State rice production expected to by 70%

DIMAPUR, AUG 31 (NPN) : Nagaland deputy chief minister, Y. Patton on Tuesday expressed serious concern that the rice production in the state, which was 5.51 MT in 2020- 2021, was expected to come down by 70% to 1.66 MT.

Addressing the virtual meeting with Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G Kishan Reddy along with Union Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, attended by chief ministers of North Eastern states and chief secretaries on Tuesday, Patton also highlighted that the state was in a drought like situation due to delay and erratic rainfall with hardly any rains during December 2020 to April 2021.

He also pointed out that Agriculture activities were adversely affected leading to poor germination and wilting of standing crops, including terrace rice field (upland) & wet terrace rice cultivation.

With rice production expected to come down by 70%, Patton said that the Agri and allied department was directed to provide early Rabi seeds to the affected farmers to compensate the loss, for which the state sought Central assistance.

DoNER minister stressed on the need to come up with proactive steps to ensure that the allocations to Northeastern states are being utilized effectively and as a nodal ministry DoNER will be extending all the required support. He said recently Prime Minister has approved the revival of the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation by providing Rs. 78 crores.

Nagaland chief secretary J. Alam was also present during the meeting.

NE STATES DESERTIFYING MOST RAPIDLY
Half of Nagaland is degraded, flags new report
NEW DELHI, AUG 31 (AGENCIES): Six North Eastern states were among the top 10 places in the country with the highest rates of desertification between 2003 and 2018, according to a recent report. These are Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, a DownToEarth report stated.
Punjab, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand also witnessed some of the highest rates of desertification, the most recent estimates by Space Applications Centre under Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Land degradation is defined as decline in productivity of land in terms of biodiversity and economy, resulting from various causes, including climate and human dominance, leading to loss of ecosystem. Desertification is a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its water bodies as well as vegetation and wildlife. The scientists at ISRO compared the data collected between 2003 and 2005 with that gathered in 2018-19.
Mizoram desertifying fastest: Mizoram has been desertifying at the fastest rate in the country, the ISRO data showed. Land degradation and desertification increased 2.8 times in the state in the 15-year period studied. A total of 0.18 million hectares (mha) underwent degradation/desertification in those years- an increase of over 188 per cent.
The state lost more than 13 per cent of its land to degradation/desertification in 2018-19.
Rapid degradation in Arunachal, Nagaland: In Arunachal Pradesh, 2.4 per cent of the area or 0.2 mha underwent degradation / desertification in 2018-19. The actual figure may be small compared to other places in India but the rate of degradation was the third highest.
In Nagaland, over half the 200,683 ha geographical area was found to be degraded/desertified in 2018-19, whereas, the share of degraded land was 38.74 per cent in 2003-05.
The actual desertified area rose by over 29.4 per cent in 15 years.
Loss of vegetation main cause: Deforestation and loss of green cover are the main reasons for land degradation and desertification in the region.
In Mizoram, the role of vegetation loss in the degradation of land of Mizoram increased over the years: It was responsible for 3.88 per cent of the desertification in 2003-05, 7.92 per cent in 2011-13 and 12.04 per cent in 2018-19, according to ISRO.
The entire region lost vast stretches of forests between 2011 and 2019, according to the State of India’s Forests report by the Forest Survey of India. Mizoram, for instance, lost over 5.8 per cent of its forest cover during the period and Nagaland 6 per cent.
Human settlements and water erosion are other main reasons behind increasing vegetation loss and the resulting desertification in these states.
Agricultural land in Assam and Meghalaya also extensively suffered from water logging, the second factor behind the increasing desertification rates.
Heightening climate crisis: Land degradation reduces the soil’s ability to absorb carbon, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report.
Land degradation and climate change fuel each other, said IPCC.
The monsoon rainfall pattern of Pakke-Kessang district in Arunachal Pradesh may have been driven partly by major landscape modifications, said MD Subash Chandran, professor of ecology at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
The northeastern states have been receiving lower rainfall than normal for several years and the distribution is skewed, data from India Meteorological Department established.
In 2019, the region recorded a rainfall deficit of 12 per cent. Over half the districts in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram experienced deficient precipitation.

Source: http://www.nagalandpost.com/state-rice-production-expected-to-by-70/239404.html