Abokali Jimomi
Hornbill Festival heralds the onset of festive season in Nagaland attracting thousands of visitors. Locals too are flocking to Dimapur and Kohima for their wedding and Christmas shopping. Despite demonetization woes, both tourists and shoppers seem determined to undertake the tasks, resulting among other things, in worsening traffic situation and longer ATM queues.
The busiest time of the year for spending, however, is also a beginning of a season of ‘no-work’ for rural populace as crops are harvested and fields are empty. With 70% to 80% of our rural population living as subsistence farmers, the November- April window leaves most people out of work in villages. Farmers in many hill districts of Nagaland practising agriculture in higher altitudes rarely cultivate Rabi crops as lack of sufficient water supply, manure etc hinders cultivation. Animal grazing also become problematic due to reduced vegetation.
Traditionally, this has been the season for more hunting and fishing; it is probable that head-hunting and other adventurous pursuits must have been performed around this lean employment period. Although how we live may have changed drastically in many ways, the dependence on forest resources has become greater as the rural population tries to cope with modern lifestyle and its trappings such as increasing costs of living and pressure to cover the cost of sending children to better schools (read private and boarding schools and colleges).
One Village Council Chairman mentions that during this ‘unemployment’ period in his village, a person can quickly make 20 to 30 thousand Rupees a month by selling wildlife, forest products and from logging for firewood. He says “this is the season when birds arrive in thousands, an expert shooter can kill more than 500 if he works hard and puts in an all-nighter… someone killed a bird and it had ‘JAPAN’ written on a ring round its feet.”
“You have to understand it’s a matter of survival... we can make rules and restrictions but if people have no alternatives little can be done”, he adds.
With low agricultural earnings and without either subsidiary occupation or other alternative sources of income especially during the slack agricultural season, the forest becomes the sole source for easy and quick income. On the other hand, those without ability for hunt or fish are left idle for the whole season.
Both these scenarios- plundering our natural resources or sitting unproductive - is neither a sustainable option nor a future we want to envisage. Incidentally, we have had several rural employment programmes by the Government as well as several initiatives by NGOs running for decades particularly in rural areas. Nevertheless, underutilization of human capital and rural poverty still remain the major problems confronting us with the looming threats of natural ecosystems as a corollary.
Perhaps this festive season is a good time to reflect upon good governance, community efforts to effectively manage our natural and human resources… and how 70% of our rural population can be more productive. Transparent implementation of rural development schemes, advanced technological interventions in our agricultural system for winter crops and animal breeding, skill enhancement programs are some activities that could help us become more productive.
