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Farmers' woes
The early rains must have cheered the farmers particularly the rice cultivators. Manipur is basically a farming State. But the farmers have been depending solely on rain water and a few reservoirs dug up at their respective areas. The Minor Irrigation Department and the Irrigation and Flood Control Department have taken up several projects for providing water to the fields.
For reasons not far to seek, our farmers have not been fully benefited by these projects. If the rains arrive on time and in adequate quantity, then the harvest is good. If there is a drought, which has become an annual feature in the last few years in the State the farmers will suffer. As there is no water for cultivation most of the fields remain idle. It is because of this reason that most of the agricultural products have been imported from other States and neighboring Myanmar.
If our fields are watered in adequate quantity we don't need to bring in potato, onion, chilly, cabbage and other vegetables from outside. To make matters worse, the few cultivated with hard labor perishes since the State is yet to have a cold storage that can store perishable items. Every year home grown vegetables like tomatoes, cabbage etc. have been wasted adding to the woes of the cultivators. Even oranges have perished in huge quantity. We have already a cold storage building. The construction works began, if our memory is correct, a decade ago.
One fails to understand why completion of the project is taking so many years. The Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh should direct his attention to the cold storage and make it functional. This can make things easier for our farmers. Since industrialization is not possible, we need to direct our attention to the agricultural sector. Given the fact that products coming from other States and Myanmar have easy market in Manipur, there should not be any difficulty for own products, provided that cold storage facilities are made available in all the district headquarters.
If the rains continue, which is unlikely, multiple cropping will be easier this year. But like the State's political atmosphere our climatic condition has also become unpredictable. We have been experiencing in the last few years that flood will follow drought, despite the fact that we don't have big rivers. The hard labor of our rice cultivators will be washed away by sudden floods. A day's rain will flood the main market in the capital city. Only money has gone down the Nambul River the problem of flood will continue to cause nightmare for the farmers.
We need a strong economic base for all round development. We can not remain happy for long on borrowed money. We need to fully exploit the agricultural sector for a sound economy. We need modern technology and ready water. We should not waste our time on projects that will not bear any fruits. It is unfortunate that the State Government has not been able to provide water nor control the floods.
(Courtesy: The
Sangai Express)
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