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Gums
World production of gums stood at 5500 MT
per annum in the 80s and India accounted for roughly 3500
MT out of that. (IIFT, 1987) But Senegal, Sudan and Pakistan
emerged as important suppliers and it is learnt that the first
country is now the predominant supplier. India's export has
been on the decline during the last few decades. USA and Europe
are the major consumers of the produce.
There are many varieties of trees that exude
gums. And the gums are known as per their parent trees and
similarly have differing properties and uses. In AP, Tapasi
is the most popular and accounts for maximum proportion of
commercial transaction. Then there are other varieties such
as - Kondagogu, Olibanum and Tiruman.
Tapsi Gum (Konda, Thamara or Budida), popularly
know as Karaya is obtained as an exudation from Sterculia
Urens Roxb, a species confined to India, in response to an
injury. This product occupies greater place in NTFP export
trade and is observed to be gradually increasing. Amongst
gums it ranks second only to gum Arabic in commercial importance.
The gum is similar to gum tragacanth (Astragalus gummifer
lab.) in properties as it swells in cold water to form as
opaque-gel. It was first sold as an adulterant of gum tragacanth
in USA, but since 1920 it has gained considerable importance.
Sterculia urens is indigenous to India having
a wide distribution. It is abundantly found in Madhya Pradesh
contributing about 50% of gum production in the country and
the remaining coming from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Orissa, Maharashtra,
AP, Tamilnadu and Karnataka. In addition to these states,
the species is also found in Utter Pradesh and Bihar. AP accounts
for bulk of the quantity available in the country for trading
as MP had banned it's harvesting in 1981-82 and has very recently
lifted the ban in selective places. The gum available in AP
is also said to be of high quality with a `swelling ability'
of 1,300 to 1,800 points as against the common benchmark of
500 points.
In AP, most of the districts with some forest
cover have gum-yielding trees. 85% of the Gum Karaya in the
state comes from Srisailam, Palvancha, Rampa Chodavaram and
Utnoor divisions. The gum pickers in AP belong to different
tribes - Chenchus, Koyas, and Yanadis constituting around
70%.
Gum Olibanum (Boswellia serrata) is an important
gum used in preparation of incense sticks, ayurvedic medicines
and also in edible items - most prominently in chewing gums.
It is also used, presumably, in the making of Kajal. Half
of the production goes out of the country. Gum Olibanum is
not graded, as it is pale brown in colour.
Gum Tiruman (Anogeissus Latifolio) is commonly
known as Ghatti gum. It's a non-poisonous gum. Anogeissus
Latifolia is a moderate to large sized gregarious tree. It
usually occurs as an associate of teak. Gum tirumanu, unlike
gum Karaya exudes naturally. The colour of gum varies from
whitish yellow to amber. The leaves and bark of this tree
have tannin content to the extent of 19 and 12 percent respectively.
Collection is usually done by household members while on their
way to or from work or while collecting other NTFP in the
forests. The gum exuded continuously throughout the year,
but collection is mostly during the months between September
to June.
Gum Tiruman is grade into 3 different varieties, with each
grades being used differently. Grade-I, which is of high quality,
is white in colour and is used in the preparation of eatables.
Grade-II, which is slightly brownish in colour, is used in
printing as a raw material. Grade-III is dark brown in colour
and is mainly exported.
Phenology, silviculture &
utilisation
Sterculia Urens, characteristic of tropical
dry rocky hills and plateau in association with Boswellia
serrata, is always conspicuous, especially in the hot season,
from its smooth greenish-grey bark or white bark peeling off
in large papery exfoliation and the gaunt white stem with
stiff spreading branches. The tree starts shedding its leaves
from November depending on the locality. The panicles of flowers
appear from December to March at the end of leafless branches.
The red follicles covered with stinging bristles ripen by
about April and the fruits are seen on the leafless tree.
Leafing starts by about May. A tree of about 1.4 - 1.9 m girth
with a two blazes may yield about 5 kgs of gum.
Though it is believed that the intensity of
gum exudation is highest during the summer, majority of gum
picking is either done in the summer or winter. During summer
or winter the gum that oozes out of the trees gets sufficient
sun to be dried in the trees. However during these seasons,
the water available in the ground being less, quantity of
gum oozing out must be less. But these are the seasons when
the tribals have the highest need for money and are relatively
free from other source of agricultural income.
