LEVEL OF AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN MIZORAM

1. Asst. Professor, Dept. of Geography, Govt. Hnahthial College. 2. Professor, Dept. of Geography & R.M., Mizoram University. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History Received: 10 April 2020 Final Accepted: 12 May 2020 Published: June 2020


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contributes about 17 per cent to the total GDP and provides employment to over 60 per cent of the population (Arjun, 2013). It is not only an occupation for people but also a way of life. Most customs and cultures in the world revolve around agriculture (Kowalczyk, 2019).
According to Mizoram Economic Survey (2014-15), more than 60 per cent of the total population depends on agricultural sector as it is the biggest source of livelihood for rural areas. Shifting Cultivation, Wet Rice Cultivation (WRC), Terrace and Permanent farming are the major methods of cultivation. Various kinds of crops like rice, maize, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables, pineapple, orange, mangoes, lemons, carrot, lady's finger, cabbage, and pea etc., are grown in different parts of the state. The agriculture sector contributed to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) was 30 per cent in 1994, 14 per cent in 2009 due to economic growth of other sectors (Birthal, 2010). Agriculture and allied activities sharing only 14 per cent at GSDP in 2014 is a serious threat (GOM, 2015). Therefore, analysis of agriculture development for sustainable development is an alarming rate to improve disparity in various scales. The main aim and objective of the study is to analyze the level of agriculture development in Mizoram. Most of the world's poor people earn their living from agriculture, so if we knew the economics of agriculture we would know much of the economics of being poor (Shultz, 1979).

Location and background of the study area:
Mizoram is located in the geographical coordinatesof 21°56' N to 24°31' N and 92°16' E to 93°26' E longitudes with covering an area of approximately 21,087 square kilometers (Pachuau, 2009), proportionate to the total area of India is 0.64 per cent. The geological structure, its complexities and geomorphological diversities of the present relief feature embraces lofty young fold mountain. Both endogenic and exogenesis forces have been consistently operating the landforms of this region as it extends in the eastern Himalayan ranges. The topography and physiographic expression is imparted by north-south trending steep, mostly anticlinal, parallel to sub-parallel hill ranges and narrow adjoining synclinal valleys with series of parallel hummocks or topographic highs. The elevation between valley floors and hill tops varies greatly from 200 meters to 1200 meters. The steep hills ranges occur are more towards the eastern part of the state.
The state is drained by a number of rivers and streams mostly found in a parallel system. The surface soils are thin with dark, highly leached and poor in bases, rich in iron and have low pH values ranging from 4.5 -5.5. Soil textures are loam to clay with content increasing in depth. The pH and organic carbon content decreases with the increase in depth. They are capable of providing substantial oxygen supply for plant growth and retaining moisture for sufficient supply of oxygen throughout the year. According to Kumar (2012) 'on ridge tops soils generally exhibit organic matter with heavy and coarse texture varying from high to medium. Lower slopes have shallow texture, poor, and light and contain low organic matter with increasing amount of silt and sand'.
Due to fairly altitudinal high and alignment of hill ranges, Mizoram enjoys a favorable moderate climate throughout the year. The region falls under the influence of the South West Monsoon and Jet Stream on the onset of burst of monsoon generally from the later part of April to the part of September and dry period from October to March which influences the ranges of temperature and humidity in the region. The state is well-endowed with vegetation from tropical evergreen forest to montane sub-tropical alpine type. The characteristics of its terrain, soil, rainfall and temperature provide immense potential for development and growth of plants. Meanwhile, high pressure of population, rapid urbanization, over exploitation of forest resources, improvement in transport and communication and practicing primitive form of cultivation endorse the development and backwardness of agriculture sector in various parts of the state and also promote certain degree of disparities. However, the total net sown area has been increasing during the decades techniques from Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Z-score is a linear transformation of the original data in such a way that its mean becomes zero and its standard deviation become unity. It has been used to develop a composite score in order to arrive at the level of development. In standardized method, the collected data were converted into variables and standardize to form a score value of development:-Data obtained from secondary source were transformed into variables, used as developmental indicators.
To transform data matrix into scale free matrix, variable indicators were standardized by subtracting the mean from each individual variables and divided by their standard deviation as the formula:-Z i = (X ij -X j )/SD j Where, Z i is the Z-score for the i th unit, X ij is the x variable in the i th unit and j th variable, X j is the mean of the j th variable and SD is the standard deviation of the j th variable After obtaining Z-score for every indicator, composite score was obtained by adding up all individual standardized data:-C i = ∑Z Where, C i is the composite score and ∑Z is the summation of Z-scores or standardized scores.

Variable Indicators:
Based In case of the production of horticulture crops, 12 variables were taken as an indicator. Lawngtlai and Serchhip districts recorded the highest and lowest average yield (metric ton per hectares) with average yield of 10.78 per hectares and 6.44 per hectares in different crops like Orange, Banana, Grape, Cabbage, Passion fruit, Tomato, Birdeye Chilly, Chow Chow, Turmeric, Ginger and Roses.

Result and Discussion:-
The agricultural development in Mizoram have been categorize into five level such as very high, high, medium, low and very low level of development.
i) Very high level of development: Kolasib district score a value of 9.70 with highest rank amongst the district which falls under very high level of development. It is located in the northern part of the state having a state boundary with Assam. It is the important corridor of the state from the mainland India which provides better road transportation facilities, trade and commerce hub and market oriented agricultural crops. Geographically, the area is suited for plantation and commercial crops like rubber, oil palm, arecanut etc., Serlui B hydel project in Kolasib district is also fruitful for fisheries and agricultural purposes.
ii) High level of development: Three districts of Aizawl (9.25), Champhai (8.89) and Lunglei (6.95) fall under high level of development. Aizawl is the capital city of the state and its hinterland produces enormous agricultural crops for the sustenance of their respected villages and the city-core region of the district. Champhai district located in the eastern part of the state having an international boundary of Myanmar offers trade and commercial activities which brings earnest space for agriculture related activities in the riverine area. It is endowed with largest paddy fields in the state, and, the region is also dominated by grape, passion fruits and maize cultivation. Lunglei is the largest area and second most populous district in the state. It has a large agricultural holding with high production but not high yield in some crops.
iii) Medium level of development: Mamit district is located in the north western part of the state which is bounded on the north and west by Assam and Tripura. It has also international boundary with Bangladesh in the west. Mamit district is suitable for plantation of rubber, arecanut and broom.
iv) Low level of development: Serchhip and Lawngtlai district with a score value of -7.31 and -7.92 falls under this category. These two districts are rich in alluvial soil in some patch of land but not yet utilized. Many farmers in Serchhip town and its vicinity have been sowing commercial crops in Mat riverine area. Lawngtlai is located in the south western part of the state which is drained by Chhimtuipui, Khawthlangtuipui, Tuichawng, Sekulh and Ngengpui River, with high potential for agriculture development.
v) Very low level of development: Saiha district score the lowest value of -14.28, categorized under very low level of development. It is found in the southern part of the state with certain low network of transportation facilities.

Conclusion:-
The present study found that disparity of agriculture development existed in the state of Mizoram. It reveals that the physical structures, administrative and social attribute play a significant role as west, north and north eastern region score the high value whereas the small tribal ethnic areas of south and south western region scores the low value.