The collaboration between the various consortium partner institutions, the consortium Co-PIs, the cluster leaders, political representatives, social workers, skilled workers and the painstaking efforts of the research staff and contractual services to gather relevant information and complete the questionnaire is gratefully acknowledged. Our heartfelt appreciation also goes to all members of the Consortia Monitoring Unit and also to Dr. Borthakur, Chairman of the Consortia Advisory Committee for sparing their valuable time, effort and expertise in improving the quality of information.
Mohapatra Senior Division of NRM, ICAR Research Scientist, Complex for NEH Region, Umiam Forestry Phone/Fax [email protected] 2 SASRD, dr. ga.
Outline of the project
The programs of the project include an improved package of practices to improve crop, livestock and fish productivity, farming systems approaches, water harvesting and water reuse, post-harvest processing, value addition, subsidiary income generating activities and strengthening of SHGs to improve livelihoods. of the poor farmers in an integrated manner.
Overview of the North Eastern Region
The soils of the region are mostly rich in organic matter and nitrogen content, low to medium in phosphorus and medium to high in potassium. The soils of the region can be broadly classified into five orders, viz. inceptisols, entisols, alfisols, ultisols and mollisols. Fish is also in good demand in the region and most of the requirement is met by imports from outside the region.
The climatic conditions of the region are ideal for the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, spices, multi-purpose trees, orchids, flowers etc.
Project sites and beneficiaries
Resource degradation, depletion of forest cover and loss of biodiversity are the issues of greatest concern for sustainable development of agriculture in the region. Almost 100% populations are tribal (Fig.6) and ethnic tribes except Dhalai and South Garo Hills where 70% of the population is tribal. Prevailing agricultural practices are among the most primitive in the country and primary objective of farming is food production and maintenance.
Farm activities (Man-days involved in crop cultivation and labor employed in . agriculture and allied activities) 166.
Operational holdings
Resource/Social Map of Rangkhung Chart of Workload of Women in Rangkhung Town, Tamenglong, Manipur khawpui, Tamenglong.
Types of land possession
Usually, jhum cultivation is practiced for an average of three to four consecutive years, which is known as the jhum cycle. If sufficient time is allowed as fallow period (more than 10 to 15 years), the forest area is regenerated and the soil becomes fertile again. However, the concern for jhum cultivation practices is to shorten the fallow period, which has been reduced to 2-3 years due to high population pressure.
The reason for this is that jhum cultivation is very suitable for poor topographical conditions and suitable for resource-poor socio-economic conditions as it is less capital intensive. It is a dominant factor that traditional agricultural practices do not change even on occasions. Poor farmers are risk averse by nature and prefer to be safe and relatively certain, even if there is a possibility that they will get a higher average return by taking on a higher level of risk.
Thus, improvement of shifting cultivation rather than alternative to shifting cultivation is envisaged to improve the livelihood of poor tribal farmers (Fig. 9-11).
Leasing of land
Soil testing
Irrigation status
Most of the irrigation sources are natural mountain streams, and according to the farmers, the water quality is good. However, few farmers (19 percent) reported having no idea about the quality of irrigation water used for crop production. However, there is a possibility to create minor irrigation facilities by tapping water sources of small rivers, nals, tube wells, ground wells etc.
Cropping pattern
Rice and maize are the main cereal crops and cashews and arecanut are the main plantation crops grown by the farmers. Large cardamom (Fig. 14) is the main cash crop of the farmers in the study area and they cultivate this high-value crop extensively. Therefore, this separate section is included to discuss about the current production system of large.
It was quite remarkable that the majority of farmers (69 percent) harvested his high-value commodity from a large area (more than 2 ha). Some of the favorite cultivars grown by the farmers are Ramsey, Golsey, Sawney and Ramla. Farmers used to collect large cardamom plant material from other farmers, mostly in the villages.
Most of the farmers have 40-50 years of experience in growing large cardamom in the study area. Most of the farmers still use the traditional cardamom curing system for drying large cardamom. Majority of the farmers (73 percent) used to sell the capsule directly to the dealers and some farmers (27 percent) used to sell their produce through middlemen.
