Naga Mircha Festival

The inaugural edition of the Naga Mircha festival was organized in Seiyhama village of Kohima district in Nagaland. Key facts The first-ever Naga Mircha (King Chilli) Festival 2022 was organized in the village hall of Seiyhama village in Kohima district. The event was sponsored by the Nagaland Horticulture Department. Last year, the Seiyhama village reported a total income of Rs.27 lakh through the cultivation of Naga Mircha and this year’s estimation of income from this activity is Rs.1 crore. It is one of the major provider for self-employment opportunities in the village. Of the 361 households in the Seiyhama village, 200 cultivate Naga Mircha, providing them with a sustainable income source. Each of these households are expected to earn a minimum income of Rs.60,000 to Rs.70,000 and large-scale cultivators are expected to earn nearly Rs.4 to 5 lakh this year. Income from the Naga Mircha cultivation has supported education of children. During the inaugural Naga Mircha Festival, Chief Minister’s Micro Finance Initiative was promoted. Chief Minister’s Micro Finance Initiative was launched by the Nagaland government to ease credit access required for undertaking economic activities in the agriculture and allied sectors, including MSMEs. Naga Mircha Naga Mircha is popularly known as Raja Mircha (King Chilli). It is one of top five hottest chillies on the Scoville Heat Units (SHUs) list. It received GI tag to Nagaland in 2008. It is also known as Bhoot Jolokia and Ghost pepper. It belongs to genus Capsicum of family Solanaceae. It is 60 to 85 mm long and has wrinkled skin. The spiciness of this species is 1,041,427 SHU.