Harvest of prosperity

Far-sighted policies and imaginative adaptations have revolutionised the agriculture and horticulture sectors.

EVER since it assumed office in December 1994, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) government led by Pawan Chamling has been responsible for major turnarounds in almost every sector of the State's economy. The remarkable growth witnessed in the fields of agriculture, education, health, rural development, women's empowerment and industry is quite unprecedented; not surprisingly, Sikkim was ranked first among the 12 eastern States for overall performance this year in a recent survey.

The government's policies in the horticulture and agriculture sectors have immensely benefited farmers. Far-sighted policies and imaginative adaptations have revolutionised agriculture, horticulture, and floriculture and ushered in an era of prosperity for farmers.

With 80 per cent of the people of the State directly or indirectly dependent on limited land resources for a livelihood, the rural and agriculture sector is naturally top on the priority list of the government. In fact, 70 per cent of the total Plan Budget is set aside for the rural sector. The total cultivable land in the State is around 79,000 hectares with the average size of land holdings being 1.17 ha. Under the given circumstances, the State depends on multiple sources of agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry. Mixed farming is practised, which in addition to providing food and nutritional security, facilitates rapid economic development.

The State government's initiatives in horticulture provides scope for crop diversification and commercial exploitation of all types of crops, which are more remunerative than the traditional agricultural crops with forward and backward linkages. This has worked in favour of farmers linking their activities with the market. As a result, their livelihood has registered definite improvement.

The Department of Horticulture and Cash Crop Development, which was created in the mid-1990s, explores how crops such as the Sikkim Mandarin and passion fruit could be cultivated, processed, and marketed profitably; it also explores the potential for commercial cultivation of green ginger, large cardamom, turmeric, and off-season vegetables and so on to enhance income per unit area.

The spice crops grown in Sikkim are large cardamom, ginger, turmeric and garlic. Of them, the most important is large cardamom, followed by ginger. Large cardamom plantations have been facing a crisis since 2002 on account of pests and diseases. The Horticulture Department, in close coordination with the Spices Board, the Central Integrated Pest Management in Gangtok, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) unit in Tadong, has successfully combated the problem. As a result, production of large cardamom during 2005-06 was 3,157 metric tonnes and the area under its cultivation is 24,728 hectares.

Ginger, the second most important spice crop of the State, is cultivated mostly by small and marginal farmers. Sikkim's green ginger is in demand in the Kolkata and New Delhi markets, which often export the produce. The SDF government also initiated programmes like Ginger Seed Distribution, which improved production and enhanced the farmers' standard of living. The seeds provided to the farmers have been produced in `seed villages' and are closely monitored by the department concerned. In order to fight fungal and bacterial diseases, a participatory technology development process is being carried out by the State government in collaboration with the Indo-Swiss Project Support (ISPS). The production of ginger during 2005-06 was 35,634 tonnes.

In Sikkim, vegetables are grown in all seasons. Since the produce fetches better price in the off season, the State government is encouraging farmers to take up cultivation of off-season vegetables such as cabbage, radish, tomato, carrot and cauliflower in a big way by providing hybrid seeds, community nurseries, green houses, and so on. These off-season crops grown in high altitudes are also sold to other States . The production of vegetables in 2005-06 was 14,132 tonnes in the kharif season, 16,984 tonnes in the rabi season, and 12,857 tonnes in the off season.

Potato, the main crop in the State, is grown in kharif and rabi seasons. The kharif variety is grown in the higher ranges and is mainly used as seed by farmers of lower and mid ranges, as well as in the plains of West Bengal and Bihar for production of table potatoes in the rabi season. The State government has laid emphasis on kharif seed production to produce quality seed materials. One of the most important programmes in the kharif season is distribution of certified seeds from Himachal Pradesh to farmers in all four districts of Sikkim to replace old seeds. The seed potato farms at Hilley and Rabongla have been strengthened by introducing the True Potato Seed (TPS) for field testing and red skin potato varieties from the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla.

During the financial year 2005-06, the production of kharif potato was 15,165 tonnes and rabi potato, 17,738 tonnes. The production of other root and tuber crops like sweet potato, cassava, yam and colocasia was 2,224 tonnes. More than 350 farmers have benefited from contract potato farming by Tata Chemicals Ltd.

In order to cope with the shortage of vegetables, programmes such as the Community Vegetable Nursery have been undertaken. Under this scheme, farmers are provided seeds and other inputs including poly-tanks and poly-pipes. Under the Border Area Development Projects, farmers are provided green houses, water-collection tanks, plant protection equipment and other inputs.

The seed-testing, certification laboratory at Marchak, Ranipool, imparts special training to certified growers in producing seeds for major crops. The seeds obtained from the farmers are tested, processed and graded at the Seed Processing Unit at Majitar in East Sikkim.

Since 2003-04, the State government has been laying stress on organic farming. Steps have been taken to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides/fungicides, and tap organic sources of plant nutrient that is suitable to local agro-climatic conditions. The subsidy on chemical fertilizers is being gradually reduced.

The Horticulture Department has decided to convert two government farms - Nazitam in East district and Melli Dara in South district - as organic farms where trials are being carried out. Steps have been initiated to create 100 "bio-villages" through effective micro-organism (E.M.) technology for which a consultant, Maple Orgtech Indian Ltd, has been engaged. Experts have been appointed to train farmers, and the alternatives provided to the farmers include rural compost, enriched compost, bio-fertilizers, E.M. technology and green manure. For plant protection, integrated pest management is being encouraged.

Farmers are trained in agricultural and horticultural practices within and outside the State. Every year, 60 farmers are taken on study tours to various parts of the country.

Under the Oilseeds Scheme, 56 training programmes have been conducted so far, which has benefited 2,800 farmers; under the Pulses Scheme, 35 programmes covering 2,350 farmers have been conducted. Women in Agriculture is another scheme that the government has come up with for the uplift of women in rural areas.

The scheme was launched in East District in the financial year 2000-01 and its success has been quite remarkable. At present, more than 30 working groups of women are actively involved and gainfully employed in various fields in the rural sector.

Marketing has been the weakest link in the value chain of agricultural products. The government seeks to overcome this problem through the establishment of wholesale and rural marketing networks. It has signed a Memorandum of Intent with a Dutch consortium. An Agro-Expo Zone has been set up for the first time in the State.