Manipur Farmers on a Mission

By Samudra Gupta Kashyap 

Guwahati, Mar 3 : Worried over shrinking of agricultural land, farmers in Manipur have taken upon themselves the task of preserving farmland by launching a “mission” of their own so that their land is not used for any non-agriculture purpose.

The initiative called Agricultural Land Preservation Mission has been launched by the Heingang Kendra Loumi Lup, a farmers’ body in the Heingang Assembly constituency, with its members urging fellow farmers not to sell or transfer agriculture land for non-agriculture purpose at any cost.

Volunteers of Heingang Kendra Loumi Lup put up notices prohibiting purchase or conversion of paddy-growing land for non-agricultural activities, including construction of dwelling houses and industrial complexes without prior information and consent of the Lup. The organisation warned of stringent action against the defaulters. The Heingang Kendra Loumi Lup warned that failure to implement preventive measures to protect cultivation areas would not only result in drastic reduction of food crops but also become a threat to survival of families whose main source of economic sustenance was dependent on seasonal works in the paddy field.

Heingang Kendra Loumi Lup president N Samer said Manipur had been experiencing serious reduction in agricultural land in the last few decades and strongly advocated preservation of cultivation sites in order to ensure employment through agricultural activities for the future generation as well as food security for the people of the state.

Shrinking of agricultural land has been a matter of concern in the hill state for several years now, with the issue being debated in the state Assembly too. Members cutting across party lines have been proposing a legislation to debar sale of transfer of such land for non-agricultural purpose.

While the state agriculture department’s record puts Manipur’s agricultural land at 1,950 sq km, the recent data released by Manipur Remote Sensing Application Centre has put the same at 1,674 sq km, clearly indicating a loss of 274 sq km.

Last year, farmers in Imphal East district had even threatened to boycott Lok Sabha elections while opposing a move by the state government to set up an industrial growth centre in agricultural land.