Tamenglong villagers reap NREGS benefits
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 08 2012: In a welcome development, hinting at judicious implementation of the National Rural Employment Generation Scheme (NREGS), villagers of Keikao village in Tamenglong district have abandoned the environmentally harmful jhum cultivation and adopted terrace plantation by preparing their fields out of the Scheme's financial provision.

Keikao village, with a total of about 172 households, lies by the side of the Khongshang-Tamenglong district headquarters road, and their recently prepared cultivation site is close to the Barak riverbank, at about 7 kilometres away from the village.

Under the financial provision of Manipur Government NREGS, common scheme related works such as road development and agriculture have been taken up by the villagers.

But the most significant change in the villagers' source of livelihood due to implementation of NREGS programme is that every single household today possesses one acre each of terrace cultivation farmland.

It is said that previous agricultural practices of the villagers like the slash-and-burn jhum cultivation and orange plantation gradually gave way to terrace cultivation as yield from the former modes of farming decline in subsequent years.

A terrace farm taken up in place of slash and burn method

Widespread phenomenon of withering of orange trees in the district has been cited as the main factor that dawned upon Keikao villagers to adopt sustainable method of agriculture.

Apart from decline in the annual crop yield, decision by the village council in 2009 to impose fine of six full-grown pigs against individuals continuing jhum cultivation or unjustifiably felling of trees literally changed the course of Keikao village's history, confirmed Keikao village MGNREGS vigilance monitoring committee chairman KD Pamei.

Consequent to the village council decision, villagers trooped down to the gentler spot near the Barak river bank, to develop the terrace cultivation site christened as Duikakjang, starting first with the clearance of wild vegetation.

spanning 56 days the villagers reportedly worked throughout the day and stayed overnight at the newly developed field until each and every household could be ensured one acre each of terrace cultivation spots.

The same year (2009) paddy plantation ensued and each household had a yield of about 20-30 tin of rice.

Most of the villagers, whom this reporter talked to, were of the opinion that with the passage of time and in case the irrigation facility the yield will certainly increase.

The villagers have also started to prepare the fields for plantation of other crops after harvesting paddy at the terrace farm site with some of them informing that they would develop new sites to plant betel-nuts, rubber trees, papaya, banana, chilly (u-morok), litchi etc.

Otherhand, following intimation from Keikao village authorities about the villagers planning expansion of terrace cultivation sites as well as based on report that there is shortage of water to irrigate the fields, N praveen, who is Project Director of Tamenglong District's Rural Development Agency, visited the village to assess the situation.

After a patient hearing about plight of Keikao villagers, specially on lack of irrigation facility, the Project Director assured that under the Backward Region Grant Fund and other welfare schemes, necessary official procedures would be initiate to put in place irrigation facility.

The irrigation plan, according to N Praveen, include construction of a large water reservoir and laying of pipes from water source(s) .