Farmers expressed their willingness to undergo training on various aspects of major cardamom cultivation such as cardamom cultivation, field planting, plant management, crop protection measures and improved post-harvest handling and processing methods. The average expenditure for managing a large cardamom field is estimated to be approximately Rs.
Market information
Across the site, the cultivation of local low-yielding crops and the raising of local non-descript livestock is a common feature of agriculture (Fig.15). Cashews, rubber, ginger and arecanut are the main commodities with marketable surplus in the area. The nearest market (locals call it a town) is Phom Ching (with only two shops) about (10 km from Lungwa village) to sell/buy the products (Fig.16).
The lungwa village has an international border with Burma and the locals have to travel at least 40 km to reach the nearest town of Mon for basic materials. The nearest market where the products are sold is located about 14 km from the town. Large cardamom is sold at Mangan market or to local buyers present in the villages.
Rice is stored for up to 2-6 months in gunny bags or in a wooden box. Some farmers have reported that the price is low due to quality deterioration due to insect and pest attacks. Farmers usually receive market information through fellow farmers, telephone, taxi drivers or local buyers.
Farmers have expressed the need for a scientific storage structure so that they can store their high-quality raw materials and grains for a longer period of time.
Input costs and returns
As jhum is the dominant farming practice for the people of the district, the use of external inputs is nil and therefore the cost of seeds and other inputs on the farm cannot be calculated. Farmers usually use their own seeds, saved from last year's harvest, or exchanged with co-planters. The preparation of the land and other agricultural activities are done by family members and also by exchanging labor with other farmers.
Fertilizers and chemicals are not used by the farmers and therefore agricultural productivity and returns are very low. Estimating the costs and returns of the crops grown by the farmers is quite difficult due to the prevailing practice of mixed cropping systems. However, based on the detailed discussion with the farmers, the following costs and returns have been estimated for major crops.
The cost of seed and labor are the major cost components for cultivation under jhum practices prevalent in Nagaland. However, the calculation of labor costs for individual crops is very complex and can be misleading as the same workers perform work affecting all crops simultaneously. Therefore, the cost of seed is the only cost calculated and reported.
Similarly, an average of 12 kg of wheat seed is used by the farmers per season. Rice is grown through intensive cultivation compared to other selected locations in the NE region.
Livestock ownership status
Pigs, poultry, mithun (Bos frontalis) and cattle are the main livestock raised by farmers mainly for meat purposes. Farmers in Nagaland have a large number of animals, so the density of animals per farm is quite high. Cattle are raised as draft animals and for milk, while goats are raised for milk and meat purposes.
Aggregate family income
Income from alternative occupation (subsidiary) other than agriculture, such as business, shop owner, labor in construction work, contract business etc. Branch and other source of income Income (Rs./year) Business, shop owner, labor in construction work, contract . Major livelihood options are agriculture, animal husbandry, wage earnings and other off-farm income such as business, contractual work or employment.
Branch and other source of income Income (Rs./year) Business, shop owner, labor in construction work,. Agriculture and livestock are the main sources of income for the people of the district. However, due to very low land ownership and very low productivity of the land, most of the farmers have turned to other off-farm activities (working under government-sponsored schemes, daily wage earning, etc.).
Income and employment status
Migration status
Loan, micro-credit facility and insurance
Constraints in crop production
General constraints in agricultural development
Thus, generalization of the scenario is not possible and development of agricultural database is extremely important for policy framework. In most countries, pigs belong to the indigenous group and therefore the average annual yield is also very low. Rabi/Kharif Production Price Production Price Value or Summer Yield (qtl) (Rs.) (Rs.) Yield (qtl) (Rs.) (Rs.).
Yes/No) 20.5 Whether he experiences any kind of problems for the repayment of the loan. If yes, please specify the reason why he is having problems (Yes/No) 21. About Food and Drink (Monthly). Kg/Lt/Units) Home Produced Cost (Rs.) Nearest Town (with Km) Grain.
