Kohima, March 23 (EMN): Newly formed People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) government led by the chief minister, Neiphiu Rio, has emphasised to improve and promote the agri and allied sector in the state.
In his budget speech at the first session of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly, Rio, who is the minister in-charge of finance, said the government guided by the Vision 2020 goal of achieving ‘Food for All’ would continue to focus on achieving food security through adoption of modern technology and adoption of an integrated approach to farming and putting in place critical infrastructure for transportation, storage and processing of products.
While pointing out on the task of bringing about commercial scales of production in the agri and allied sector in order to cater to the market demand, Rio cited that the constant growing market for organic produces can be exploited to our advantages and transform this area into a viable and profitable profession.
He was optimistic that youngsters would opt for farming related professions in the coming years. He also mentioned creation of job opportunities in the coffee plantation undertaken by the Land Resource department. Towards this, he assured that the government would do the best possible to create an enabling climate.
Rural livelihood programmes
In the rural development sector, Rio said his government priority would be to transform and elevate the lives of all rural people with gainful employment.
Rio said implementation of MNREGA would ensure not only job creation but also results in durable community assets. He assured that rural employment would further be supplemented through skill development and rural livelihoods programmes by having convergence with schemes that promote arts and crafts, animal husbandry, poultry and piggery.
He also mentioned that online marketing of handloom and handicraft products would help augment the income of rural households.
IFAD approved project amounting to INR 612.43 cr
The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) has approved the project “Fostering Climate Resilient Upland Farming System in Nagaland” (FOCUS) amounting to INR 612.43 crore for a duration of six years.
Informing this, Rio said the project would commence from April 1, 2018, till March 2024 with a window for further extension. The project, he said, aims to improve the present agriculture system, promote permanent settled agriculture, create an organic marketing value chain and undertake forest conservation activities.
Nagaland Forest Management Project (NFMP)
In the forest sector, Rio said the Nagaland Forest Management Project (NFMP) has been approved for funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The project cost, he informed is estimated at INR 533 crore, which would be implemented in 185 villages of 22 selected forest ranges in 11 forest divisions covering all the districts of the state.
He also informed that the department is also in the process of finalising negotiations for a “Biodiversity and community conserved area management” project, which would be funded under the Indo-German Financial Cooperation Project. This project, he said would cover 70 villages in six districts over a period of seven years starting from 2018-19.
