Rio writes letter to PM on drought-like situation in Nagaland

After declaring a drought-like situation in Nagaland which affected cultivation of paddy and horticultural crops, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has sent a letter to the Prime Minister seeking the Centre's assistance to mitigate the situation in the state.

Informing Manmohan Singh about the prevailing agricultural situation due to scanty rainfalls and delayed monsoon, Rio said the state government would soon submit a detailed report to the Centre on the situation and the states need to tackle over the crisis, official sources said here today.

The Chief Minister Wednesday reviewed the agricultural activities in different parts of the state with senior officials of Agriculture and allied departments and the government declared that a drought-like situation prevailed in Nagaland and asked the committee for calamity relief to immediately prepare an action plan for mitigating the imminent crisis.

The letter sent to the PMO yesterday mentioned that the current season recorded the lowest rainfall in past five years, adversely affecting transplantation of paddy and that the condition in rain-fed Jhum cultivation was acute.

Rio pointed out that the scanty rainfall also adversely affected the process of flowering and fruiting of various horticultural crops including vegetables and there were reports of unusual invasions of pests and insects from different parts of the state.  As per the data available with Department of Soil and Water Conservation, Nagaland recorded 37.15 per cent shortfall in rains during the period from January one to July 15 in comparison to corresponding period during last year.

The letter also informed that as a first step towards tackling the problem, special state-level and district-level task forces had been set up to make an in-depth study of the effects and work out action plan for mitigation measures.

Once detailed assessment and extent of crop failures were completed, the state government would be approaching the Centre for necessary assistance for the drought-affected farmers, Chief Minister informed the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, officials here pointed out that unlike in plain areas, the farming activities in Nagaland depend both on both pre-monsoon and monsoon rains because Naga farmers practice Jhum, WTRC (wet terrace rice cultivation) and normal wet paddy cultivation and the agricultural cycle actually begins from March itself. 

In certain pockets of border districts, the villagers depend more on millets, maize, native beans and vegetables than paddy for their livelihood, and this year coupled with scanty rainfall, the farmers' problem was further aggravated by increase in rodent population and unknown pest infestations, the officials said.