Women Feel The Heat Of Climate Change In Manipur

Women farmers are struggling to grow crops in an increasingly hostile environment in Manipur.

- Ninglun Hanghal

It is that time of the year when the weather is dry and windy. Hmuoki has to work even harder than usual to water and fertilize her four acres of farmland on the banks of the Khuga River in Churachandpur district of Manipur.

Hmuoki struggles to ensure her family has enough food to eat during the dry season, which begins in November. From November till March, she plants crops like mustard, pumpkin, varieties of peas, beans, ginger and turmeric. She also supplements her food by working on farms in the hills surrounding the village, by going to Jhum fields or to collect wild fruits or herbs.

Women like Hmuoki play a major role in agriculture in Manipur. There are a large number of women farmers working in the State, suffering from protracted conflict between authorities and armed groups. These women are also on the front line of climate change in the State, where erratic rainfall, floods and higher temperatures are making daily life more difficult for rural farmers.

In mid February, a small group of women farmers gathered at Hmuoki’s home with a team from the civil society organisation Rural Women Upliftment Society (RWUS) to talk about their experiences in the fields and the changes they have witnessed in recent years. Hmuoki lives in Saidan village, 5 kilmetres from Lamka, the main town in the district.

February is the time when women prepare for Jhum cultivation – a traditional slash and burn agriculture technique used widely in the hills of Manipur. The women are also seeing more random forest fires, set off by people who want to hunt wild animals. This causes huge damage to the land. Burning for Jhum preparation, however, does not damage soil fertility or cause environment degradation, argued the women. For Jhum preparation a small forest area is cleared, and twigs, branches and waste from the clearings are dried and eventually burned. The ash actually helps the make the soil more fertile.