Pests have been the farmers’ natural enemy since time immemorial. Over the years, many have figured out ways to combat this seasonal demon. Whether one talks about the methods prior to the green revolution or post, one issue has remained constant- the pests’ ability to resist and persist. Kong Shida is only one of many such ingenious indegenous farmers who was able to revolutionize the solutions available locally to deal with such pests.
Kong Shida Suting, 65 years old, is a custodian farmer and an Agroecology Learning Circle (ALC) member of Sohmynting, a village in the West Jaintia Hills. She did an experiment on loopers for cultivated crops such as maize, potatoes, yams, coriander, etc. She had been conducting this experiment for the last 5 years and continues to learn from it to this date.
As an active member of the ALC, along with 61 other members, Kong Shida plays an integral part in the ongoing NESFAS project – Empowering Indigenous Communities through Agroecology Learning Circles (ALCs) for Resilient, Integrated and Innovative Natural Resource Management, supported by MBMA and funded by the World Bank. This ALC collective has been working together to identify problems and solutions related to farming which they unfortunately face on a day to day basis.
The main technique developed and implemented by Kong Shida was mixing tobacco leaves, lime, and a certain amount of water together and leaving it for a day or two day then spraying the mixture all over the field to repel pests. This concoction works best for pests such as loopers, which are commonly found in many cultivated crops of Meghalaya.
This experiment has been greatly beneficial in increasing the yield since it helped in reducing pests that would otherwise feed on her crops and in fact the concoction aided the growth of the crops. She found out about these benefits by experimenting on a small portion of her own garden and this has resulted in large success. She wishes to further expand the scope of her experiment by including more of her garden space over time.
The purpose of this experiment was to protect and safeguard her crops from getting infected by pests through the use of traditional ways and methods and to avoid the use of chemical pesticides. A noble intention that was fulfilled by a successful experiment.
Kong Shida expressed, “I also encourage my fellow farmers to make use of the results of my experiment because I think it will be as useful to you as it was to me and my garden”.
Thanks for lucid introduction. Yes,the way Kong Shida dealt with the problem by using tobacco leaves and lime needs to be conveyed to as many as possible.Good.