International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2014 1

ISSN 2250-3153

Indigenous system of Paddy cultivation in Terrace and

Department of Anthropology, NEHU, Shillong.

Abstract- Rice is the staple food and it occupies about 70 per enhance its productivity. There also exists variation in the region
cent of the total area under cultivation and constitutes about 75 in terms of soil and climatic conditions, geographical terrain,
per cent of the total food production in the state. For generations, management practices etc which in a way is responsible for great
Naga farmers practiced subsistence agriculture, under Jhum—a diversity in rice cultivation among the people. Rice plays a
sophisticated form of slash and burn agriculture, clearing plots to significant role in the socio cultural life of the people in many
plant rice intermixed with dozens of other crops. The Angami parts of North east India. It occupies the primary position in a
and Chakesang tribes of Nagaland have terrace cultivation of composite and varied mixture of crops. In Khezakenoma village
paddy wherever water is available for irrigation. Such indigenous in the Phek district of Nagaland, a particular slab of stone is
knowledge system in the region had been developed through believed to have had the power to multiply paddy spread over it
experience by tribal farmers using their ingenuity and skill and for drying. The centrality of rice is also reflected in ceremonies
are believed to have sustainable agricultural base. Zabo system of of The Wanchos of Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh. They
rice cultivation is an excellent indigenous method of rain water believe that the rituals to protect paddy in the granary will also
harvesting used by the farmers in Phek district of Nagaland. The protect other grains. The people in the region also relate Rice to
Jhumia of Kohima and Phek district of Nagaland plant alder trees Goddesses. The Assamese Hindus believe that the goddess
in the jhum cycle area along with traditional agricultural crops Lakhimi brought rice to earth. The Meities of Manipur have a
such as rice. Since agriculture in Nagaland is dependent on the rice goddess known as Phoinobi. The Adi seek the blessings of
monsoon rain, cultivation is carried out only once a year. the goddess Mopin for a good harvest. According to the belief,
Researchers and planners should not ignore the actual knowledge Mopin gave the first ancestor of the Adi seeds for cultivation and
these local people hold on efficient farming rather consider them method of sowing.
for better implementation of any new farming practice/technique Terrace and Jhum cultivation of paddy are widely practiced
in the region. This paper is based on secondary sources such as by the tribal communities in the hill regions of Nagaland. Jhum
books, Articles, Reports etc. The primary data which were cultivation is the traditional farming system in the Nagaland
qualitative in nature was obtained through interaction with few state. The Angami and Chakesang tribes of Nagaland have
farmers or key informants in Kohima, Wokha and Phek districts terrace cultivation of paddy wherever water is available for
of Nagaland. irrigation. Wet terrace rice cultivation is recent intervention in
hilly terrain and now widely followed by Angami tribe in
Index Terms- Indigenous farming, Terrace cultivation, Jhum Kohima district, and Chakesang in Phek district. In the terrace
cultivation, Paddy, Soil degradation, Water harvesting, field the outgrowth of weed along with paddy is a common
Conservation. phenomena and Polygonum is a vigorous weed on terraces. The
productivity of rice under wet and wet terrace cultivation was
found to be more as compared to rice under jhum cultivation.
I. INTRODUCTION The lower productivity of paddy under jhum could be due to non
he State of Nagaland lies between 25060’ and 270 40’ adoption of improved agronomic practices as efficient rain water
T latitude north of the equator and between the longitudinal
lines 930 20’ and 950 15’, having an area of 16,579 square km.
management, no intercultural operation as weeding, improper
sowing, and no taking up sound plant protection measures.
The state comes under eastern Himalayan agro climatic zone. There have also been reports of soil degradation caused due
More than 90% terrain of the state is hilly. The state of Nagaland to excessive Jhumming and many People in the region have
enjoys a salubrious climate. The torrential monsoon rains are an today started embracing terrace cultivation as an alternative due
integral feature of the state's weather. The state records an to its efficiency in terms of water management. Paddy cultivation
average annual rainfall of 2000mm-2500mm. The climate of in Nagaland can be further categorised into wet terrace paddy
Nagaland is similar to those of other hilly states of the Northeast cultivation, wet paddy cultivation and Jhum paddy cultivation.
region. The major precipitation occurs between July- September Wet paddy cultivation are confined mostly in the valley areas and
but rainy season commences from May onwards. The mountain the Wet terrace as well as Jhum paddy cultivation are widely
region is the source of several streams and rivulets. practiced in the hill areas of Nagaland. Thus this paper would
Agriculture is the main stay of economy in Nagaland and rice look into the various practices developed and adopted in Paddy
is their stable food. The indigenous farming had been in practice cultivation in the hill areas of Nagaland over the years based on
by the Nagas since time immemorial. In this process they have their actual experience and knowledge system.
developed skills and ideas on how best to grow their crops and

