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N. Roy et al.
focused group discussion, they revealed that shifting cultivation in the Khonoma
village is distinct and unique in nature. Unlike others, Angami farmers of Khonoma
village have perfected the practice of alder based jhum cultivation into a fine art. The
alder tree has root nodules which improve soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen
into the soil. It also enhances crop yields and reduces soil erosion. Therefore, shifting
cultivation in Khonoma village is rather considered helpful for forest ecosystem.
5 Community Initiative for Sustainability
Shifting cultivation (jhuming) is considered as a bane of development in hill areas.
In spite of years of extensive efforts, the level of jhuming has not appreciably come
down. This is because the crucial social and human aspects of the problem were
not properly appreciated and alternatives offered were not found acceptable by the
farmers.
Communitization of Public Institutions and Service (NCPIS) Act, 2002 enlarges
the scope of community participation in development and welfare programmes in
Nagaland state in areas such as education, health, power, rural water supply, rural
tourism, roads, forest, sanitation and rural childcare. This is a partnership between
the government and the people through delegation of management responsibilities
to the community so that the performance of public utilities improves. Expansion of
horticulture in tribal areas to replace jhumming is a challenging task and the strategy
for this has been worked out carefully. It is extremely important that the tribal population in the region should voluntarily adopt the practice after a demonstration of
the gains. Communitization as a developmental strategy which has a significant role
in increasing the participation of people in development and historically the systems
adopted in Nagaland in this are as important. A clear success story in communitization in rural livelihood systems is the NEC-sponsored North Eastern Community
Resource Management Project (NERCORMP) in Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur
involving the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). This is the
largest and the most successful rural social livelihood project and the World Bank
has shown interest in up-scaling it (NER 2020).
Much successful initiative for development of sustainable shifting agriculture
has been undertaken by village councils in different states of north eastern region.
One such example is Community initiative in biodiversity conservation in Khonoma
village in Nagaland as part of communitisation programme. Jhum cultivation is a
centuries-old practice in Khonoma, as in most parts of Northeast India. But developmental activities and population pressure has reduced the cycle to four to five years
compared to the earlier cycle of 15–20 years. Because of the reduced cycle, trees like
alder are indispensable as they improve soil fertility. Until the 1980s, most households in Khonoma were self-sufficient in food and fulfilled their annual demands
from their jhum and paddy fields. Since the late 1990s, the agricultural practice
in Khonoma has witnessed a marked shift towards cash crops, a result of numerous programs and schemes introduced by the state government and village council.
N. Roy et al.
focused group discussion, they revealed that shifting cultivation in the Khonoma
village is distinct and unique in nature. Unlike others, Angami farmers of Khonoma
village have perfected the practice of alder based jhum cultivation into a fine art. The
alder tree has root nodules which improve soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen
into the soil. It also enhances crop yields and reduces soil erosion. Therefore, shifting
cultivation in Khonoma village is rather considered helpful for forest ecosystem.
5 Community Initiative for Sustainability
Shifting cultivation (jhuming) is considered as a bane of development in hill areas.
In spite of years of extensive efforts, the level of jhuming has not appreciably come
down. This is because the crucial social and human aspects of the problem were
not properly appreciated and alternatives offered were not found acceptable by the
farmers.
Communitization of Public Institutions and Service (NCPIS) Act, 2002 enlarges
the scope of community participation in development and welfare programmes in
Nagaland state in areas such as education, health, power, rural water supply, rural
tourism, roads, forest, sanitation and rural childcare. This is a partnership between
the government and the people through delegation of management responsibilities
to the community so that the performance of public utilities improves. Expansion of
horticulture in tribal areas to replace jhumming is a challenging task and the strategy
for this has been worked out carefully. It is extremely important that the tribal population in the region should voluntarily adopt the practice after a demonstration of
the gains. Communitization as a developmental strategy which has a significant role
in increasing the participation of people in development and historically the systems
adopted in Nagaland in this are as important. A clear success story in communitization in rural livelihood systems is the NEC-sponsored North Eastern Community
Resource Management Project (NERCORMP) in Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur
involving the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). This is the
largest and the most successful rural social livelihood project and the World Bank
has shown interest in up-scaling it (NER 2020).
Much successful initiative for development of sustainable shifting agriculture
has been undertaken by village councils in different states of north eastern region.
One such example is Community initiative in biodiversity conservation in Khonoma
village in Nagaland as part of communitisation programme. Jhum cultivation is a
centuries-old practice in Khonoma, as in most parts of Northeast India. But developmental activities and population pressure has reduced the cycle to four to five years
compared to the earlier cycle of 15–20 years. Because of the reduced cycle, trees like
alder are indispensable as they improve soil fertility. Until the 1980s, most households in Khonoma were self-sufficient in food and fulfilled their annual demands
from their jhum and paddy fields. Since the late 1990s, the agricultural practice
in Khonoma has witnessed a marked shift towards cash crops, a result of numerous programs and schemes introduced by the state government and village council.