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<p>Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play a crucial role in sustaining rural livelihoods and supporting income generation among forest-dependent communities, particularly in regions like Jungle Mahal in West Bengal, India. However, despite their economic significance, the commercialization of NTFPs remains constrained by multiple structural and institutional challenges. This study aims to identify, prioritize, and rank the key constraints affecting NTFP commercialization in the Jungle Mahal region. To achieve this, an integrated multi-criteria decision-making framework combining the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was employed. Based on literature review and expert consultation, fourteen criteria representing market, institutional, socio-economic, and environmental dimensions were evaluated using primary data collected from key informants. The results indicate that overdependence on intermediaries (weight = 0.2205), absence of organized marketing channels (0.1867), and inadequate price information (0.1474) are the most critical constraints. The TOPSIS analysis further reveals that lack of cooperative and Self-Help Group (SHG) support (Ci = 0.753) is the most severe constraint in practice. These findings highlight that NTFP commercialization is primarily hindered by market inefficiencies, weak institutional support, and limited human capital rather than ecological factors. The study underscores the need for strengthening cooperative institutions, improving market transparency, enhancing capacity building, and promoting value addition to improve livelihood outcomes. The integrated AHP–TOPSIS approach also demonstrates its usefulness as a decision-support tool for prioritizing complex socio-economic challenges in forest-based economies.</p>

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Evaluation of marketing challenges of non timber forest products in Jungle Mahal West Bengal India using AHP TOPSIS

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月2日

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  • Bipul Paul,
  • Akshay Rana,
  • Nilanjana Das Chatterjee

摘要

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play a crucial role in sustaining rural livelihoods and supporting income generation among forest-dependent communities, particularly in regions like Jungle Mahal in West Bengal, India. However, despite their economic significance, the commercialization of NTFPs remains constrained by multiple structural and institutional challenges. This study aims to identify, prioritize, and rank the key constraints affecting NTFP commercialization in the Jungle Mahal region. To achieve this, an integrated multi-criteria decision-making framework combining the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was employed. Based on literature review and expert consultation, fourteen criteria representing market, institutional, socio-economic, and environmental dimensions were evaluated using primary data collected from key informants. The results indicate that overdependence on intermediaries (weight = 0.2205), absence of organized marketing channels (0.1867), and inadequate price information (0.1474) are the most critical constraints. The TOPSIS analysis further reveals that lack of cooperative and Self-Help Group (SHG) support (Ci = 0.753) is the most severe constraint in practice. These findings highlight that NTFP commercialization is primarily hindered by market inefficiencies, weak institutional support, and limited human capital rather than ecological factors. The study underscores the need for strengthening cooperative institutions, improving market transparency, enhancing capacity building, and promoting value addition to improve livelihood outcomes. The integrated AHP–TOPSIS approach also demonstrates its usefulness as a decision-support tool for prioritizing complex socio-economic challenges in forest-based economies.