Farmers of Shilliang Um village in South West Khasi Hills, who are already dismayed by the steep drop in prices for chayote, are now left with further broken hopes and shattered dreams after seeing their paddy become ridden with disease.
The farmers of the villages said that the diseased crops could mean that all their hard work and investment will go to waste.
Using six tins of seeds, farmers used to be able to harvest 15 or 16 sacks of rice but now the level is down to just three sacks for the same quantity of seeds sowed, they said.
Meanwhile, the president of the Hills Farmers Union (HFU) Mawkyrwat Block, Ferdinand Lyngkhoi, said that paddy fields have been infected by pests in Laitlawsnai, Mawthawpdah, Nonglyngkien, Umsohlang, Nongdiat, Pyndemmawramhah and Rangdkhiew.
Arcyvius Lyngdoh, another HFU member of Nonglyngkien village, has blamed the phenomenon on climate change and environmental degradation which has caused a fall in the number of birds, which would otherwise eat the insects that damage crops.
He urged all the farmers to join hands to restore the balance and protect nature. The HFU Shilliang Um has further urged the government and agriculture department to assist the farmers of the area and give them a solution to the problem.
