4). FARMERS OF CHIULUAN VILLAGE ALSO PRIORITISE VEGETABLES AS THE LO...

1.4). Farmers of Chiuluan village also prioritise vegetables as the low amount of harvested paddy

shows (Table 1.5). Paddy is grown because it ‘aids’ in the growth of other plants and the

‘maintenance’ of the field. In contrast, farmers from Shingra village bemoan the woeful

infrastructure that inhibits access to markets, leaving them with no choice but to prioritise paddy

cultivation.

Conversations during the course of fieldwork revealed that vegetable sales generated much more

monetary income than paddy. This is partly due to the low price of paddy, though paddy is almost

entirely never sold. It made good sense, therefore, to continue jhuming, especially when villages

like Chiuluan or Karuangmuan are very close to the town. The new found market has made

jhuming a rather attractive avenue for farmers. ‘We have raised our children from the sale of

vegetable’ is a common refrain from women-folk of Chiuluan village.

On the other hand, farmers from Shingra, owing to the distance from the market (25 km, seasonal,

unmetalled road) and the ensuing high transport costs ¹² (hire), continue to practice shifting

agriculture in the more traditional way. Paddy production is significantly higher in the village

compared to the rest (Table 1.5). On an average, a family in Shingra produced 145 tins (or 1015

kg), an equivalent of 10 quintals per family. In absolute terms, Shingra village has the maximum

number of jhuming households (64 out of 68) as well as the highest production of paddy at 9287

tins (65,009 kg or 65 metric tons). When markets are not easily accessible, farmers continue to

depend on jhuming as their primary source of food security.

Second, when markets are ‘near’, the nature of farmers’ dependency on jhuming changes entirely.

In such a scenario, the jhum field becomes an important source of monetary income while the

market provides for food security (Table 1.7). This is further confirmed by examining the number

of months for which paddy produced from the jhum field provided for the family (Table 1.6). On

an average, paddy from the jhum field sustained Chiuluan farmers for around half a year (5.9

months), 7.1 months for Akhui and almost 11 months (10.7) for Shingra village. Out of the total

families who cultivated a jhum field, 59% families of Shingra village depended entirely on jhum

for their food supply throughout the year. The corresponding number for Chiuluan is 16.3% and