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II. IMPORTANCE OF WATER IN INDIGENOUS FARMING rainfall is also necessary for paddy cultivation. The cultivation of
Agricultural cycle in India is dependent mostly on monsoon rice requires ploughing thoroughly and puddle with 3-5 cm of
rain and water is considered significant in the plant life among standing water in the field. The optimum depth of puddling is
indigenous farmers. Out of the Earth’s available water resources different for different types of soils. It is found to be around 10
3% of this accounts to fresh water. Only 1 % of this is available cm in the clay and clay-loam types of soils. The purpose is to
for human activity, including agriculture. Nagaland is basically a obtain a soft seedbed for the seedlings to establish themselves
land of agriculture and water is an essential product in for the faster, to minimize the leaching losses of nutrients and thereby
growth and development of the crops. The amount of water increase the availability of plant nutrients. However any
necessary for crop production varies depending on soil additional irrigation is not necessary in regions with about 60 cm
conditions, crop variety and temperature etc. It has been reported of well- distributed rainfall during the growing season. Most of
that rice and maize are the major crops in Nagaland. Agriculture the villages are scattered and perched on the hilltop and the
employs about nine-tenths of the population. Rice, corn (maize), cultivators traditionally cultivate the hill slopes either by making
small millets, pulses (legumes), oilseeds, fibres, sugarcane, terraces or by Jhumming. Irrigation is provided only in terraced
potato, and tobacco are the principal crops. The crops that have a fields wherever the facilities exist to bring water from the sources
high yield in the state of Nagaland include rice, tobacco, by gravity system through M.I. Channels. Jhum paddy is
oilseeds, pulses, fibres, potato and sugarcane. Apart from major dependent on natural rainwater and no effort has been made to
crops the farmers of Nagaland also produce plantation crops like store the rain water in the field.
coffee, tea and cardamom. Potato and sugarcane are the two
prime cash crops that generate revenue for the Nagaland
economy. They also grow vegetables such as carrots, chillies, III. PADDY CULTIVATION IN JHUM FIELDS
onion, melon, spinach leaf, cucumber, Brinjal, tomatoes and The major land use pattern is slash and burn cultivation
mustard. locally known as Jhum. After two or three seasons, the farmers
In few places in Northeast India indigenous farming with would leave the land for undergoing certain period of fallowing.
efficient water management system have been identified and is in That way the soil would be rested and its nutrients replenished.
practice since centuries. The Apatanis have a multipurpose water Shifting cultivation, is the chief means of livelihood of tribal
management systems which integrates land, water and farming people in the hilly areas of North eastern India. Winter cropping
systems by protecting soil erosion, conserving water for is practiced but their productivity in general is lower as compared
irrigation, and paddy- cum fish culture. It has been experienced to the summer cropping. The main reason behind this was that
in Apatani inter- piedmont flat land of about 30 square km. The winter crops are followed just after the summer crops on the
area is dominated by local tribe “Apatani” which developed this same plot of land without addition of any fertilizers or manures
system to cultivate paddy and fish together (Singh, 1999). The and also there is scarcity of water as the cultivation is dependent
tribal farmers in Muktapur, Jaintia hills district of Meghalaya wholly on rainfall. The area is used for cropping usually for two
have developed the indigenous technique of Bamboo drip years and left as fallow until the next Jhum cycle.
irrigation. Betel vines planted with areca nut as the supporting The increase in the population demand for food has led to
tree are irrigated with this system, in which water trickles or increase in land use and resulting in decrease of fallow period.
drips drop by drop at the base of crop. In this system water from Jhum paddy comprises of about 56.50 % of area and 49.26 % of
the natural streams located at higher elevation is conveyed with production of rice cultivation in the state. The practice of
the use of bamboo channels, supported on ground surface by multiple cropping in Jhum fields is very much in vogue and is
wooden or bamboo supports, to the site of plantation through practiced by farmers of Wokha district in the state of Nagaland.
gravity flow. Discharge of water upto 25 litres /min can be easily About 20 to 40 crops are grown on the same plot of land as
managed by manipulating the distribution systems. Water intercropping with paddy as the main crop. The farmers of Koio
distribution is done with the use of bamboo channels, bamboo village under Chukitong block in Wokha district of Nagaland
supports; water diversion pipes and strips. The whole system practice a suitable cultivation by growing a few cash crops on the
enables in distribution of 15 to 25 litres of water without any same plot as an alternative to shifting cultivation. Here the
leakage at point. There may be several diversions at each stage farmers selected large cardamom as the main crop, and the
depending on the availability of water resources and number of boundary of the plantation is being done by planting Tung
the plants to be irrigated. The system is laid out in such a way (Aleurite Montana ). They grow oil seed crop on the boundary.
that ground clearance of channels reduces from few meters to 10 The passion fruit is grown as the fencing crop around the main
cm to 15 cm and this is done by reducing the height of channel crop plantation area. Almost all the farmers have adopted this
supports (Borthakur, 1992). practice since the last 20 years as it increase income levels and to
Rainfall is one of the important climatic parameter reduce the practice of shifting cultivation, which is affecting the
influencing the cropping pattern, productivity, flooding and soil fertility in Nagaland.
drought hazards, erosion and sedimentation. Irrigated system Inorder to restore the soil fertility, The farmers of Khonoma
requires rainfall to replenish surface water or the aquifers. village of Kohima district grow Alder trees in great numbers
Irrigation is a vital means by which production can be sustained along with rice and other agricultural crops. The idea behind this
in various areas. The total area in the state under irrigation is is that root nodules of Alder improve soil fertility by fixing
61,152.39 hectares. The farmers of Nagaland grow their crops on atmospheric nitrogen. It also provides sheds to plantation crops
the basis of the rain conditions in the place. The agricultural like coffee at lower altitude and cardamom at higher altitude
planning in Nagaland is based on Rainfall distribution. A good which further increases crop yield and reduces soil erosion. This

