Naga-integrated settled Farming project makes good headway

March 22, 2021 87 Views No Comment

Our Correspondent
Kohima | March 21

The first project of an innovative model of cluster agriculture development called Naga–integrated settled Farming (N-isF) is making a good headway in the Boke-Botsa area.

This model project in Boke-Botsa under Kohima district is for a period of 3 years covering a total area of over 786 acres.

Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio in his recent 2021-22 budget speech announced that similar projects will be taken to other districts as well.

To accelerate the project, the agri & allied department officials led by Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC), Y Kikheto Sema inspected the project site on March 20 and expressed satisfaction over the various activities being undertaken there.

The many components of this project includes organic input processing unit, fruit orchard, seed bank, commercial plant nursery, marketing hub, multi-purpose building, fish storage and facilitation centre, farm tools & machineries servicing centre, bench terrace expansion, agriculture processing facility, mustard oil processing unit, drying yard, feed storage, feed mill, rain water harvesting reservoir etc.

Farming activities to be taken up includes piggery, poultry, fishery, eri rearing, maize, soybean plantation, coffee plantation, bee keeping, etc.

The agri & allied departments which are to be involved in this project are Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services, Water Resources, Nagaland Bee Keeping & Honey Mission, Soil & Water Conservation, Fisheries & Aquatic Resources, Sericulture, Land resources.

Talking to media persons, Kikheto said that the project would boost the economy of the villagers and generate gainful employment to many. It will also increase livestock and agricultural production. He asserted that the project would facilitate better farming system as well as double cropping. It would also play an important factor for agro-tourism in the state.

N-isF Consultant Richard Belho maintained that the project is also an opportunity towards providing the eco-system for the upcoming generation.

He said the project at Boke-Botsa has been selected based on the topography and feasibility of the area. GPS mapping of the area has been done already, he said. “This is a study model for the government and it will be a test model for us,” Belho said.

Nagaland Fisheries & Aquatic Resources Director, Kevisa Kense informed that 161 fishery ponds have already been constructed.

Meanwhile, the Soil &Water Conservation Department has done vermi compost training and the Sericulture Department has conducted training and initiated plantations. A survey has also been conducted by the Water Resources Department.

ABOUT NAGA – INTEGRATED SETTLED FARMING

Towards achieving the goals of generating employment, remunerative farming and doubling farmers income leading to gainful employment and taking advantage of the rich social capital and considering all the prevailing factors of production, a model project called ‘Naga-Integrated Settled Farming’ (N-isF) has been designed after consultation with agri and allied departments.

This model has already started at Boke- Botsa under Kohima district and soon will be replicated in other districts.

The N-isF can be broadly defined as a business model towards revitalising the production system through integrated farming at the farmers’ fields even as a basic unit of production, further integrating associated activities and infrastructural support and organizing the farmers/producers into groups for aggregation of products with linkages to market. It aims to ensure a sustainable livelihood for the farmers and transforming the present subsistence agriculture to commercial and sustainable agriculture.

COVERAGE OF THE PROJECT
Total Area: 786 Acre
Agriculture Terrace: 153 Acre
Agriculture Banana: 10 Acre
Built-up settlement: 32 Acre
Forest Plantation: 27 Acre
Forest Open: 559 Acre
Water bodies- fishery pond: 3.7 Acre

Source: https://morungexpress.com/naga-integrated-settled-farming-project-makes-good-headway