Our Correspondent
Kohima, Sept. 10 (EMN): Seiyhama village in Kohima district organised the first Naga Mircha (King Chilli) Festival 2022 in the village council hall on Saturday and it was sponsored by the department of Horticulture.
The programme was attended by Vibeiletuo Kets, president of the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), 11th Northern Angami II AC, as the special guest.
Kets said the festival was historic as it was the first of its kind and congratulated the people of Seiyhama village for their hard work.
He said Naga Mircha is grown at various places in the state but in the Angami region, it is Seiyhama that is giving keen interest in its production. He urged the villagers to produce it throughout the year and earn a brand name in order to have monopoly in the market.
He also implored the youth and citizens to avail the Chief Minister’s Micro Finance scheme to aid their farming and entrepreneurship. Towards this, he urged the farmers to make the best use of the facilities that the government is providing like the cargo facility
He went on to urge the Horticulture department to provide support to the farmers by giving training, advisory and skills on value additions.
Kets, who is also a progressive farmer and trying to promote Agro-tourism through his YES Agro Park at Gariphema, stressed on the need to adapt to climate change. While informing that a common facility centre is coming up at Tsiesema under the initiative of the chief minister, he told the people to make use of the same as it will boost production and supply chain.
Prospect in Horticulture
Meanwhile, District Horticulture Officer (DHO), Senka Jamir said that the horticulture has emerged as one of the most significant and dominant sectors in the country over the past several decades, almost doubling production from 146 million tons in 2019-2020 to 341.63 million tons in 2021-2022 (food grains likely to produce during 2021-22, 315.72 million tons).
He also dwelled on various benefits from the horticulture sector, saying that gives a balanced diet and keeps an ecological balance besides uplifting and giving an exponential growth to the small and marginal farmers through employment opportunities.
He added that there is huge potential in the sector due to the diversification factor and high returns compared to agriculture.
The officer said that ‘diverse agro-climatic conditions in Nagaland ensure production of all types of fresh fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants, spices etc. in different parts of the state’, adding that health consciousness among the people is increasing and the demand for fruits and vegetables is high.
Jamir asserted that the production of horticultural commodities is far less as compared to the existing demand, while there are major areas in the state that are suitable only for horticultural crops.
He opined that awareness about storage and processing methods are also increasing and the availability of job opportunities and income generation gives scope for employment in different roles in the sector.
Earlier, Lhoulalie Zumu, convenor of the organising committee, said about 200 farmers in the village grew king chilli while highlighting the growing and production methods practiced by the villagers.
He maintained that although the production was affected by the erratic climate last year (2021), the village could sell approximately INR 27 lakh, while expressing optimism that the income would increase threefold this year.
The convernor also shared that the educated youths had also ventured into the cultivation of king chilli, becoming progressive and independent farmers.
Further, Zumu informed that the Naga Mircha (King Chilli) festival will be held annually to celebrate the bountiful harvest and blessings of God to the people.
Welcome address was delivered by Thinuonei-o Thevo GB, a song by Kezhazelhou Metha and vote of thanks by Lily Metha, Co-ordinator of the organising committee.
It may be mentioned that the king chilli is one of four GI-tagged products from Nagaland.