108
S. Deb
Agri-horti-silvicultural system This is a common and age-old agricultural system
practised by the Nyishi community of Arunachal Pradesh. The farmers grow traditional crop species such as paddy, Eleusine coracana, Zea mays, etc. in their field.
Among the tuber crops, Manihot esculenta, Dioscorea sp., Colocasia sp. etc. are the
most widespread and chief subsidiary food crops. Vegetables grown in the system are
Capsicum, Colocasia, Solanum tuberosum, Solanum melongena, etc. Pineapple is a
common floor crop grown along with the vegetables in the homesteads. A number
of cultivars of banana are also cultivated. The farmers cultivate tree species on the
boundary and agricultural crops in the middle. So, this farming practice is predominantly subsistence-oriented. The farmers have poor resource-base, their landholdings are small and fragmented, and they have diverse requirements of food, fodder,
fuel and timber. The farmers have a rich tradition of cultivating medicinal plants in
their traditional agroforestry systems. In addition, other species that provide leaves,
spices and condiments (Betel vine, Piper longum, Zingiber sp. Oscimum sanctum,
Azadirachta indica, etc.) are also cultivated. In practical terms, the main expectation
from an intercropping system in a perennial plantation cropping system is that the
overall return from a unit piece of land is increased without adversely affecting either
the current or the long-term productivity of the perennial crop. At the same time,
the returns from the additional crops should justify the adoption of the intercropping
practice and should contribute to the long-term productivity of the system.
Agri-pisci-cultural system A stylish land, water and agricultural resource management system is seen among the tribes of ‘Apatanis’ in Arunachal Pradesh. The conventional societies adopt an exclusive paddy-cum-pisciculture in their field (locally
called ‘Aji’ system), which is extremely a dynamic system, based on a complex
network of irrigation channel and firm water management practices involving the
people. The water essential for the rice field are tapped from the nearby streams
rising from adjacent catchment areas and steered into the fields through the means
of small channels. Paddy is the chief crop cultivated by the Apatanis. They use two
local varieties viz, the early and the late growing varieties. The early variety locally
called ‘Mipya’, comprises four sub-varieties like Pyare, Pyapin, Pyani and Pyat
and the late variety ‘Emo’, also has four sub-varieties: Lalang, Enkhe, Elang and
Empu. In general, the agricultural system of the Apatanis is well thought-out to be
extremely efficient in this area. The paddy-cum-pisciculture or the Aji system of
this particular tribe is supposedly recent in origin, being an interaction promoted by
the State Government in the mid-sixties. In this system, the local farmers introduce
fishes like common carps, silver carps, etc. in the paddy fields. The effectiveness of
the fish production in this system, nonetheless seems to be tremendously high. It is
worth mentioning here that this outstanding efficiency is despite greater mortality of
fingerlings. In addition to paddy-cum-pisciculture system, the Apatanis also grow
millets on the bunds sorting out the rice plots as well as raise plots somewhere else.
S. Deb
Agri-horti-silvicultural system This is a common and age-old agricultural system
practised by the Nyishi community of Arunachal Pradesh. The farmers grow traditional crop species such as paddy, Eleusine coracana, Zea mays, etc. in their field.
Among the tuber crops, Manihot esculenta, Dioscorea sp., Colocasia sp. etc. are the
most widespread and chief subsidiary food crops. Vegetables grown in the system are
Capsicum, Colocasia, Solanum tuberosum, Solanum melongena, etc. Pineapple is a
common floor crop grown along with the vegetables in the homesteads. A number
of cultivars of banana are also cultivated. The farmers cultivate tree species on the
boundary and agricultural crops in the middle. So, this farming practice is predominantly subsistence-oriented. The farmers have poor resource-base, their landholdings are small and fragmented, and they have diverse requirements of food, fodder,
fuel and timber. The farmers have a rich tradition of cultivating medicinal plants in
their traditional agroforestry systems. In addition, other species that provide leaves,
spices and condiments (Betel vine, Piper longum, Zingiber sp. Oscimum sanctum,
Azadirachta indica, etc.) are also cultivated. In practical terms, the main expectation
from an intercropping system in a perennial plantation cropping system is that the
overall return from a unit piece of land is increased without adversely affecting either
the current or the long-term productivity of the perennial crop. At the same time,
the returns from the additional crops should justify the adoption of the intercropping
practice and should contribute to the long-term productivity of the system.
Agri-pisci-cultural system A stylish land, water and agricultural resource management system is seen among the tribes of ‘Apatanis’ in Arunachal Pradesh. The conventional societies adopt an exclusive paddy-cum-pisciculture in their field (locally
called ‘Aji’ system), which is extremely a dynamic system, based on a complex
network of irrigation channel and firm water management practices involving the
people. The water essential for the rice field are tapped from the nearby streams
rising from adjacent catchment areas and steered into the fields through the means
of small channels. Paddy is the chief crop cultivated by the Apatanis. They use two
local varieties viz, the early and the late growing varieties. The early variety locally
called ‘Mipya’, comprises four sub-varieties like Pyare, Pyapin, Pyani and Pyat
and the late variety ‘Emo’, also has four sub-varieties: Lalang, Enkhe, Elang and
Empu. In general, the agricultural system of the Apatanis is well thought-out to be
extremely efficient in this area. The paddy-cum-pisciculture or the Aji system of
this particular tribe is supposedly recent in origin, being an interaction promoted by
the State Government in the mid-sixties. In this system, the local farmers introduce
fishes like common carps, silver carps, etc. in the paddy fields. The effectiveness of
the fish production in this system, nonetheless seems to be tremendously high. It is
worth mentioning here that this outstanding efficiency is despite greater mortality of
fingerlings. In addition to paddy-cum-pisciculture system, the Apatanis also grow
millets on the bunds sorting out the rice plots as well as raise plots somewhere else.