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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2014 3
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practice has been in use since about 100 years by the whole catchment area is directly taken to the paddy fields for storage
community. Normally, a Jhumia cultivates the field for 2 years and irrigation later during the cropping period. Ngachan,
within a 9 years span, but the alder-based system allows two Mohanty and Pattanayak (2012) on their work on ‘Status paper
harvests in every 4 to 5 years. In this cultivation system the Alder on Rice in Northeast India described the various components of
seedlings are planted on the sloppy land intended for cultivation Zabo farming system as follows:
and the alder grows fast till attain six to ten years old. At this Forest land: The catchment area (about 1.5 ha or more) is
stage initially the trees are pollarded, the leaves and twigs are kept under natural vegetation on upstream side of the pond to
burnt and ash is mixed with soil to prepare it for raising crops. serve as water sources for the period during monsoon. Normally
Subsequently also pollarding is done once in every four to six cutting or burning of trees does not disturb this area.
years. Under this process coppice are cut except five to six on top Water harvesting system: Adjacent to the catchment area,
of the main trunk and crop schedule is followed including fallow water harvesting ponds are dug out towards down stream with
period of two to four years. The bigger branches stripped of formation of earthen embankment. The size of the pond is
leaves are used for fire wood, while the root of the tree develop usually kept as 24 x 10 x2 m'. Silt retention tanks are constructed
nodules (colonies of Frankia) responsible for fertilizing the soil at several points before the run off water enters into the pond.
where as spreading nature of the roots helps in preventing soil The water harvesting system occupies about 0.2 ha area. Silt
erosion in slopes (Singh, 1992). retention tanks are cleared annually as a part of maintenance of
The other benefits could be found in the Alder foliage which the water harvesting system.
is of low to moderate value and it is used as fodder for Mithun Cattle shed: It is a common practice of every farm family to
and other cattle. Soil erosion due to high rainfall and hilly maintain an enclosure fenced with ordinary woods and branches
topography is very high in most of the northeast state. There is a of bamboo for open cattle yard, which is managed by a group of
great need to check the rate of soil erosion. In this system the farmers by stocking cattle on rotation basis, preferably a little
deep root system gives some stability in slopes that tend to slip below the water harvesting pond. Buffaloes are the common
and erode. Its seeds have been broadcast to stabilize landslides animals available with the farmers, and 20-30 numbers are kept
area effectively use to reforest abundant Jhum land areas because in one yard for 10-15 days. Washing of the cattle yard is done
it grows as a pioneer in degraded habitats with low fertility soils. with run-off water, which goes afterwards to the rice fields for
It is also planted to improve the stability of slopes liable to manuring. When there is an overflowing of water, it finds way
erosion and landslides and for mine reclamation (Rathore, through diversion passing through the cattle yard and washes
Karunakaran & Prakash, 2010). Jhum cultivation resulted in loss down the manures to the field below. Split bamboo channels are
of forest cover, erosion of top soil, desertification etc. Increasing used to carry such dung and urine from the cattle yard to the
population pressure on food grains has resulted in land central point of the field from where it spreads in the entire field.
degradation. However Jhum cultivation still remains a Agriculture land: Rice field are located in a lower elevation
predominant indigenous practice of farming in Nagaland. Alder than the water-harvesting pond. The area of the rice fields varies
based farming increases the yield of Jhum crops and it should be between 0.2-0.5 ha. Use of green manure like Albizia lebbeck
encouraged. This could be achieved through proper identification and mekhonu tree leaves, application of cow dung and diversion
and validation in the areas it is practiced. of run off through open cattle yard are the usual methods of
manuring rice crop. Chemical ferti1izers are not at all used. Rice
fields are thoroughly rammed at the time of puddling following
IV. TERRACE FORM OF PADDY CULTIVATION different methods, viz., treading by human and cattle. Ramming
A Terrace is a piece of sloped plane that has been cut into a by wooden sticks etc. to create a hard panso as to avoid
series of successively receding flat surfaces or platforms, which percolation losses. Seepage losses through shoulder bunds are
resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming. This checked with the use of paddy husks on the upstream side. Zabo
type of landscaping, therefore, is called terracing. Terraced fields system of farming thus have conservation base to control soil
both decrease erosion and surface runoff, and may be used to erosion, proper management of soil fertility and available water
support growing crops that require irrigation, such as rice. Zabo and can be a potential substitute to shifting cultivation. However
is an indigenous farming system of Nagaland. This system has its terrace farming also has its own limitation as most areas in the
origin in Kikuma village of Phek district of Nagaland, located at state are too hilly for bench terracing.
an altitude of 1,270 m above mean sea level. The area under this
practice is 957.9 ha. The word “Zabo” means impounding of
water. It has a combination of forest, agriculture and animal V. CONCLUSION
husbandry with well-founded soil and water conservation base. Indigenous farming systems though primitive and old still
Water resource development, water management and protection occupies a special place in the life of the Naga farmers. It has
of environment are inherent aspects of the system (Sharma et al., become a part of the custom and all their festivals and
1994). ceremonies revolve around it. The indigenous practices are soil
The irrigation water from the main water collection tank is and water conservation oriented as in the case of Alder based
passed through animal yard and it carries all dung and urine of farming and Zabo system. But such systems are confined to
the animals to the field below the slope. Beside this succulent certain areas and there is a need to expand it to other parts of
branches and leaves of trees in the field for enhancing soil Nagaland as well. Also such farming systems tend to depend
fertility. When it becomes difficult to get a suitable location for largely on monsoon rain alone. Due to non-availability of well
construction of water storage tanks, the runoff from the organized irrigation system, a vast area of land which if brought

