Chapter: 4 - Millet cultivation in north east india

Introduction

• At an elevation of 2,100 metres, millets are frequently grown in tropical and subtropical climates. Germination needs a minimum temperature of 8 to 10 degrees Celsius.

• These crops can grow in a range of soil conditions, from severely infertile to extremely fertile, and can tolerate a certain amount of soil alkalinity.

• The greatest types of soil for them are those with high drainage, which include sandy, loamy, and alluvial soils.

• At Jhum Field, April and May are the best months to cultivate it. Millets grow best when the temperature is between 26 and 29 degrees Celsius for maximum output and a healthy crop yield.

• It is cultivated in areas with 500–900 millimetres of annual rainfall.

Production Of Millet Against A Climate Change Background

• The total yield of food crops increased significantly during the Green Revolution of the 1960s. On the other hand, the environment was also greatly worsened.

• The use of pesticides and the rapid succession of crops without providing the soil adequate time to replenish its nutritional quality resulted in the poisoning of water sources and the vast destruction of agricultural land.

• Because of how widely felt the effects of climate change have become in recent years, this problem has gotten worse. The production of wheat in Madhya Pradesh, regarded as India's "Wheat Bowl," has been badly impacted by numerous heat waves.

• Farmers must adapt farming practises that have the least detrimental environmental consequences while preserving the output due to the rising frequency of droughts in some of India's most productive agricultural regions.

• At this point, millet farming and organic sustainability come into play.

• Millets don't need synthetic fertilisers. Hence, in fully ecological settings, the majority of farmers grow it with farmyard manure.

Management of nutrients in millet farming that is organic:

• Millets do not require chemical fertilisers, and they actually benefit from dry conditions when they do not have access to them. Hence, in fully ecological settings, the majority of farmers grow it with farmyard manure.

• Farmers have begun utilising organic fertilisers like backyard vermicompost in recent years. Moreover, growth boosters like Panchagavya and Amritpani are employed. These methods make millet production both environmentally benign and still under the farmer's control.

• In organic millet farms, nutrient management should effectively meet crop nutrient needs, prevent nutrient depletion, and maintain or boost soil production without disproportionate nutrient losses.

Shifting cultivation in northeast

• Tribal communities in Arunachal Pradesh practise shifting cultivation, sometimes referred to as "slash and burn" farming. Using this farming method, two or three yearly crops can be produced before the field is abandoned until the trees have recovered sufficiently to allow for a second filling.

• Millets, notably finger millet, small millet, foxtail millet, proso, kodo millet, pearl millet, and sorghum, make up the majority of the crops grown on lands used for shifting agriculture. Together with millets, key commercial crops like red gramme, horse gramme, castor, plantain, and turmeric are also farmed.

• Tribal farmers don't need to take any action to control pests and diseases because they don't use any chemical fertilisers or pesticides. All facets of jhum cultivation are automatically classified as organic farming.

The North-East Region's Millets Consumption Patterns

• The monpa tribes of Arunachal Pradesh's most popular porridge recipe is called Zan. Millet flour is used to prepare the dish.

• Apong, also known as Madua Arunachal Pradesh produces two well-known drinks known as apong by allowing millet and rice to ferment unrestrainedly.

• This is a common beverage among the Adi and Nyishi Tribes. Due to its connection to folklore, ritualistic ideas, and shamanic practises, it is significant to the traditional Adi tribal culture.

• The Solung Festival is held annually by the Adi tribe in September. Throughout the celebration, everyone receives apong, which is offered as a staple.