Prospect of increasing agricultural productivity of Manipur from underutilised cultivable land

Nepolean N, Jiya Kh, Ningthouremba T and Suvahongi I *

Rangekharason-Sabam Loukol in Imphal East which is one the largest loukon (Paddy field) in August 2014 :: Pix - Daniel Chabungbam

Background: Manipur, the land of jewel is known to be the young folded mountains of the Himalayan system, which covers an area of 22,327 sq. km. Manipur has a population of almost 3 million.

Manipur is considered as a ‘Soft-state’ on the north eastern border between India and Myanmar. Ninety percent of the geographical area of Manipur are hilly regions, largely characterized by dense forests and inaccessible terrains. The valley or plain area at the centre is surrounded by the hills with an area of about 10% only (2,238 sq. km).

Agriculture is one of the most important occupation for the people of Manipur. There are many underutilized agricultural land resources in Manipur which could be effectively used for increasing the crop production.

One of the important way to increase the crop production in a sustainable manner is proper utilization of underutilized agriculture land. The resulting by-products from agriculture could benefit the handicraft industry. Manipur has the highest number of handicrafts units and craftsperson’s in the entire north eastern region of India.

Most of the agricultural crops such as onion, potato, rice etc. are imported from other states of India. These basic crops which we depend on other parts of India could be produced abundantly in Manipur if the available land resources are properly utilized with an application of scientific farming technology.

Thereby, the volume of dependence on other states can be reduced. Such changes could also help in income generation and will generate more employment opportunities to the people of Manipur.

According to Central Statistical Organization, the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) details of Manipur 1993-2000, it was reported that the industry sectors tends to increase its growth from 14% to 20% whereas agriculture sectors decreased from 36 % to 35 %.

As a results of this decreased in agricultural sector, services also decreased from 50% to 45%. In Manipur, the incident of unemployment is very high when compared to other states of India.

Almost 60% of employments of Manipur depends on agricultural sector. The rate of unemployment in Manipur increased from 0.4 to 3.5% of the year (1983-2000). According to the Department of Planning, Government of Manipur, the, total population of unemployed was reported to be 21.58% in 2005 (i.e 4.93 Lakhs).

According to poverty profile in Manipur, poverty increase from 5.29 lakhs to 7.19 lakhs of the year 1987-2000.

The cultivation of agricultural crops depend mostly on the climatic condition of the state. The state has a favourable climatic condition that suits to undertake various agricultural activities.

The rainfall in the state is around 435 mm according to the different monsoon periods. Despite of the gift from nature, the irrigation system is not well develop to support large scale agriculture.

Conclusion:

The large cultivable land area of Manipur remained unused and not under notice. It is a joint responsibility of the people of Manipur and the Government to make this changes of sustainable land utilisation.

The government could address the different suitable farming practices via the research institutions in Manipur. Further, demonstration programme for the farmer could be organised to provide new farming ideas and techniques.

The concerned government authority also needs to provide flexible farming friendly land reforms law to help increased overall agricultural growth of the state.

Acknowledgement:

We would like to thank Dr. Ajit Kumar Ngangbam, Asst. Prof. SAIRAM, Manipur for his guidance and encouragement in preparing the article.

References:

1. https://www.britannica.com/place/Manipur
2. https://knowindia.gov.in/states-uts/manipur.php
3. Manipur: Treatise & Documents, Volume 1, ISBN 978-8170993995, Introduction
4. Manipur Economy - Snapshot" Archived 2 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine IBEF
5. State of Environment Report Manipur, Environment and Ecology Office, Govt. of Manipur.