhat which is one of the constituent institutes of Indian Council of forestry research and education, dehradun.

Centre for Forest-based Livelihoods and Extension (CFLE) is an Advanced Research Centre situated in Agartala in Tripura. It works under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India.

Centre for Forest-based Livelihoods and Extension (CFLE) aims to transfer the people friendly techniques for development of forest-based livelihoods in the state of Tripura.

However, the Livelihood fair intends to provide an opportunity for interaction across various stakeholders on forest based livelihood and traditional knowledge on the use of forest and its products," Tripura Forest Minister Naresh Jmatia told reporters here.

The fair is also a platform for traditional herbal healers to share their experiences and demonstrate their specialty in traditional treatment with medicinal plants. Machineries and equipments linked to utilisation for forest resources are also on display at the fair, during which seminars, buyer-seller interfaces and film shows on forest resources and biodiversity will be held.

It is to  be mentioned here that CFLE Agartala in Tripura has organised a livelihood forestry mela to sensitize the farmers and forest resource based entrepreneurs of the state on issues related to cultivation and management of NTFP yielding trees and crops on Farms lands.  The technologies and products developed by the ICFRE and its institutes will be displayed to disseminate the knowledge and information on value additional and livelihood options for marketing of various NTFPS’s bamboos and other local forest products.

The fair would provide an opportunity for bringing together local farmers, SHG, NGO, joint forest management committees working in different forest division.