A banana plantation

Kohima, Oct. 22: They say he has gone bananas, but former Nagaland minister T. Marchiba has put his money where his heart is.

Convinced that banana cultivation is as lucrative a business as any, Marchiba has been busy growing the world?s favourite breakfast fruit in remote Changtongya for a decade now.

He believes his company, Nagaland Banana Chips, is a model for sustainable development.

?One lakh trees spread across 100 hectares can yield a metric tonne of chips per day,? he says. Marchiba?s plantation has 20,000 trees.

The former minister used to drive a bus after losing his Assembly seat. Then, in 1994, he discovered money in banana chips. A kg of chips sells at Rs 100.

Marchiba?s company produces a quintal of chips everyday. ?Since agro products are organically grown in the Northeast, there is a ready market with good prices for the taking,? he says.

The business, however, took a beating between 2000 and 2002 because of an increase in militant activity in the area. That was the period when the Isak-Muivah and Khaplang groups of the NSCN were involved in frequent clashes and Changtongya was the flashpoint.

The Khaplang group?s exit from Mokokchung district last year ? after a public backlash ? brought Marchiba?s company back on track.

?Now, the situation is quiet and I am consolidating. The returns are also quite satisfactory,? he said.

The 63-year-old entrepreneur acquired a fruit-processing machine from the government recently to extract passion fruit juice. But bananas remain his first love.

?There is money in banana cultivation and I intend to train and motivate young people of my district to take it up,? he says.

Marchiba?s two sons have already joined the business.