Many farmers fail to harvest black lentils in Majuli, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur. Pod less plants used as fodder.

MONOJ GOGOI

 Black lentil is one of the major crops that farmers grow in the alluvial soils of Majuli, Lakhimpur and Dhemaji for additional income support and also to compensate if their main cultivation - the sali rice (plant in summer and harvest in winter) fails either due to flood or other causes. But, this harvesting season, most farmers are not harvesting black lentils as no pod found in the plants and cows are freed to eat the plants as the plants are of no use without pods.

 

                                                                Photos from Majuli

Ananta Hazarika of Garamur, Majuli who also works as temporary worker in district agriculture office told that it was surprising that the farmers in the entire Majuli district were highly affected by the failure of black lentil crop. In distress, farmers grazed cows in the fields of black lentils. Such information poured from all corners of the district, he added. Raj Kumar Chandi from Dhunaguri area of Lakhimpur district, where black lentil is grown by many farmers, said that no farmer was harvesting black lentil in his area as no pod was found in the plants. According to him the growth of the plants were quite good but farmers found that there were problems during the flowering period. He also told that he extensively interacted with farmers as an NGO worker and had come to know that this type of crop failure was happening for the first time in the area. As usual, the seeds had been bought from the local market. Bipin Doley, a youth of the area also expressed serious concern of the failure of the black lentil crop. He told that this would highly affect the income of the farmers.

                                                        Photos from Lakhimpur

The yield of black lentil is also pathetic in the district of Dhemaji, many farmers reported. In Lakhimpur district farmers from Dahgharia village Bijoy Kutum and JaharlalKutum, Babul Tayung; Bhabanath Kutum of Aunibari village and Balsing Chandi, Biren Doley and Bilash Pegu of Kalbari village lamented that they this was the first time that they could not harvest even a single pod from their farms. As they stated the soil condition in the villages were very suitable for growing this type of crop.

                                                        Photo from Lakhimpur

Jibakanta Kutum, a Panchayat president from Gangrabari village under Bihpuria revenue circle in Lakhimpur district told these types of happenings were unprecedented. "In the last harvesting season of Ahu rice (plant in winter and harvested in summer), no one from the Mising community could harvest (particularly the Mising community grows Ahu rice), I called many farmers regarding the Ahu rice but the answer was same that they couldn't find crop to harvest." He added, "The cause was the prolonged dry spell during the sowing and early growth season of the crop but the failure of black lentil is still unknown".