Accustomed to facing stressful times, we thought lac would do nothing in our life. Now we are sure something would certainly happen says Prabhulal whose view is shared by a number of fellow farmers. Some say they knew about cultivation of lac but have been exposed to scientific farming techniques for the first time. Twigs of Palash trees (Butea monosperma) in eastern parts of Madhya Pradesh bear testimony to the fact that a dying practice has been revived. Lac seeds have been hosted on over 3300 Palash trees in select villages of Mandla district. Small farmers are happy to see that Palash trees have proved a boon for them.

Predominantly tribal districts Dindori, Anuppur, Shahdol, Barwani and Mandla have witnessed revival of lac cultivation. Thanks to the DFID-aided Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project (MPRLP), which has paved way for supplementary income of small farmers. Lac cultivation is reviving fast. Economics of lac cultivation is exciting for them and they hope final product would substantially supplement their income base. Lac now holds value for us says Prabhulal. Others are also enthusiastic about lac cultivation. We would use this year’s yield as base seed and commercial sale would pick up next year, he further informs.

Ramu Singh Batt and Dayal Singh Jaragi from Kutaili village of Mandla district have fairly good idea about market potential of lac. "We could sell it at the rate of Rs. 60 per kg even in our nearest village Pathasihora, they say. Long back Department of Agriculture helped us in lac cultivation but we have come to know a lot about the technical aspects of lac farming and also its potential markets due to Project sponsored activities. We knew how to host insect on twigs of Palash but could not dare take it upon scale in absence of any guidance and support.

Samnu Singh Kulaste a Sarpancha of Thaman Gao hopes that the efforts would bear fruit. He foresees a change in the economic well being of farmers saying "many of my fellow farmers adopted lac cultivation as off-farm activity and became wealthier. This is a revived farm activity in our village and will take some time to show results. Farmers are happy to have found a new path to their economic prosperity through lac cultivation. Nothing is better if profit comes with name and fame, he adds.

Training and capacity building official with MPRLP Mandla, Mithilesh Kumar says that if local markets fail to pay due return to the lac farmers, then markets in surrounding districts like Seoni, Chhindwara and Hoshangabad are easily available. Lac cultivation was a limited activity and the farmers had to sell their produce at lower rates without bargaining. That too at the wish of traders. With increased volume of produce, the markets are gearing up and responding with enthusiasm. All major traders in the region are keeping an eye on final produce. Cooperation of Forest Department is providing great support to the lac farmers, he says. Farmers like Ramesh Marskole are happy to see the revival of lac cultivation. "It was a tradition and Baigas and Kole tribal communities were involved in lac cultivation. In due course of time, the tradition was discontinued, for various reasons, he informs.

Agriculture scientist from Jawahar Lal Agriculture University Jabalpur Dr. Moni Thomas describes the process of lac cultivation as social process saying that it brings about attitudinal change in people for they tend to become organized, cooperative and catalyst in conservation of natural resources. For a sustainable income from lac cultivation, Dr. Thomas says two crop cycles are a must. He believes that lac cultivation would enhance livelihoods of those having access to the host trees. He says that the biggest achievement owing to the MPRLP intervention is that lac farming has been revived in the area.

Briefing about a random micro survey about the inclination for lac cultivation in twenty villages of Pindarai and Niwas clusters, District Project Officer, MPRLP, B. S. Bilaiya says that the survey has made it clear that poor farmers have come to know about the commercial value of lac and also the potential markets. They expect assured income from lac on a sustainable basis once the cycle of lac cultivation goes on smoothly. Another important aspect is that economics of lac has a sociological value, which is distinctly visible. Economic benefits are visible keeping in view positive trends of use of lac in confectionery coatings, fruit coatings, pharmaceutical coatings, capping cement in bulbs, paint industry, adhesives, cosmetics, hair lacquer, diamond cutting, he elaborates.

It is worth noticing here that Madhya Pradesh stands third largest producer of lac in the country estimating 2,870 MT production annually. In 2005, it produced approximately 4000 MT of scrapped lac coming about 19 percent of India's total lac production and was thus ranked second after Jharkhand. Experts say that the state is poised to emerge as Agri-business hub and this would help poor lac farmers share handsome profits.