AgriManipur - E-paolive.net

AgriManipur Volume 1, Issue 1Underutilized crops of Manipur: Importanceand Prospect- H. NanitaHeisnam Nanita is a junior agronomist working at CentralAgriculture University, Iroisemba, Imphal. She can be contacted atnita_hei@yahoo.comHeisnam Nanita“The average productivityof the horticultural cropsis not even half of thenational productivity.”Introduction:The crops, which are neithergrown commercially on largescale nor traded widely, may betermed as underutilized crops. Atthe best, these crops are cultivated,traded and consumedlocally. The popularity of thesecrops varies from crop to cropand locality to locality. The meritsof these underutilized cropsinclude their easy growth, hardyin nature or ability to withstandunder adverse soil and climaticconditions. Most of them are veryrich sources of vitamins, minerals,and other nutrients such ascarbohydrates, proteins and fats.With greater pitch of publicityand value addition, these underutilizedcrops have the potentialfor future commercialization,wider use and, possibly, in reducingmalnutrition. Since the Indo-Burmese region including Manipuris located at the confluenceof the two tectonic plates, theregion had been the ‗Centre ofOrigin‘ of a variety of angiospermplants and Manipur abounds inextremely rich genetic resourcesand is one of the richest reservoirsof genetic variability anddiversity of different horticulturalcrops of which many are underutilized.Scope:Manipur has a geographicalarea of 22327 sq. Km.and it lies between 23.8° N to25.05°N latitudes and 93.03° Eto 94.78 ° E longitude comprisingnine districts. About 90% ofthe total area is covered by hillyterrain and the remaining 10%comprises the valley. The size ofcultivated area is only 9.41% ofthe total geographical area and ofthis total cultivated area 52% isconfined to the valley thereforethe pressure on land in the valleyis thus quite conspicuous. Underthese circumstances, developmentof horticulture is the onlyoption for optimizing returnsthrough judicious utilization ofland and other resources to ensuresustained remunerations. Asurvey by the NABARD in collaborationwith the Departmentof Horticulture and Soil Conservation,Manipur have identified277064 ha as potential areas forgrowing different horticulturalcrops. Out of these potentialareas only 15.5% are exploredand 84.5% are still to be broughtunder horticultural plantationswhich fall on hill districts of thestate. The average productivity ofthe horticultural crops is noteven half of the national productivity.Grain farming proves unremunerativein the undulatingtopography of hilly tracts, whichis deprived of irrigation facilities.Despite the government‘s endeavorsto uplift the region, vast potentialremains unexploited. Itbecomes possible to exploit theuntapped potential of the regionthrough location specific horticultureand subsequently expandingthe area under horticulturalcrops. This production of underutilizedcrops can also be increasedthrough adoption ofscientific technologies.ConservationstrategyPopularizationPolicyGeneticimprovementImprove agronomicpackagesValueadditionExploring dietaryvaluesMarket avenuePage 6