Dimapur, Dec. 3 (EMN): Vegetables will no longer have to go waste now that they have something to ride on their way to the cooker. On Dec. 3, the advisor for Horticulture, Mhathung Yanthan handed a truck, a Tata Yodha, to Longkhum ‘vegetable village,’ at a function that was conducted at the Hortiscape, in Kisama.
Updates from the DIPR on Monday stated that Mhathung Yanthan expressed appreciation to see the farming system in Longkhum village. The farmers of the village have changed their cropping pattern from the old traditional ‘jhum’ farming system, and are now generating a profit ‘10 times more with their vegetable and fruit farming’ than from traditional rice farming, according to the updates.
The advisor wished that farmers across the state would do as Longkhum village had been doing in producing organic fruits and vegetables, and choosing the right crops suitable to local climate and environmental conditions. Yanthan gave credit to the village for an award Nagaland received, the Best Horticulture State presented by the Agriculture Leadership Award 2018, and the Transforming State Horticulture commendation presented by the Indian Council Food & Agriculture.
Yanthan advised the villagers to engage farming in a permanent area for aid and development to be taken up in the future too.
The joint director of the Horticulture department, Quotovi Wotsa addressed the event. In a short speech, he said the concept of ‘vegetable village’ had been launched in almost all the villages of Kohima, Tuensang, Phek and Mokokchung. He said Longkhum was a model ‘vegetable village,’ producing tomatoes, cabbage and chillies and having links to the markets. He was hopeful that the famers of the village would focus on producing only organic vegetables and fruits. The officer suggested to the farmers there that should their produce get infected by diseases, the matter should be reported to the laboratories in Mokokchung.
The chairman of Longkhum’s Village Council, I Sentonglemba, said in his short speech that a majority of the Naga people are cultivators. The Horticulture department recognized Longkhum village as ‘potato seed village’ in 2002; and in 2004 as ‘vegetable village.’ The department has been giving full attention to helping the farmers there too, the updates stated.
