Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, March 05, 2010:
As it turned out that sugarcane farming is profitable than paddy, farmers of Khudei Khunou village in Chandel district have switched to the cash crop, giving up paddy cultivation.
On the average, each household is cultivating one to four hectares of sugarcane.
A team of the Information Centre for Hill Areas of Manipur (ICHAM) and media persons who visited the village today noted that sugarcane cultivation have turned out to be a better means of earning greater income.
The village is exclusively inhabited by Maring tribe.
One MD Mothil Maring said that the village having a total population of around 700 belonging to 170 households started cultivating sugarcane about 20 years back.
He said that sugarcane cultivation proved more profitable than paddy cultivation.
Mothil said that he could produce around 130 tins of sugarcane juice annually.
These are sold at Rs 380 to Rs 400 per tin at the local market.
Saying that there were great demands for sugarcane juice, Mothil informed that sugarcane produces of the village were sold at Kakching, Senapati and Ukhrul.
There are five sugar-cane crushing machines in Khudei Khunou village.
A sum of Rs 30 is charged for crushing sugarcane to produce one tin of juice.
Bombay Mussori and white sugarcane varieties are cultivated in the village, said Mothil while informing that unavailability of fertilizer is the greatest woes of the villagers.
Unlike paddy, sugarcane plants cultivated once last for around four years thereby saving the farmers from seasonal inputs and labour.
Sugarcane cultivation has been taken up in S Phunal, Khunpi, Minou, Langol, Tuisan, Tuinem, Kangsang and Maipho villages too.
On the other hand, combined sports meet of the Maring Yanglu Kho-Bung Organisation and the Eastern Maring organisation which opened on March 2 concluded at Khudei Khunou village today.
ICHAM president N Rajendra, social worker Kh David and social worker MK Naoi Joseph were chief gust, president and guest of honour of the closing function.
The sports meet was concluded with the football final match played between Khudei Khunou Youth Club and Narem Youth Club which the former won at 4-3. Speaking at the occasion, N Rajendra said that whatever distrust existing among different communities cannot be removed by guns or swords.
It needs frequent and close interaction among community leaders to redress any misunderstanding that may be present among different communities, Rajendra said.