MLA Achumbemo Kikon proposes Jatropha cultivation to tackle rising human-elephant conflict in Wokha district.
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KOHIMA — MLA Achumbemo Kikon on Tuesday said that cultivation of Jatropha plants would be taken up to address human-elephant conflict in Wokha district.
He was speaking during Zero Hour at the ongoing state assembly session.
Cases of human-elephant conflict in Nagaland are usually reported in Bhandari sub-division and it remains the most affected area year on year.
“It pains me to state that many farmers in my constituency have abandoned their paddy fields and farms because of the frequent intrusion and rampaging of the cultivation by the wild elephants,” the MLA said.
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As an MLA from the constituency, Kikon said he had explored several options to address the issue.
One of the solutions, he found, was the cultivation of Jatropha plants.
The plants and their seeds are not friendly to wild elephants and would bring impetus to the economy of poor villagers whose fields have been constantly destroyed by wild elephants.
The Bhandari Sub-Divisional Planning & Development Board (SDPDB), in its meeting held on February 13 2026, decided to engage with Terratroth, an organisation, to provide sufficient Jatropha saplings (hybrid) for massive cultivation both in the form of mono cropping and mix cropping.
Further, the District Planning & Development Board (DPDB), Wokha has also adopted the same resolution on February 24 to encourage Jatropha cultivation in the wild elephant affected areas in the district, he said.
The main focus of Jatropha cultivation will be in areas where cultivable land has been abandoned by villagers due to constant disturbance caused by wild elephants.
The organisation will provide hybrid seedlings and saplings to villagers who are willing to take up the plantation project.
The organisation will further frame a policy through a written agreement with the villagers to buy back the raw material, Jatropha seeds, by fixing a stipulated price to ensure maximum profits and benefits to the farmers.
The organisation will endeavour to establish a refinery or factory to convert Jatropha seed to biofuel at the foothill section of Nagaland.
It also aims to establish a research centre and other related academy programmes on green energy and other medicinal plants.