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COMPENDIUM, IEEC-2023   ( ISBN : 978-81-967860-4-5 )
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Theme-3: Bio-diversity and Resource Conservation, Livelihood and Food Security towards Sustainable Agri-food Systems

Policy Initiatives for Sustainable Pineapple Cultivation in Nagaland

Kaushal Kumar Jha

Nagaland University, Nagaland
kkjhanurd@rediffmail.com

Abstract

Pineapple is a popular fruit worldwide which contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Nagaland a North eastern state of India is expected to be prone to the consequences to climate change. This region is also experiencing fluctuating temperature, erratic rainfall or drought like situations which prove detrimental to pineapple crop production and yield loss thereby posing serious threat to sustainable livelihood of farmers. The present study was undertaken in Medziphema block, which is considered as the Pineapple valley of Nagaland. Pineapple grown in this area is considered as one of the best in Nagaland in terms of its sweetness as well as quality. Multistage sampling was undertaken for conducting the present study. Medziphema rural development block was selected purposively for this purpose. The sample was drawn from three leading pineapple producing villages under Medziphema block. The findings of the study revealed that majority of Pineapple growers faced varied degree of challenges in cultivation and farm management practices due to climate change. Respondents perceived that their farms are exposed to climate risk which needs effective management by adopting climate resilient practices. Smallholders suffered the most from land degradation; degraded soil conditions including water management combined with climate variability, and limited market access. The study concludes by suggesting amelioration in soil, water and land management practices in order to equip and empower the Pineapple growers for a sustainable livelihood thereby minimizing the detrimental effect of climate change. As a part of policy initiative, sustainable pineapple cultivation should prioritize the preservation of natural resources and the reduction of negative impacts on the environment, consider the social well-being of workers and local communities and should be financially viable for farmers.

IEEC-2023 at RARI (SKNAU, Jobner), Jaipur, Rajasthan organised by Society of Extension Education, Agra, India