Khonoma village adopted for women centric local garlic cultivation

November 13, 2024 5 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Kohima | November 13

Minister for Women Resource Development & Horticulture, Salhoutuonuo Kruse on Tuesday launched the “Myki village adoption initiative” (TMVAI) of Transformative Livelihood Intervention (TLI) Project during 2024-25 at Khonoma village.

A women-centric initiative spearheaded by the Department of Women Resource Development, this project aims to empower women from all backgrounds by supporting specific sustainable livelihood and income generating activities.

As a pilot phase, Khonoma village was chosen with focus on sustainable income-generating activities, especially local garlic cultivation. Under this project, 30 women beneficiaries have been selected wherein seed money was handed over to the women by the Minister on the occasion.

Highlighting the various programmes aimed at empowering women and girls undertaken by the department, Kruse said Khonoma village was adopted focusing on local garlic plantation, as the village is known for its long standing garlic cultivation practices.

She maintained that through this project which aims to assist and promote women to take up sustainable livelihood activities, it will not only enhance the local economy but will also enhance their skills and resources and maximize the yield.

Kruse urged the beneficiaries to embrace this opportunity and wholeheartedly participate by giving their best efforts to harness the power of agriculture to uplift the community.

TLI Project is the core activity of the department, supporting various livelihood and skill development programmes. Through TLI, the department is implementing diverse livelihood activities to uplift women from both rural and urban areas, Zhothisa Dawhuo, Commissioner & Secretary stated in his introductory speech.

Dawhuo said the programme aligns with the government’s “One District, One Product” policy by introducing a “One Village, One Product” approach, encouraging villages to focus on large-scale production of a specific crop, enhancing their capacity to supply locally and export within the state as well as outside.

He informed that a committee has been formed to oversee the planning, implementation, and monitoring of these activities, including department officials, three representatives of village women leaders, and one representative each from the village council and the village youth organization.

While the initiative emphasizes on supporting local women entrepreneurs in establishing garlic cultivation as a sustainable livelihood activity, Dawhuo informed that training, skill development and up-skilling programmes will also be provided to the beneficiaries.
Further, to celebrate and promote this initiative, a ‘Garlic Festival’ is proposed to be held in Khonoma Village.

He also informed that a long-term objective of this programme is to set up proper and adequate infrastructure for village women to sustain their activities, including product marketing. Encouraging healthy competition between the beneficiaries, Vilone Sakhrie, Director WRD viewed that this will not only be beneficial for the women but the whole village.