UNRAVELING THE TRIBAL FARMING OF NICOBAR ISLANDS

Abstract

The Nicobar group of Islands is part of the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India which is home to two most important aborigines viz. Nicobarese and Shompens. They depend on the limited resources of the islands and evolved a unique way of practicing farming within the island ecosystem. The agricultural economy is still at primitive stage or underdeveloped and limited to meeting the food requirements of the tribals. Over the years several attempts were made to improve the farm production in these islands, but still large gap exists in our understanding of these tribals and their farming in its natural state. In recent years the tribals face a host of diverse challenges and new constraints due to the degradation of natural resources, increasing demand for food and climate change concerns. It is, therefore, very important to assess the soil, water and weather conditions and understand the tribal socio-economic conditions to address the challenges facing tribals and their farming. In the fragile island environment in which the agricultural development has to take place, it is particularly important that it addresses the food security of the tribals within their socio-economic system. The Shompens are hunters and gatherers while the Nicobarese practice natural farming. The system of land ownership and production is also varies across the Nicobar Islands. Studies have provided evidence of climate change and possible impact on these islands. Still a large part of the tribal culture and its interrelation with the island ecosystem is unexplained or the information is scattered in different literatures. In the last few years increased interaction with the local people, capacity building, characterization of the resources of these islands at larger scale and research efforts to understand and enhance the farm production in Nicobar Islands have helped to generate lot of information pertaining to the tribal farming. These are very vital information required by several stakeholders for successful implementation of any developmental plan. In addition, declaration of these islands as organic and launch of organic mission has provided the tribal farmers a new opportunity to improve their farm income. Therefore, there is a specific need for comprehensive information on several aspects of tribal farming and the impact of climate change on these islands in an easy to understandable language without compromising the scientific content.