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Millet cultivation is being revived in Kezoma, a Nagaland village near Kohima, where the 2nd Kezoma Millet Festival showcased the crop’s economic and nutritional potential.
Over 2,000 kg of freshly harvested millets and organic produce were sold through 23 stalls, involving 36 cultivating groups.
Officials highlight millets’ climate resilience, suitability for hilly terrain and role in boosting rural incomes.
Millet cultivation is seeing a revival in a small Nagaland village of 2,000 people located about 40 kilometres away from state capital, Kohima, officials told Down To Earth (DTE) recently.
The 2nd Edition of the Kezoma Millet Festival conceptualised and organised by the Kezoma Village Council, in collaboration with the state agriculture department, was held in the village on August 26, 2026.
Kedivi Mekro, secretary of the organising committee, told DTE that over 2,000 kilograms of ready-to-eat millets had been sold by the farmers of Kezoma.
Mekro further informed that the millets sold at the festival on August 26 were freshly harvested in July. He also noted that there were around 36 groups in the village (individual, family, self-help groups, church and other institutions) cultivating millets.
On August 26, 23 different stalls were set up to sell organic produce and wild foraged items which are available in the season or exclusively available only in Kezoma.
A member of the Ravo group said they were around eight families who came together this year to undertake millet cultivation. “Last year, the outcome of the festival was overwhelming. Not a single grain of millet was left and it was a good source to generate income. Therefore, we came together to cultivate it.”
“It is labour-intensive although it is only about three months of work. We toil hard, but there are many benefits in turn to cultivate this crop,” Nozo, a farmer, highlighted.
For instance, millets are fast-growing and the yield is high, and we can undertake double farming on the same jhum field, the farmer added. Jhum is the slash-and-burn mode of cultivation traditionally practiced across Northeast India.
Around Rs 14 lakh was generated at the end of the 1st edition, organisers said. This year, the projection is higher although the exact figure could not be obtained as organisers are preparing their data.
A kilogram of millet is sold at Rs 300. On a rough estimate, with over 2,000 kilograms of millets, organic produce, and prepared food items sold, sales are expected to be good.
Vitsu, who was attending the festival from the neighbouring village, stated that he has visited ever since Kezoma residents started organising the festival.
“I and my wife are diabetics. I have bought 10 kg last year and have come back to refill my stock,” the attendee said.
In Kezoma, yellow foxtail millet is common and highly preferred for its rich glutinous texture.
Mekro said to ensure that everyone gets to buy millets, the Kezoma Village Council also reserved 5 kg millet each for any visitor who had not been able to buy it from the stalls.
Nagaland’s Agriculture Production Commissioner and Secretary, Agriculture and Land Revenue, Zasekuolie Chusi, told DTE that millets have adapted to and survived in difficult terrain like the slopes of Nagaland, where other crops have not thrived.
Chusi said the importance of millets had resurfaced globally and assumed particular significance for Nagaland because of their climate resilience.
Millets can withstand drought-like conditions, irregular rainfall, heat and poor soil, while their relatively short maturity period and low input requirements make them suitable for cultivation in the state’s hilly and marginal lands.
Certain millet varieties, he added, can also be cultivated more than once a year and expressed optimism over Kezoma adopting the same.
He observed that many Nagaland villages were gradually abandoning paddy cultivation as it was no longer considered economically viable. According to Chusi, the question was whether farmers were making the best use of their time and available land by exploring alternative and complementary agricultural or other activities.
The official called for an improvement in farming techniques through the appropriate integration of traditional knowledge and modern technology and machinery. The objective, he said, should not be limited to self-sufficiency but should focus on building sustainable livelihoods and a stronger rural economy.
Chusi said he had been informed by the organising committee that drought conditions were a recurring phenomenon in Kezoma village and its vicinity. However, the introduction and cultivation of millets had helped improve farmers’ incomes, with some reporting that their earnings had doubled.
Kohima District Agriculture Officer, Kekhrieletuo Yhome, said Kezoma had been a torchbearer in adopting and implementing various programmes and improved farming practices introduced by the agriculture department.
He highlighted the village’s success in the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), under which about 98 per cent of its paddy cultivation has been brought under the SRI method. The adoption of double-cropping practices, he added, had also enabled farmers to generate additional income from their agricultural land.
Yhome said the department had, in turn, extended support to farmers through the provision of agricultural machinery. With millet cultivation being undertaken on a larger scale in the village, threshing and milling machines had also been provided, considering that these processes are among the most labour-intensive stages of millet cultivation.