How lemon groves turned Manipur’s Kachai into a citrus empire

Yangmiso Humao emerges from the bustling crowd at the village ground in Manipur’s Kachai with his usual sense of urgency. Every step he takes is premeditated, and there is little time to waste. “All the formalities and interactions that are part of organising the lemon festival aren’t something I’m cut out for. I’d rather be working hard at my lemon groves,” he quips, as we break away from the crowd that has gathered to celebrate the 21^st Kachai Lemon Festival. A short drive takes us to his grove, which lies on the western side of the village ground. Away from the cacophony of the festival, the mountains echo with the distant calls of great barbets and the cheeping of black bulbuls, who peer down at us from the wild walnut trees. 

Yangmiso eases up now; the deliberateness in his gait is gone. He walks between the trees—touching their barks, feeling their leaves, and plucking a few lemons from stray branches. His bond with the trees is unmistakable—rooted in care, instinct, and two decades of quiet devotion. It’s little surprise he’s counted among the finest lemon farmers in the village, and was awarded the ICAR Best Farmer from Manipur in 2023. The mountainside he has patiently transformed into a thriving grove unfolds along a gentle slope, dappled with thousands of sunlit lemons. From a distance, it feels as if autumn has arrived early in the village, a golden hush settling over this corner of the hill.

Yangmiso is just one among hundreds of farmers who cultivate lemons in Kachai, a small village in Manipur’s Ukhrul District. These lemons are believed to be among India’s finest—renowned for their exceptionally high ascorbic acid content and antioxidant-rich nature. Known locally as Kachai Champra, this variety of lemon also holds the distinction of being the first in the country to receive a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. 

The village’s unique microclimate and terrain has turned the fruit into the lifeblood of the local economy. Kachai experiences humid temperatures during the day, and fog and mist at nights and in the early mornings. Locals believe that the precipitation from the mist acts as drip irrigation for the lemons, enhancing their quality. The 500 household-strong village grows over 2,00,000 lemon trees, producing approximately 400 tonnes of lemon each year.

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The Shillong connection

Though they are grown and cultivated industriously in this small, unassuming village on NH 102, these lemons have roots in Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya. In 1947, S. Paisho, an early Christian pioneer from Thikhor Kachai encountered an accident that nearly blinded him in one eye. With his condition worsening and no immediate medical treatment available, Naga revolutionary leader and fellow missionary Suisa Rungsung offered to take him to Jorhat, Assam for surgery. But when the duo arrived, the doctors on duty refused their request, insisting that Paisho’s eye was beyond repair.

The 500 household-strong village grows over 2,00,000 lemon trees, producing approximately 400 tonnes of lemon each year.

Suisa, who was cognizant of the shifting political currents in North-East India on the eve of Independence—including debates on autonomy in the hill regions—decided to proceed to Shillong. Shillong was the administrative capital of then undivided Assam, which included the Naga Hills. Paisho followed Suisa, banking his hopes on a local healer.

To everyone’s astonishment, Paisho made a miraculous recovery. A local healer treated his eye with an indigenous herb. And when he returned to Kachai, he came back with more than just his sight.

Though they are grown and cultivated industriously in this small, unassuming village on NH 102, these lemons have roots in Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya.

Among the things he brought from Shillong were five lemon seeds, a gift from Suisa. These were seeds of the Khasi lemon—larger, juicier, and far more balanced in flavour than the wild Lam Champra (Citrus indica) that grew in Kachai. It was these seeds that quietly altered the course of the village’s future.

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When life gives you lemons—grow them!

Of the five seeds, two grew into fruiting trees. By the 1950s, the first fruits were harvested. Recognising the fruit’s potential, the villagers began planting lemon trees in their backyards. In 1976, the Kachai Fruit Farming and Processing Co-operative Society was formed by the villagers to unify and expand this endeavour. Every household in the village became a member of the society and was required to grow at least 50 lemon trees.

This spirit of community transformed Kachai into a lemon powerhouse, and demand for its lemons began to surge. Over time, support from the Manipur branch of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), through the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, empowered local Self Help Groups to explore value addition—enhancing income opportunities while also reducing fruit wastage.

“The great thing about the Kachai lemon is that there is zero waste. Every part of the lemon can be used for something, be it making pickles, candies, or extracting zest,” says Dr. Solei Luiram, a scientist at KVK (Krishi Vigyan Kendra), Ukhrul. 

Inheriting—and—building a legacy

Yangmiso also comes from a family of lemon farmers; his grandfather was among the village’s first lemon cultivators, and the family’s old grove is now maintained by him. In 2014, he started a new grove on the other side of the village which now had over 500 fruiting trees.

“Our grandfathers didn’t have these terraces in their groves,” he explains, sitting down at the edge of one of the terraces. “"Adding terraces to our lemon groves has helped in nutrient retention. The compost from a higher terrace is deposited onto the next, creating natural organic manure. It also makes it easier for us to harvest the lemons systematically,” he adds.

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This evolution in farming practices is just one of many techniques the farmers of Kachai have developed over generations to boost yields. In recent years, pest attacks and environmental changes have taken a toll on production. Subtle changes in the flowering and fruiting season of the lemons have made it harder for farmers to predict what’s to come. Yet, they remain undeterred—constantly adapting, whether through traditional knowledge or with scientific support and interventions provided by the State government and the Horticulture Department.

“Lemons are our livelihood and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure they continue to grow and prosper in our village,” Humao says with conviction. For him and many others, lemon farming is not just tradition—it is sustenance, pride, and the promise of a better future.

A return to the village and a glass of refreshing lemonade later, we met RK Mayasang, Chairman of the Kachai Fruit Farming and Processing Co-operative Society. Standing under the shade of a fruiting lemon tree, Mayasang reflects on the transformative power of the humble lemon. “There is so much optimism,” he beams, envisioning a future where Kachai, thanks to its citrus wealth, might one day boast the highest per capita income in Manipur.

As the sun sets over the western slopes of Kachai, bathing the village in a soft golden glow, one is drawn back to another moment in time—when, at the dawn of India’s independence in 1947, a man named Paisho quietly planted the seeds of Kachai’s economic freedom. With nothing but faith, hope, and five lemon seeds in hand, a future was sown that continues to bear fruit.

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