The gum is sold on the basis of its appearance
and 'power' (swelling ability and viscosity). The gum is perishable
and needs quick processing to save its properties. Depending
on the colour and bark impurity, ISI had classified gums into
three grades. Grade one is white to amber yellow, grade two
is reddish pale yellow and the third grade is brown to black.
The material shall not contain more then 0.5, 1,5 and 3.0
% by weight (on dry basis) of bark and foreign organic for
grades 1,2,3 respectively.
Tapasi gum is used for a variety of purposes
such as pharmaceuticals, paper, food, and textile industries
and in the preparation of dentures and cosmetics. It is used
in USA for the preparation of ginger wave lotions as cosmetics.
Its superior grades find use in ice cream, ketchups and sauces,
various food products and in the preparation of some medicines.
The lower grades are useful in textiles, preparation of vanishes,
inks, rubber compositions, linoleum, oilcloth, paper coating,
polishes and engraving process. It is considered to be an
important industrial ingredient. The gum has also found usage
in oil drilling applications. A product "Carboxymethyl
gum karaya" submitted to ONGC is reportedly giving encouraging
results.
Collection and processing
The gum is collected by tribal gum pickers
by blazing the tree and forms the source of income for more
than 10,000 gum pickers in A.P. Tapping of gum from trees
is a skilled job and is of recent origin unlike other traditional
NTFP that is merely cut or plucked. Any cut or incision or
injury to the woody stem causes gum secretion in certain tree
species. Although spontaneous exudation of gums is marked
from unhealthy trees, artificial incisions are made to increase
the yield of gums. The method obtained for harvesting till
recently was very crude by hand picking. Larger lumps were
broken with a wooden mallet and foreign bodies removed. Grading
was done by manual labour and based on colour, size and transparency
of the tears before being brought to the market.
Most gum pickers are males, as it requires
high physical stamina and arduous trekking to hilly and forest
areas. They choose the trees depending on age of the trees,
generally those who would have attained the age of 15. Traditionally
people distribute the trees among the village community and
will harvest only from the allotted trees. They go to the
forest in the early hours to collect gum from trees cut earlier
as well as to make fresh cuts.
Gum Collection by Chenchus
Gums are white gold for chenchus who
earn a significant amount of their income from the produce.
Each tribal community has a defined territory owned
by it and recognised by the neighbouring villagers.
It consists of villages surrounding the village. Even
if the villagers leave that village for some reason
it continues to be theirs and they exercise their right
when they come back. Within this traditionally acknowledged
territory, the individual families own the Tapasi tree
identified and cut by them. As per necessity and ability,
the total territory is divided between the families
residing in the village. The traditional leaders and
elders exert moral pressure on others to honour the
right of fellow villagers in tapping the gum trees.
Cases of trespass do occur but when caught red handed,
a serious fight ensues. Generally non-chenchus do not
touch trees tapped by the Chenchus.
Once cuts are made on the bark of a
Tapsi tree by any individual chenchu, his ownership
is established over the trees. Chenchus own 40 to 200
tapsi trees per family depending on the area of their
habitation. The trees are inheritable in some areas
and in some areas they are not. Children of about 10
years of age also go out for gum collection and start
owning trees after they attain marriageable age.
Normally cuts are made on the bark
of about 40 trees in a day and the chenchu returns home
by the evening. The wound is made on the bark using
an axe or sharp knife measuring 10- 20 cm length and
6 cm width. On the next day, he or his wife will go
to that area to watch the trees so as to prevent any
stealing. The collection is carried out once in a week
or ten days depending on the availability of the product.
In about 10 days, usually 4-5 KGs of gum is collected
from the same 40 trees. In some cases, where the trees
are at a far distance from their habitation, a chenchu
can migrate to the area where the trees are for 4-5
days at a stretch. The extraction from a tree is done
only once in a given season.
But in the areas where traditional
rights are not clear on the trees, the harvesting is
more unsustainable and the quality of gums suffers.
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The method followed by the communities in
the past was unsustainable as the incisions are deeply cut
by axes exposing the hard wood of the stem and very close
to the ground. The result was that the heartwood was getting
exposed and termites affected the product and tree. No gaps
were maintained between the cuts and are continuous around
the stem surface. The incisions are sometimes so deep and
crude that strong winds cause the fall of large trees. The
gum yield in this method was found to be 1.5-g/ cm2/ 3 days.
