Mizoram : More than 2,887 Hectares Of Paddy Harvest Destroyed By Rat Menace

AIZAWL : Mizoram state agriculture director James Lalsiamliana revealed how half of expected paddy harvest in the state was destroyed by rats in 2022. The minister stated this on Wednesday, 4th of January.

Approximately 2,887 hectares of paddy field procured by 3,084 families were destroyed by a large number of rats in 2022. There are reportedly eight district in Mizoram and 91 families who got affected by this occurrence.

Lalsiamliana continued by stating that half of the paddy cultivation was destroyed which increased rapidly because of the flowering of dendrocalamus longispathus, widely known as Rawnal.

Rawnal is a long-sheath bamboo which can grow upto 20m long. It is mostly seen and grown in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand. However, no reports of paddy field destruction by rats has been recorded in Khawzawl, Kolasib and Saitul district of Mizoram.

The state agricultural department along with the local farmers has initiated mass poisoning of rats in the affected regions. This particular measure has helped to prevent the paddy fields from further destruction by rats.

The concerned department in collaboration with the locals has undertaken this step to save the cultivation process. The highest affected region is Lunglei, which is situated in the southern part of Mizoram.

Around 243 hectares of paddy fields acquired by a number of 1,558 families were victimised due to the rat menace. These families are residents of 34 villages in the state. It is a well known fact that Mizoram goes through two kinds of deprivation every 48 years. 

These are knows as Mautam and Thingtam. Mautam is a process triggered by the growing of Mautak, which is a bamboo species. While Thingtam is the flowering of Rawthing, which is also a bamboo species. The state is going to be under the Thingtam affect in 2025 as the last time it occurred was in 1977.

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