Meghalaya seeks flexible schemes for jhum cultivation

SHILLONG: Meghalaya additional chief secretary WMS Paraiat has requested the Centre and state governments to be more flexible in framing schemes to control the problem of ‘jhum cultivation’ or shifting cultivation.

Addressing a two-day workshop on ‘Scientific Management of Jhum Areas” organised by the Meghalaya soil and water conservation department here, Mr Pariat added framing suitable guidelines at the central and state levels would be very effective to control jhum cultivation.

He indicated some reports indicated a marked decrease in the number of families practising jhum cultivation in Meghalaya, but it was difficult to assess its success due to lack of reliable data. He said the implementation of the schemes to control jhum cultivation should not be a water-tight compartment, but have an integrated approach.

“Barring the decrease in the jhuming cycle from 20-30 years to 3-6 years, this method of cultivation is arguably the one that is most suited in the hills of Meghalaya and perhaps in the whole of north eastern region,” Mr Pariat added.

Meghalaya’s agricultural production commissioner, VS Oberoi said the present allocation of funds of Rs 10,000 per hectare for treatable areas was not sufficient for the required treatment because of the terrain and rainfall conditions in Meghalaya and urged the Union ministry of agriculture and cooperation to consider raising this norm from the 11th Plan period itself.

In view of the lack of consistent data for areas covered under shifting cultivation, Mr Oberoi added the Centre should be requested to introduce a common methodology and approach to ensure one reliable data bank to be used and followed by the states not only in the area covered, but also for all other relevant data in the future.

He said that of late, there was a serious rethinking on jhum and its implications on the natural resources in the state, as this method of cultivation was closely interwoven with the psychological, social and even technological disposition of the jhummias (jhum cultivators).

“In combating jhum, we are not trying to change the methods of cultivation, but that of the whole sociological traits that is inherent in the jhummias and the jhum community,” Mr Oberoi added.

The additional commissioner of the National Rural Mission, Shamsher Singh informed that on the request from northeastern states, the Planning Commission revived the scheme on a watershed development approach from 1994-95 for the North East.

Mr Singh added the evaluation studies undertaken under this programme by the North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management, Tezpur, Assam and Agriculture Finance, Mumbai revealed there was a 30% decrease in shifting cultivation and there was an overall increase of income by 25% of the jhummias families.

While the principal scientist of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (Icar), Umiam, KK Satapathy said thousands of farmers in the North East depended on jhum cultivation due to large availability of land, despite low production.