CLIMATE CARE - NORTHEAST INDIA

MONOJ GOGOI   It's the harvesting period of betel nut or supari (areca nut) in Assam. But the yield of betel nuts is discernibly low this year in all the districts of Assam compared to previous years.       Chandan Boro, who plucks betel nuts, with Ranjit Basumatary and Raju Basumatary in this season in various villages under Gogamukh revenue circle of Dhemaji district in Assam says that in this harvesting season of betel nuts they are not getting as much works as they did in previous years. He says in the orchards where we plucked 20 quintals last year, this year's yield in the same orchard is less than 5 quintals. In many trees not even a single nut is found and in which trees nuts are there, it's comparatively very few.    Ranjit Basumatary says we are roaming from village to village but the situation is the same. "We are shocked to see the drastic change in the crop yields", he adds.    Biren Pegu, a betel nut grower from Goroimari are...

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 Ma...

Manuel Aind  Arun Kongari  Lakhimpur: People’s Action for Development (PAD), a leading Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), based in upper Assam recently distributed water-resilient rice seeds to a hundred farmers of 10 villages under Bihpuria Revenue Circle of Lakhimpur district of Assam. The NGO has been working to help the marginalised communities, particularly the tribals, Adivasis, women, children and other socio-economically downtrodden sections, of the region for last decades. Following all the ongoing Covid-19 protocols, imposed by the administration and additional suggetions from experienced medical professionals, the PAD volunteers sent the seeds to the Village Disaster Management Committees (VDMCs) of the 10 selected villages, highly affected by the Subansiri river’s floods and erosion. From each village, 10 farmers were chosen as beneficiaries by the PAD volunteers and the members of the VDMCs. The seed support to the farmers could be done under a project en...