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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2014 4
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under permanent irrigation, the food grain production in the state [3] Rathore, S. S., K Karunakaran & B Prakash. 2010. Alder based farming
system- A traditional farming practices in Nagaland for amelioration of
could be raised enormously. Technological advancements in Jhum land. Indian journal of traditional knowledge, Vol 9 (4): 677- 680.
many parts of the world have enabled people to indulge in double [4] Sharma, U.C., R. N, Prasad & Sonowal. 1994. An indigenous technique of
cropping and become self-sufficient, incorporation of such soil and water conservation in north- eastern region- The Zabo system of
advanced technologies to manage water would help the Naga farming. Soil and Water Conservation Challenges and Opportunities
farmers carry out double or winter cropping. Though Nagaland is (Proceeding of 8th ISCO conference. Ed. L. S. Bhushan., I. P. Abrol & M.
S. Rama Mohan Rao). Oxford and IBH publication Co. Pvt. Ltd: New
blessed with rich natural resources, faulty agricultural practices Delhi, India. 969-975.
have resulted in serious environmental depletion. Therefore [5] Singh, N. P. 1992. Natural farming in Nagaland- An outline. Proceeding of
Much is to be learned from the local knowledge system of these national seminar on “Natural Farming” (Eds. L. L. Somani., K. L. Totawat
people and their conservation strategies and further blend it with & B. L. Baser). Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, R
modern science. AC, Udaipur. 161-168.
[6] Singh, S. (1999). Atlas of Arunachal Pradesh. Publication of Govt. of
Arunachal Pradesh.

REFERENCES
[1] Borthakur, D. N. 1992. Agriculture of the north- eastern region. Bee Cee
Prakashan,: Guwahati (Assam), India. AUTHORS
[2] Ngachan, S. V., A. K Mohanty & A. Pattanayak. 2012. Status paper on Rice First Author – Longshibeni N Kithan, Department of
in Northeast India. Rice Knowledge Management Portal, Directorate of Anthropology, NEHU, Shillong., [email protected]
Rice Research.

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