Shillong, Oct. 5: There is finally something to cheer about for the farmers and jhum cultivators of the Northeast. Scientists, researchers and top-level government officials from different parts of the world will converge at Shillong tomorrow to prove that shifting cultivation is not a destructive practice and needs to be strengthened.
Doner minister P.R. Kyndiah and top government representatives from all over the world will attend the high-profile three-day meet, which is being jointly organised by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in collaboration with the North Eastern Council (NEC) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Besides Kyndiah, IFAD?s Rome-based international vice-president Phrang Roy, director general of the mountain development Gabriel Campbell, heads of policy-making bodies from Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and countries along the eastern Himalayan region will attend the conclave.
The meet will attempt to make a strong case for the jhumias and rural upland farmers and suggest ?new approaches? based on the findings of 20 case studies documented from various countries. ?The idea is to provide policy options to the governments and remove perceptions that the practice of jhum is undesirable or destructive,? said programme manager of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development Eklabya Sharma.
According to the scientist, the meet, the first of its kind in the region, assumes great significance as attempts are being made to replace jhum with other ?individualistic practices?.
Over 400 million people, of whom a sizeable chunk is from the upland areas of the Northeast, are dependent on jhum cultivation.
Optimistic of a ?positive outcome? for uplifting the plight of farmers in the Northeast and other parts of the eastern Himalayas, Sharma warned that the proposed change over from ?shifting to sedentary farming systems? would marginalise the poor and would deprive them of their livelihood.
However, foreign delegates were said to have been stranded at Guwahati owing to the 12-hour bandh called by the North East Student?s Organisation (Neso).
