Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 18
Parliamentary Secretary for Land Resources and Excise, BS Nganlang accompanied by Land Resources Department (LRD) Secretary, Y. Kikheto Sema, IAS, Director, Hoto Yeptho and a host of the Department’s officers visited rubber plantation area at Yongam village under Longleng district on August 15 after attending Independence Day celebration.
During the field visit, rubber farmers apprised Nganlang about the various assistances provided by the LRD and thanked the Department for playing a major role in uplifting their economy. Rubber stumps were first issued to the farmers in 2010 by the Department which further assisted them to construct rubber smoke house and provided rubber roller machine to Rubber Users Group. At present, 33.6 ha of fallow land are covered with rubber plantation in the village.
Out of 14105 standing rubber trees, 3000 are currently being tapped generating an annual net income of Rs 23,40,600. Later addressing a meeting at Yongam village, Nganlang lauded the villagers for their sincerity and hard work which is paying them off well. He urged the farmers to encourage one another towards adopting modern farming techniques which have better returns. He also thanked the watershed development team members and other staff led by District Project Officer, Longleng, Acato Chishi for assisting the famers on the technicalities of growing various crops. Secretary, Kikheto encouraged the farmers to tap rubber extracts by themselves instead of hiring people from outside. He also assured the village of providing two rubber roller machines by the Department.
Director, Hoto Yeptho said the people of Yongam were blessed to have a fertile soil where rubber, cardamom, coffee and many other crops could be grown. He said not all such crops were feasible to be cultivated in one place but the unique climatic and soil condition of Yongam and major part of Longleng provides feasibility for all such crops. He told the farmers to take advantage of such environment and work hard for their own benefit.
Yongam Village Council Chairman informed that before the intervention of LRD in the village, 70% of the population were poor but their economic status has risen through rubber plantation, cardamom farming and other crops.
Yongam’s remarkable achievement is large cardamom plantation which has covered an area of 450 ha out of 769.13 ha. Last year alone, cardamom farmers earned Rs 71.40 lakh. Currently, only 20% of cardamom plantation is being harvested. About 90% of Yongam household is under large cardamom farming and 22% of the household is under rubber plantation.
It may be mentioned that Yongam had no proper road connectivity before the intervention of IWMP project. The gradual increase in rubber plantation and cardamom farming and the rise in its demands motivated the farmers to discontinue jhuming and adapt to sustainable farming of cardamom and rubber plantation. This led to the need for a good road and when the government initiated to construct road, the villagers willingly accepted the proposal without any land compensation and strongly supported the project. Yongam is gradually shifting from traditional system of farming to a more sustainable and economically productive land use system.
