Ukhrul MLA's farmer welfare project worth emulating
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: February 06, 2023 -

AT a time when narratives about the hill districts are being dominated by poppy plantations, it is heartening to learn that Mission Ukhrul has instituted the 'Ram Muivah Entrepreneurship Award Programme', named after the incumbent Ukhrul MLA Ram Muivah, with the stated objective to empower the farmers of Ukhrul district and help them become self-reliant.

For the last few months almost all the activities in the hills are centred on drives to destroy poppy farms with fringe areas under Ukhrul district too occasionally figuring among the poppy villages.

With exception of a handful of projects related to organic farming, there has been negligible government initiative to develop the agricultural and horticultural sector in the hill consequently resulting in certain individuals and civil organisations justifying cultivation of poppy as a source of livelihood.

Moreover, when it comes to agriculture there is a perception as if the state's plains are the only areas suitable for growing food and cash crops unmindful of the fact that fruits and vegetables sold in the Imphal markets are brought from the hill district such as Noney, Tamenglong, Senapati and Ukhrul districts.

Some years back, farm products from Kangpokpi district were found abundantly in the state's capital but the trend has now changed as the farmers seem more attracted to more profitable poppy plantations.

For instance, Kangpokpi Forest Division and other agencies destroying poppy plants found growing in around 590 acres of land during the on-going drive and identifying over 20 villages as poppy cultivation areas underscore the scale of poppy plantations.

Therefore, it is commendable of MLA Ram Muivah to come up with the idea of launching the entrepreneurship programme under which farmers from within the jurisdiction of Ukhrul assembly constituency would receive financial assistance, have access to quality seeds and other inputs to market their produce.

Even though the programme would be limited to farmers of only the assembly segment such an endeavour is worth'emulating by MLAs of other hill constituencies, especially those which have gained notoriety due to widespread poppy plantations.

For the government authorities preventing poppy cultivation in the hills remains the prime focus but the fact remains that there is huge potential for development of legitimate farming activities as it is an established fact that Tamenglong district is the largest producer of orange in the state, Ukhrul is known for lemon farming and Senapati has many fields under cabbage and potato farming while pineapples grown in some parts of Churachandpur district are known for their juiciness and are in high demand outside the state.

However, poor transport connectivity and absence of storage facilities for these perishable farm produces remain some core problems that need to be addressed.

As such, if individual MLAs extend financial and material support to the farmers at-least in their respective constituencies or approach the government with feasible projects then issues hindering agricultural and horticultural activities in the hills could be addressed to some extent.

In short, it is imperative that the government accords importance to developing infrastructure in both the valley and hilly areas for it would be impossible to meet the growing demands of the burgeoning population with the farm produce from the plains only.