Salulamang village, located about 35 Kms from Mokokchung town, falls under Langpangkong Range. The village is known for producing a number of eminent sports personalities, particularly footballers, but it has over the years also grown into an orange hub of the state.
The success story of orange farming in this village with about 96 households comes with the fascinating fact that the entire households in the village each own an orange farm today.
However, this journey of orange cultivation in the village by 100% of the villagers took years of experience, self-awareness and hard work.
In the beginning – how orange was introduced
Orange first got introduced to the village during the Mejensanger era as narrated by 54-year-old N. Manen Pongen, 74-year-old – Akumienba Longkumer and 87-year-old – Akanglemba Jamir during the final years of the First World War.
“In 1917 June, five people from this village were taken to Europe as part of the Naga Labor Corps and when they returned in July 1918, they brought the seeds of this unknown seed wrapped in a piece of cloth saying that the fruit tasted so well,” they said referring to how orange was introduced.
“The seeds, according to some of the books, were reportedly brought from Tunisia,” they added.
During those days, according to them, the seed they planted gave rise to two kinds of citrus fruits which they named “Naring” and “Chuba jemben.”
“The seed they planted started giving really sweet fruits and it began to grow well in the village soil. Thus, our forebears worked hard in growing the orange plants,” they said.
And that was how, slowly, the village flourished with oranges with each household having at least a couple of orange trees growing in the kitchen garden or backyard.
According to the three gentlemen, the villagers back then would carry the Naga basket full of oranges and take it to neighboring villages like Chuchuyimlang, Changtongya and even Mokokchung town to sell them off. However, over the past few years, buyers from Kohima, Mokokchung and even Chari come with their trucks and purchase them in bulk.
“We usually sell it for 35 rupees per kilo. So, if you have a large orange farm, the revenue you can generate out of it is around rupees 2 – 3 lakh annually,” said N. Manen Pongen, who was among the pioneers in the village to have a fully-dedicated orange farm.
The growth of orange farming
According to Manen, initially, the villagers did not undertake orange farming apart from the couple of trees that grew in their backyards. However, it was only when the villagers realized that orange farming was a viable way to empower themselves economically, that the villagers started investing their time and labor in it.
“Back then you would see the oranges only in rich people’s houses. But as people got to know about the type of income and revenue an orange farm can generate and also realized that one can sustain and run their household through orange farming, all the 96 households started farming slowly and now all of the households have at least a small tiny orange farm,” he said.
However, earning through oranges is not an easy task as orange plants are prone to infection which often leads to the premature death of the plants.
“To be honest, unless you are confident that you cancommit to this farming, do not opt for orange plantation. The real harvest of oranges begins only after ten years of its plantation and after that, you need endless commitment and dedication to be successful,” added Manen.
The orange farmers of Salulamang have not only generated a lot of interest among the people but even the state’s horticulture department and other facilitators and research institutes frequently visit the village.
“These days, more people from other districts are moving back to the village to start their orange plantations,” they informed.
According to the villagers, the department of horticulture has performed various grafting and experiments and has even provided them with new seedlings. However, the villagers are yet to see the harvests as the plants are yet to mature and bear fruits.
“At the moment, we have not tasted the new seed and are not aware of what kind of variety it will be. But so far, we feel like our village is blessed because although the same seed from our farm is planted in a different village, it is not as sweet as it is in our village. So, the geo-climatic condition of our village is apt for us. We feel like the oranges in our village get sweeter as the years go by,” said an optimistic Akanglemba, calling it one of the biggest favors by God to the village.
