Talui garlic yield drops 20 pc, logs Rs 16 lakh turnover
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang

Ukhrul, March 30 2023: The yield of Talui village's unique Shuri Kaso (garlic) this year has dropped by about 20 per cent when compared to the previous year's yield.

"This presents a concerning problem for the local garlic growers, who depend heavily on their garlic product for economic sustenance," said RK Ningchim, chairperson of Kharngarum SHG Federation of Talui village.

She said that all of the 1000 households in the village are into garlic farming for their own consumption, and out of this, a total of 220 farmers from 11 SHGs under the federation are engaged in commercial farming of the allium.

For the last one decade, these garlic growers under the Kharngarum SHG Federation have been organising Shuri Kaso Phanit, a garlic festival, to promote the unique crop of the village.

"But this year, the volume of garlic production has fallen by about 20 per cent and the bulb size has also decreased," Ningchim told The People's Chronicle on the sidelines of the 10th Shuri Kaso Phanit held at the village public ground on Thursday.

She said that last year the volume of garlic production by the SHGs exceeded 10,000 kg, but this year, it has come down to just 8,000 kg.

According to Ningchim, this year's overall production of garlic in the village including those produced by all the 1000 households is around 25,000 kg compared to around 30,000 kg last year.

The cause of the drop in garlic yield has been difficult to determine, but some potential causes may be linked to an unusual weather condition, she observed.

"An unhealthy rain water and prolonged dry spell could have caused pest infestation which resulted in the garlic crop being stunted and drop in production," she opined.

The village is already battling the effects of a long-standing drought, and the loss in yield has exacerbated the situation.

The village has two varieties of garlic - red and white, which are normally planted in August till October and harvested in March.

"Poor soil quality due to years of overuse, increased pests, and lack of water necessary for proper growth are some of the possible reasons behind the drop in the crop yield," KVK Ukhrul program coordinator Solie Luiram said, while speaking during the inaugural function.

He suggested that to overcome the crop yield issue, local growers should focus on feeding food for the crop by using organic manures such as cow dung, urine and forest soils, which can help strengthen the soil and boost garlic yields.

Luiram further encouraged the local growers to provide proper irrigation to the farm areas to supplement the water requirement for the garlic crop.

The festival was inaugurated by horticulture & soil conservation, Ukhrul district officer Kh Manorama, as chief guest, while Solie Luiram was present as guest of honour.

Speaking on the occasion, Kh Manorama pointed out that while the Talui garlic is popular and everyone knows that it is unique in its flavour, there is a need to test the crop to establish as to what properties make it unique and the same be quantified.

She also expressed her concern about the low-scale production of the crop, de spite high demand among the people and encouraged the growers to concentrate on improving its production.

As a gesture of her support to Talui garlic growers, Manorama extended an undisclosed amount of money to the Kharngarum SHG Federation.

She further assured of extending possible assistance to garlic growers from her department's side.

At the same time, she noted that garlic has an immense prospect of food processing and assured that she would consider providing food processing training to the local garlic growers in the coming days.

Talui village acting head-man Henry Lungleng said that garlic farmers under the federation have been striving to promote the unique Shuri Kaso of Talui, despite their limited resources.

"This is a clear testament to the fact that local villagers are earn ing their livelihood through honest means rather than resorting to illegal farming for easy money," he said.

He urged all the local villagers to extend cooperation to the federation in its efforts to promote healthy farming for the betterment of the village.

Manorama cut the inaugural ribbon and inspected the 14 stalls, which were put up during the exhibition and sales of the garlic and other local products.

Garlic bulbs arranged in varied shapes and loose bulbs packed in a quantity of 1 kg each were sold at Rs 200 per unit.

Soon after opening the stalls, the venue attracted a large number of buyers from among the visitors from Ukhrul town and other villages, apart from the local villagers.

Meanwhile, the Kharngarum SHG Federation has reported that a total turnover of over Rs 16 lakh as recorded from the stalls.

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