First-ever Skill Development Workshop on Settled Cultivation Held at Chandigre, Garo Hills
Garo Hills, Meghalaya, August 11, 2016: Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and World Land Trust (WLT), in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and with support from the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) and the Meghalaya Forest Department, organised a first-of-its-kind training workshop on settled cultivation at Chandigre village on August 6.
The one-day workshop was held at the Chandigre Community Centre for villagers of Chandigre and Daribokgre, two key beneficiary villages under WTI-WLT’s Garo Green Spine Conservation Project.
Mr N Arunkumar Singh and Mr Tarun Kumar Das, agriculture experts from ICAR, imparted training on scientific methods of settled cultivation, like System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Integrated Crop Management (ICM), to an enthusiastic audience of 40 villagers. The idea of pulse cultivation was also introduced as a way of increasing agricultural harvest, and information on various government insurance schemes for crop protection was provided to the participants.
Villagers in the Garo Hills have been practising conventional methods of agriculture that are not only labour-intensive but less productive. The techniques demonstrated at the workshop will help them improve agricultural yield and crucially, promote settled cultivation. It is hoped that in due course of time they will be weaned away from shifting (jhum) cultivation, which adversely impacts biodiversity including wildlife and its movement.
“The scope for pulse cultivation seems promising in Chandigre and Daribokgre”, said Mr N Arunkumar Singh of ICAR. “The techniques we imparted at the workshop use simple technological applications and are easily adaptable. We are interested in organising follow-up trainings along with WTI-WLT to create a sustainable model of agricultural practices in the Garo Hills”.
“No such workshop has ever been organised for us before”, the Nokma (village chief) of Chandigre declared, expressing his appreciation for the WTI-WLT initiative. “Through this training we realised the shortcomings of our agricultural methods as well as the potential of the techniques demonstrated here. I would request all the people of Chandigre to take this forward to minimise the extent of jhum cultivation.”
The traditional practice of shifting cultivation has created islands of forests in the Garo Hills, with jhummed lands hindering the safe and uninterrupted passage of wildlife. WTI-WLT teams have been working in the region for over a decade, motivating and supporting local communities to set aside land for Village Reserve Forests (VRFs) to create better habitat and connectivity for wild animals. However, it is very important to strike a balance between conservation of wildlife and the livelihood interests of local communities. This workshop was organised to supplement ongoing efforts to promote settled methods of cultivation. WTI-WLT and ICAR plan to take this initiative forward with subsequent trainings in other beneficiary villages as well.
