Odisha is the poorest state in India, which is more applicable to Southern region of the state. According to caste group wise, the tribals of Southern region of the state are the poorest. Tribal population including women on the other hand are known for their hard work as cultivators and casual labourers. They (tribal women) also engage in collection and selling of NTFPs. Moreover, tribals of Southern region are having higher average land holding as compared to Coastal and Northern region of the state of Odisha. The tribal community is so poor because they lose a substantial proportion of their income in the marketing process and do not realise a fair price to their product. They ultimately fall in a market where there is buyer's monopoly, both in case of agricultural and forest products. It happens because of their low bargaining strength, caused by many factors.
R.R. Patel (Thu,) studied this question.