Brainstorming session on jhum cultivation held in Manipur

Our Correspondent Imphal, Nov. 17(EMN): Nagaland and Mizoram have similar jhum cycle (6 years) and becomes the third highest jhum cycle after Arunachal Pradesh (10 years) and Manipur(7 years) in North Eastern region. A discussion was held at ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya sponsored National workshop cum brainstorming session on “Jhum improvement for sustaining farm livelihood and natural resource conservation: Vitas and Frontiers” in Imphal recently. Meghalaya has five years and Sikkim has two years which is lesser in comparison with the other NE states, stated Vice Chancellor Prof. M Premjit Singh of Central Agricultural University (CAU) Eroishemba in Manipur. As per CAU study on “Mapping of socio-economic and livelihood patterns of jhumias in North East region India”, 500 jhumias from 56 villages belonging to 16 blocks of seven districts of seven NE states except Assam were interviewed and found that jhum cultivation were adopted in the absence of good employment (53 percent), jhum is a major source of food (53 percent) jhumias do not have knowledge if refined agriculture, Prof Premjit said. He said more than 52 percent of jhumias are below primary education and more than 83 percent of jhumias are having thatched houses. Informing that discussion are on for jhum since past 40 years besides making recommendations and launching several schemes, he said, the farmers are yet to accept it because jhum binds with socio-economic status and traditional practice of the farmers. He suggested in providing rice at subsidised rate. In case of Nagaland where jhum is a way of life, rice is also the dominant crop and it is widely cultivated in Kohima, Mokokchung, Wokha districts even though other districts have mixed cropping systems as per the sources of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Nagaland centre at Medziphema. The continuance of jhum in Nagaland where 1.9 lakh families practice jhum cultivation across 94,380 hectares of land annually, is closely linked to ecological, socio-economic, cultural and land tenure systems of tribal communities, according to a paper on “Challenges, scope and opportunities of jhum rejuvenation in Nagaland” by DJ Rajkhiwa, LK Baishya, Sanjoy Kumar Ray, Ph Romen Sharma, J Barman and N Khumdemo Ezung of ICAR, Medziphema. As per the statistical handbook of Nagaland, Wokha (10,470 ha) and Tuensang (10,440 ha) have the largest area under jhum cultivation while Phek (1800 ha) and Kohima (5400 ha)has the smallest. The scientists of this research institution also recommended farmers participatory and convergence approach with new land use policy for location specific and farmer centric technologies for the rehabilitation of the jhum practice as more than 29 blocks of different districts in Nagaland are severely affected by soil acidity problems. Thus the system becoming unsustainable and non-profitable and as a result, many jhum farmers ias said to have started to take up alternative forms of livelihood occupations.