‘Jhum not by choice but compulsion’
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Nov. 20 : An international agriculture development agency has said that Rs. 225 cr. will be invested for sustainable management of jhum cultivation in Northeast India. The project will start from the states of Nagaland and Mizoram, it was informed.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) conducted a two-day conference on sustainable management of jhum (in the Northeast Indian region) at Hotel Acacia in Dimapur on Monday.
The event was conducted in partnership with the ministry of the Development of Northeast Region (DoNER) and the government of Nagaland.
The idea of the ‘roundtable’ conference was to design the Fostering Climate Resilient Highland Farming Systems in the Northeast, ‘FOCUS.’ Within a span of six years (2018-2024) IFAD will be investing Rs. 225 cr. for the project starting with Nagaland and Mizoram.
FOCUS will be the first project with which the IFAD will address the question of jhum management in a ‘structured manner’ after realizing that jhum was not only a production system but an “ethos of life” that generated passionate discussions about either its conservation or its replacement.
Rasha Omar, country representative for IFAD India, informed that the changing climate pattern was adding to the complexity of the task and animating further debate between supporters and opponents of jhum. According to projections, Climate Change will increase the vulnerability of agriculture and forest and the loss of production and biodiversity.
Prominent consultants from organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), Centre for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM) USA, IFAD and others acted as resource persons for the two day event that started NOV 20.
Prof. VP Singh, advisor to ICRAF spoke briefly. He said farming is one of the main livelihoods in rural Nagaland where jhum has been part of the daily lives of farmers. “Jhum is not by choice but a compulsion,” he said. The main goal will be to continue jhum with lesser negative impact on the environment and bring more financial value.
Imkong L Imchen, minister of Health & Family Welfare, also the chief guest of the event, appreciated the IFAD for choosing nine north and eastern districts of Nagaland consisting of 650 villages to be funded. “People will be benefited and it is the first project to come into rescue for the state of Nagaland,” he said.
Farmers from Phek, Mon and Mokokchung also informed about the advantages and disadvantages of jhum cultivation in their land. One said that farmers find the position of the state government “confusing” in regard to planting a particular type of tree one year and then changing it in the next later years. This discourages farmers, the farmer said.
Because jhum activities were stopped in Phek due to socio-economic changes where funds were needed, the Entrepreneurs Associates of Nagaland had started handing out funds so that farmers can buy cash crops and grow them for sustainability.
Another farmer, from Mon where jhum cultivation is intensified, said that the entire livelihood of a family depends on jhum because it takes a specific period of time while others are risky and might take longer periods. It just doesn’t help in finances but also in food requirement, he said.
Dr. Randhir Singh Poswal of the ICAR said that as far as Nagaland was concerned ‘horticulture is very important and science and technology will make it possible to bring changes’ to the ‘ground level.’
“Burning in one area will affect the climate change somewhere else,” he said. He said awareness amongst the farmers needs to be spread. He had a word of advice too: Be patient to have the technology to grow the crops and study if change in the quality of the soil would be needed.
Another session of the event included discussions about settled agriculture as an alternative to jhum. Dr. Augustine Jun Mercado, representative of ICRAF Philippines, said that the Conservation Agriculture with Trees (CAT) was an option to jhum intensification; the CAT provides better economic, social and environmental benefits.
Crops diversification and intensification should anchor on efficient and effective use of ‘above and below ground’ growth resources (light, water, air and nutrients) as well as providing decent employment, income and food security to the upland dwellers. He mentioned that NGOs, the government and private companies should address the barriers to CAT research and development by providing funds and subsidies, investigate conservation agriculture machineries and equipment, and strengthen research linkages etc.
The executive secretary of the Phom Baptist Church Association Nuklu Phom also said that Climatic Change was now affecting Nagaland. Therefore, it was asserted, settled cultivation should be an alternative to jhum in order to protect soil erosion. Sustainable projects such as piggery, fishery etc., have been introduced in the district of Longleng.
He added that settled cultivation also helps in the conservation of the forest and rivers. It has also helped in the migration of many new animals and birds in the district, the session was told.
Also, Seno Tsuha from the North East Network mentioned in her speech that there were very few young people joining jhum agriculture most probably because of the policies of the government, lesser labour in the household due to the abandonment of farming. It also could be partially due to the education system where children are not taught about farming culture that ‘we had in our past, and the changes in the lifestyle of the society.’
Jean Metha, one of the members of the Green Caravan, elaborated on issues and constraints faced by the young people in the state. Metha has sought ‘positive intervention’ from the state government and other institutions to establish proper market channels and help build infrastructure for local agricultural products.
