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The
Agriculture Sector
That agriculture still continues to be the major mainstay of the State economy and the biggest employment avenue for a majority of the population need not be elaborated here but what cannot be ignored that easily is the seeming lack of interest on the part of the State Government to develop this core sector.
Every year the State Food and Civil Supplies Department have to import a huge quantity of foodstuff particularly rice from outside the State as the domestic product has not been able to meet the demands of the people . Erratic monsoon and lack of irrigation facilities have been the bane of the State farmers through the years and it surprising that the Government instead of concentrating on developing the much needed support network for the cultivators have been turning the other way.
True, in developed parts of the country and worldwide, agriculture has been given the backseat and the stress is now more on industrialization but in a State like Manipur where the process of industrialization is yet to take off much less take root it would be foolhardy to neglect the agriculture sector. A good monsoon or a bad monsoon have always been the defining factor for the well being of not only the farming community but also a large section of the people who owns agricultural land and depends on the year's harvest to work out their annual family budget.
As sources from the State Agriculture Department disclosed the Department had set a target of 5.1 lakh metric tonnes of rice for the year 2001-02 but the end product fell way short of the estimated target with the annual yield recording only 4.39 lakh metric tonnes . The rice requirement for the period 2002-03 has been estimated at 4.96 lakh tonnes but with Government apathy towards agriculture writ large it would need divine intervention to realize the target set.
The annual average rainfall in Manipur has been recorded at 1435 mm but the question is what has the Government done to harness the rain water and make it available to the farmers at the opportune moment or when monsoon fails. The travails of farmers every year can be seen from the recurring instances of floods and droughts which occur almost every year. And the most amusing part is while one part of the State may reel under drought another part has to feel the brunt of flood.
Availability of fertilizers in the market and its price has also been a contentious issue for quite a while. Admittedly the geographical area available for cultivation is very limited but that should be no ground for the Government to turn a blind eye to the agriculture sector.
Modern technology need to be utilized and high quality seeds can be imported from other parts of the State to boost the productivity level. In this modern age there should be no reason for the farmers to depend solely on the monsoon for their water sources. The Government would be doing the people a whole lot of good if a little effort is made to make irrigation facilities available to the tillers of the soil. In most cases paddy fields are rendered fallow after the year's harvest. With a little effort from the side of the authority these large tracts of land can be utilized for farming purpose after the paddy has been harvested.
This will undoubtedly give a big boost to the agriculture sector.
(Courtesy: The
Sangai Express)
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