Trouble for Mizo farmers in Bamboo flowering

Aizawl, Dec 11: Farmers of eastern and north-eastern Mizoram have been facing acute problem famine due to gregarious bamboo flowering locally called Mautam, but shifting paddy cultivators in southern part of the state have witnessed a boom in harvest.

Bamboo ('Melocanna baccifera'), which had grown over an area of more than 6,400 square kilometer, which is one third of the state, has started flowering across the state, which is a unique phenomenon, occurs once in 48 years, across the Northeast region in general and Mizoram in particular.

K Mawia, a farmer, of Chawngte village of Champhai town on Myanmar border, said he had harvested 71.45 quintals of un-husked rice.

Chawngte village, one of the areas of shifting cultivation locally known as jhoom, witnessed a boom in harvest, official reports said.

Mawia's comments were in contrast with the views of another farmer Chharliana of state's eastern hamlet of Zoremthanga, who said though he was expecting a harvest of 42 quintal, he had harvested only 63 kilogrammes of rice.

The year just before and after bamboo flowering was always a boon for the cultivators, villagers of Chawngte said.

However, for people in state's eastern part, this year brought only despair for the farmers while the rest of the state was yet to witness the flowering of melocanna baccifera or mautak and thus spared from the ordeal as of now.

UNI