Phainuam is a village of about 300 houses with a population of 1832. The village is situated between two rivers which have a huge contribution in their livelihood.  The major sources of income in the village are from river fishes, water snail, arecanut, broomstick and agarwood. Arecanut cultivation started around 2012 from NLUP funds. At around the same time, cultivation of oilpalm started, unfortunately the palm trees are cleared due to difficulty in raw material collection, high labour costs and low income generated.

The farmers have a common practice of making a half moon terrace in their farms. This helps in better percolation of rainfall into soil, slope stabilisation and soil conservation. Half-moon terracing is a necessity as the agricultural fields depend on monsoon rains as their source of water.

As per the report of respondent, Phainuam and Saihapui V are the only places in Mizoram where agarwood trees thrive well.

The farmers from the village produce surplus brinjal, water snail, tumbu that are sent and sold in other markets.

Needs:

1. Awareness program on the value and pricing of agarwood – The farmers have no knowledge on the market value of agarwood and pricing of the raw materials they grow. The rates are fixed by the merchants from mainland India and the farmers have no control on the price. Awareness program on the utilisation, value addition, and pricing of raw materials is a necessity.
2. Research in Agarwood infection and training on artificial infection.