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Dimapur, Nov. 30 (EMN): Australia Consul-General Kolkata, Rowan Ainsworth, has expressed high regard and value on the working culture of tribal people and insisted that one needs to be sustained by such practices. She said that one should be able to adopt new technology-based methods to yield more outputs while preserving the old practices.
Ainsworth stated this during her visit to Merangkong village in Mokokchung district on November 29 to inspect the progress of direct aid programme (DAP). It is the first DAP project being implemented in Nagaland with funding support from the Australian Consulate.
The project ‘Improving food production through green technology’ under DAP is being implemented by Nagaland Development Outreach (NDO), a development wing of NBCC in convergence with the Divisional Management Unit under Nagaland Forest Management Unit (JICA funded) in Mokokchung district.
Stating that DAP programmes focus more on women empowerment for sustainable livelihood, she encourage the women folks to participate actively in the process, stated an update from NDO.
Dr. Sentitula, divisional forest officer of Mokokchung, expressed her gratitude to NDO and encouraged both the parties to go hand-in-hand to create more impacts in the future. She briefly highlighted the Nagaland Forest Management Project (NFMP) implemented in different villages under Mokokchung district. She has appreciated the Australian Consulate for giving the support to the villages in agricultural and horticultural activities.
Dr. Major. Mughavi Y Sema, NDO board chairman, has highlighted the role of NDO in community development and encouraged the communities to carry forward the project learning and intervention to other villages and also adapt the skills to remain self-sustaining, while the team leader of the Field NGO, Akumtoshi Longkumer, gave a short presentation on various activities undertaken in the project.
Rev. C Amop Noklang, NDO director, welcomed the Consul General and expressed his gratitude on behalf of all the stakeholders for their visit, while the chairman of Merangkong Village Council also expressed hope that their visit would provide valuable learning experience.
The programme was attended by members of Merangkong village council, JFMC, SHGs and other beneficiaries.
It mentioned that the one-year project targeted over 100 beneficiaries at Merangkong village with the main objective of achieving sustainability in the village by addressing food security, poverty and conservation. It is a community-based intervention where the JFMC, farmers and self-help groups were strengthened to take ownership in carrying forward the programme activities.