40,000 hectares of paddy field under 'siege'
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 08 2023: Loumi Sinmee Sintha Kanba Lup, Manipur secre-tary Khuraijam Ram shed light on the dire situation faced by farmers in the state due to the continuing violence with over 40,000 hectares of farm-land yet to see agricultural activities.

Addressing the media at Manipur Press Club here on Saturday, Ram said that over 40,000 hectares of farmland belonging to the Meetei com-munity in the foothill areas, where Meetei settlement areas converges with Kukis', are likely to go waste this season due to presence and threat from armed Kuki militants.

The state heavily relies on paddy farming as a primary source of income and suste-nance.

With the armed Kuki militants continuing their at-tacks on farmers whenever they venture out to their fields, the Meetei farmers have been left in a state of constant fear and vulnerability, he said.

Ram expressed concern for the Meetei farming commu-nity and stressed the need for support and intervention to the food producers.

During the press meet, Ram also made an appeal to landowners, who lease out paddy fields, to share land documents to the farmers, which are vital for the farmers to avail their rightful share of urea from the government.

Additionally, Ram appealed to the agriculture department to publicly announce the rate of urea to check unscrupulous agents from taking undue ad-vantage of the crisis situation and engaging in unfair price hikes.

Transparent disclosure of urea rates will empower the farmers to procure the necessary fertilisers at fair prices, he opined.

Ram further called for im-mediate action to address the escalating violence and ensure the safety and security of the farmers.

He urged the author-ities, law enforcement agen-cies, and community leaders to join hands and bring an end to the cycle of violence, safe-guard the lives and livelihoods of the farming community.

Meanwhile, the home de-partment has deployed 1847 security personnel includ-ing home guards and SDRF in five valley districts of the state where most of the farm-lands are located and facing threats from armed attacks from the nearby hills.

Most of the security personnel are from IRB and MR except for around 200 from different units such as SDFR, telecom and home guards among oth-ers.

Of them, 846 are deployed in Imphal West, 389 in Imphal East, 273 in Bishnupur, 147 in Thoubal and 192 in Kakching districts.

Additional forces will be deployed in Imphal East in the days to come, according to sources.

The impact of the inability to grow paddy extends be-yond the immediate loss of crops.

It will lead to a scarcity of food supply, increased food prices, and a heightened de-pendence on external sources for sustenance.

Many farm-ing families, who were once self -sufficient , now are on the verge of facing the grim reality of food insecurity.

The long-term consequences of disrupted paddy cultivation include financial distress, debt accumulation, and a decline in the overall socio-econom-ic well-being of the Meetei farming community.

Furthermore, the loss of paddy fields and the disruption in agricultural activities have far-reaching implications for the wider so-ciety.

The current crisis threatens not only the local food supply but also the overall agricultural economy of the state, thereby impacting the entire population dependent on agriculture-related industries.

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