RICE FOR ALL IN 2020
On October 20, speaking at a public function in Kohima, T. Imkonglemba Ao, principal secretary, agriculture and agriculture production commissioner, Nagaland, said the state should learn from the achievements of the agriculture sector in a war- torn country like Vietnam, where agriculture contributes 75 per cent to the national GDP. That’s a tall task even for Nagaland were agriculture contributes nearly 30 per cent to the state’s GDP.
But Ao perhaps wanted to ring an alarm bell. Although the agriculture sector remains one of the largest contributors to the state’s economy, the share of agriculture and allied sector in the Gross State Value Added ( GSVA), which was 30.9 per cent in 2011- 12, has declined to 29.4 per cent as per the quick estimates of 2015- 16, reports the 2016- 17 economic survey of Nagaland. Agriculture and the allied sector registered a growth of only 1.8 per cent during the corresponding period. Though 71 per cent of the state’s population still depends on agriculture, there is a gradual shift from agriculture towards other sectors of the economy.
According to Ao, the road ahead is inclusive, intensive, integrated agriculture which can be achieved by blending traditional knowledge with time- tested climate resilient crops and new technology. The state has a limited scope of increasing production by expanding the coverage of cultivable land. Cropping intensity, which refers to raising the number of crops from the same field during an agricultural year, was 134.9 per cent in 2016- 17, registering an increase of 9.7 per cent since 2005- 06. Besides increasing cropping intensity, farm water management is another important criterion for enhancing production.
The area under major agricultural crops increased by 7.04 per cent between 2011- 12 and 2014- 15. In 201617, the total foodgrain production was anticipated to reach 7,11,430 MT, an
“Agriculture is the state’s economic backbone. My government is committed to Nagaland’s development, particularly in agriculture.” T. R. ZELIANG Chief Minister, Nagaland
increase of 34,530 MT from 201516. The production of rice increased from 2,36,350 MT in 2001- 02 to 4,78,210 MT in 2015- 16, registering an increase of 102.3 per cent. Yet, the state is still not self- sufficient in rice
production. Ao hopes to achieve this goal by 2020. For a state that was awarded the Krishi Gramin Award by the Union government in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, this is not an impossible dream.