Banana For Livelihood

It is inspiring to learn that farmers in rural hilly areas of Meghalaya’s Garo Hills are adapting to climate change in their own ways by abandoning jhum cultivation and taking up banana as an alternative as their livelihood.

- Saidul Khan

Farmers of Adokgre and its adjoining areas in North Garo Hills of Meghalaya have adopted banana cultivation as an alternative to jhum cultivation for their sustenance.

Jhum also known as shifting cultivation is prevalent in most part of the Northeast, where a forest area is cleared for agriculture.

Adokgre village in adjoining Goalpara district of Assam has become a popular destination for banana cultivation. Almost every household in Adokgre region- both in plains and hills- are dependent on banana for generation of their income and livelihood.

The farmers say that jhum led to destruction of forest and the pristine ecology. They feel that they were on the verge of losing their identity as ‘hill people’, so that had to take the urgent call to protect their forest and rejuvenate the green cover.

“We have partnered with government organisation to plant more and more trees in the area, which had almost lost its green cover,” said Beckingson Sangma, a 60-year-old farmer, who has left jhum and is now cultivating bananas.

He said that during the peak of insurgency, the militants overpowered the forest department officials and has illegally cut down the trees.

“The militants came heavily armed and cut down the trees and sold it to traders in neighbouring Assam,” he said.

The lull in insurgency in the area, which was once a hotbed for militants have completely destroyed the Ildek Forest Reserve and the quantum of destruction is evident from the huge patches, which looks barren and empty.