Rice Cultivation: Here’s Why it is an Important Means of Livelihood in Northeastern India!

• The agricultural sector is a source of livelihood for many people in India's northeast
• Rice is the principal crop grown in this region
• Rice cultivation requires intensive labor activity and water

Kohima (Nagaland), [India], July 20, 2017: People in northern plains of India earn their livelihood by working in the agricultural sector with over 70 per cent of the population practicing it. The main crop of northeast India is rice as it serves as the principal food crop of this terrain.

This area mostly houses evergreen forests which encourage the cultivation of rice, maize, pulses, and millets through shifting cultivation and terrace cultivation. However, Northeastern states' main crop which covers approximately 61 per cent of the total cropped area is paddy. Therefore, farmers prefer rice seeds for planting.

With the monsoon season arriving, farmers residing in the Nagaland state have started their sowing activity.

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A paddy field owner named J Asui said, "this is my paddy field and I work in a private institution. Since I cannot work fully in the paddy field, I had to employ laborers as daily wages. It is not that profitable but since I love to do cultivation, I used to do every year."

According to the ANI report, the activities of plowing and seeding are mostly done in the months of June, July, and August and demand intensive labor. Rice seeds also require huge amounts of water.

Further, a worker Poonam Sore said, "We work as daily wagers at times we get work of paddy and during off season we work for things. This is owned by Naga's and they pay us daily wages and we do farming for them. We also help them with the cutting of paddy corps."

Likewise, paddy sowing has also been commenced in the hilly regions of Manipur.

The agricultural sector plays a role in the economic development and prosperity in the northeast area as rice is one of the most cultivated crops in this terrain of India.

-prepared by Harsimran Kaur of NewsGram. Twitter @Hkaur1025