The snags of timeworn small farming system of Phalee village in Manipur

Ng Ngalengshim *

The traditional farming system has been an integral part of our livelihood since time immemorial and accordingly it is closely interwoven with the intricate fabric of our society in culture, religions and pecuniary ways. It covers wet paddy cultivation, jhuming and the other allied agricultural activities comprising forest gathering, artisanship, crop festivals, kitchen gardening, domestication of birds and animals, fisheries, and rearing of edible insects.

Most of these practices are social and community based activity and their importance are pertinently expressed in our various culture. They are very old practices and the produces are generally trivial merely a paltry self-sufficient to safeguard the basic level of survival. The agriculture system is stagnated which is proved by the unremitting abject poverty of our society plagued with malnutrition, ill health and lack of basic amenities.

The interrelationship of our farming and societal life is markedly noticeable from our current village settlement topography too in which the landscape with add-on paddy fields upkeep larger village settlement and supported more populations. The proper utilization of land asset is one of the most significant societal security in our village livelihood.

However, the indigenous traditional farming and the existing land use for food production remain unfledged, weak and un-accounted. There is no concrete welfare project to improve our farming livelihood, despites the crucial position of agriculture in our society. Strangely! It is like we are enjoying the farmer plights, hardships and backwardness.

Nonetheless, shouldered by individual farmers, the old farming system with enhancement from the accumulated old age knowledge is continuing, but with uncertainties and dreary. Substantial efforts from individuals, Government, NGOS, professional body, share-holders and community are necessary to improve favourably for farmers on different parameters like working method, mechanization, security and insurance, technology and information, marketing, value additions and most importantly the dignity of farmers.

Currently, the set orpors constrained the village farming virtually to the brink of abandonment. The signs of exhaustion on wet paddy cultivation have been recurrently witnessed in many hill villages. This pitiable condition may be exacerbated by the small holding system, lack of human resources, mechanization, innovation, investment and the public government lackadaisical attitude to farmer welfare, crop improvement and incapacity to exploit the latest technology of farming.

These critical conditions drive the farmers to the cultivation of cash crops which are highly profitable with minimum technology at the deathly cost of labour, health and environment. There is also a clear mismatch of the farmer facets and the government funding system which have added more misery to the farmers.

The continuous single seasonal cropping system is worn out and feeble to support the ever increasing population which at the same time have severely stressed the biotic and abiotic ecological biome. Moreover, if we premeditated the cost and profit, it is too primevaland chastely unviable to continue farming. However, the abandonment of farming would seriously disturb our social security and worsen the debilitated food habits and food security which have by now triggered numerous infirmities among our populations.

The other damaging effects would be disguise employment, seasonal unemployment, joblessness and consequently wild and tumultuous society. The worst damaging effect would be increasing of frustrated population, emotion laden poverty stories, greediness, inequality, violence and the creation of demigod money heroes which are the metaphors of corruptions and backwardness.

The impact of the agriculture would depend on how we embrace, develop and improvised the conditions along with our living standard and in accordance with the environmental understanding. The implicit absurdity is that there are many schemes and government projects in agriculture, but it is almost invisible at the field level. Even the most common agriculture related information like Crop insurance portal, mKisan and Soil health card are buried deep in the department building.

It is this paradox that is ailing our society in a way that our food security is not able to strengthen positively. Our food production systems are being toss around in very unceremonious way herewith plagued by ignorance, corruption and idleness. This adversely affects the socio-economic life in a way that our asset creations and the monetary value generation from the natural resources are constricted which is a total negation to the concept of sustainable development.

Lack of proper agriculture development and land reform have already caused chaotic natural resources exploitation and land uses which have become a root of conflict in many villages in Manipur. Some of the glaring examples of exploitations committed by a few individuals on common nature resources are rock excavation, fire wood cutting, charcoal sweltering, timber business, illegal fishing and hunting, Ganga and poppy cultivation and indiscriminate using of pesticides, weedicides and fertilizers. The effects of most of these activities and actions are severe health concern, ecology and environmental damages.

The Government aids, projects and other farming packages are irreplaceable tools to improve our farming system. One of the most important approach of our livelihood should be that we add values to our natural resources, conserve and preserve the biodiversity for our benefits. It does meant to utilize soil, water, grass, waste, woods, bamboos, water and rock to their maximum by diversifying their utilities at maximum.

To achieve these the attitude about the working on agriculture should be more professional, refined and standardized in term of management, technology, production and investment. The coteries of learned dilettantes are no substitute for a focused farming and the professional body, investors, provision of good seeds and financial institutes are essential to improve our farming. Agriculture also required certain parameters to develop as much as other fields to produce and sustain the ever growing population in tandem with the world theme Climate Change.

The knowledge built up from the prolong practice of farming could be adapted and laid the framework for the improvement. It is meant to work more efficient with improvised techniques and more production from a unit with the help of community, public funds and institute supports. Investments and human resource development in this area required special attention. These parameters are indispensable to develop vibrant agriculture and as a special tool for the socio–economic development of the society.

A simple field study of Phalee and Teinem village agriculture systems have indicated that the intensification and expansion of the indigenous agriculture practices like mix farming, animal husbandry double cropping, mix cropping, optimum land use and natural resources, diversification of cropping and food habits have the potential to increase their food production by more than 40 percent with minimum technology and investment.

Additionally, the judicious use of the available natural resources will enhance our income by more than 50 percent. However, proper research and cooperation is indispensableto fulfill the increase production and income.The revival of agriculture will change our perspective of livelihood, uplift our living standard and empowered the common man and at the same time balancing the natural ecological system which is conducive for the world climate change goal sustainable development.