Since the total area of the incision is 3-4 times greater
then that of the scientific method of extraction, the tappers
were getting large quantity at the cost of trees' survival.
Collector removes dust, small twigs, and remains
of bark during collection by hand. The collected gum is then
brought to the village and dried in open in front of their
houses. Then, depending on colour of the gum, it is packed
is differed bags to ensure no mixing of grade of the product.
Grading depends on the colour of the gum. If the gum is pure
and clear white it is graded as first type, red second type
and inferior is third grade. About 40% of the collected gum
is of grade two. According to Chigurula Mallaih, a collector
'the turning of colour during storage is low and is more at
the extraction point it self'.
Quite often unknowingly or with the intention
of getting higher rates, the tribals bring such stocks that
are not properly dried. Stocks have to be further dried by
the procuring agency. If further drying is not done, the stocks
get deteriorated in quality during storage.
The other primary concerns of this harvesting
method was -
- Continuous extraction from the same tree
for long seasons
- Blazing with the axe spoiled the tree
and a lot of bark was affecting the gum with the tannins
spoiling the colour of the product. In the long run this
results in untimely death of trees.
- The handling of the gum with bare hands
increased the microbial content.
- The wild animals also consume the gums
resulting in loss of yield
- Since the gums are not covered during
rainy season there is an increase in moisture % during this
period.
- The gum was carried in bags and closed
for several days that resulted in fungus affecting the product
and making it dark.
- The gum was artificially made into lumps
and rolled into a tubular mass, dried on the floor and cut
into pieces. Sand, dust and dirt got admixed with the gum
and made it into a dark mass. The moisture within the core
spoiled the gum.
All these handling practices made the gum
dark with poor swelling and low viscosity with high bacterial
and bark contents rendering it useless for the applications.
Then GCC, the main procuring agency, through Kovel Foundation
and other NGOs initiated training of gum pickers. Some end
products made with the gum were given to the trainers followed
by a polythene liner and forceps. The training tools contained
a polythene liner to collect the gum, a forceps to remove
bark and a basket to carry the gum provided by GCC. It was
explaining to the tribals near the tree how termites damage
the tree, how touch with the hands spoils the gum, how the
drying on the floor cause damage and that the gum is going
into the mouth like any other food or drug. Earlier they were
never ever made aware of the uses of the gum and therefore
never exercised caution. Once they saw the end products they
felt that it was necessary for them to take caution in case
of gum like their food. The response has been very encouraging.
As per the scientific method, incision is
to be made on the main stem, at least 1.5 m above the ground
level. The incision should not be deeper then 0.5 to 1 CM.
A vertical incision is to be made first, to either side of
which several smaller incisions at 450 angle, sloping towards
ground is to be made. These sloped incisions that join the
main vertical incision should have a gap of at least 3 to
4 inches (7 to 10 cm) between them. This kind of incision,
on an average yields at least 1.2 g of gum/ 3 days/ cm2 incision.
The yield continues for 2 - 3 weeks after which the second
incision is to be made on the other side of the stem leaving
at least a gap of 30 cm. The implements now being used are
- small knifes, polythene sheets and bamboo mats to collect
the gum as well as to process the product. The gum are arranged
on bamboo mat and dried under the sun for a week.
The raw gum is generally stored in old gunny
bags. The processed gum however is stored and marketed in
first quality gunny bags. Gum should be stored in cool and
dry conditions. Gum in powdered form is to be stored in containers.
Graded and upgraded gum has to be stored separately.
Production and pricing
The following figures give the quantity and
prices of procurement and sales by GCC. As can be observed
the quantity procured has taken a steep fall in the beginning
of 90s and has not recovered after that. It is during the
same time that the prices have started increasing. One of
the primary reasons given for decrease in production of Gums
is that the number of trees decreased sharply during the early
90s due to unsustainable harvesting methods.
Then Gum being primarily an export commodity
was loosing the market share in the international arena to
other countries. There could be one more reason also - though
not confirmed. GCC became quality conscious during the same
period and started giving training to the Gum Pickers around
the state. There has been continuous increase in quality of
the gums now supplied from the state and that is also reflected
in the prices as both of them have risen during the same period.
Figure
: Procurement and Sales Quantity of Gum Karaya (in MT)
Figure
: Procurement and Sales Price of Gum Karaya (in MT)
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