47th SAKK ANNUAL CONFERENCE CONCLUDES

The 47th Annual Conference of the Sümi Aphuyemi Kiphimi Küqhakulu (SAKK) was held at Tüküliqa from January 11th-14th 2022, under the theme “Let us Reason Together”. Speaking at the closing function as Special Guest on Friday, the 14th of January 2022, Y. Kikheto Sema, IAS Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC) Nagaland stated that the theme for the session is most appropriate and befitting for the present situation of Nagaland in all fields.

Kikheto said that now is time for the people to check the balance sheet of our society. Stating that while the general public often blame the top leaders at social, political or religious fields, it is actually the followers who are often the instigators of divisions in the society.

He lamented that our society is divided by tribe, sub-tribe, clan, family, and we do not find Naga among the Nagas. To bring healing to our society, he urged the young people to focus and work as “WE” not “I”, not in tribal or clan or family lines, but as a community, together as Nagas, he added.

Kikheto also stated that Church Associations, social organizations (hohos, women, and youths), individual churches, etc. all have such annual, biennial and triennial conferences involving huge expenditure and asked about the output/outcome for spending so much. He said that these expenditures all have huge impacts on parents, leaders, bureaucrats, politicians, business persons, etc. and affects the economy of our society and our people. The APC said that it is time for the Naga society and the Sümi society in particular to limit all these conferences.

While explaining that most of the government schemes are now routed through direct benefit schemes and banking, the State Government is also seeking to approve and pass the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act, 2002) to enable young educated unemployed to avail schemes and loans etc and become entrepreneurs for economic development and sustenance. He urged the young educated unemployed to not only strive to get government jobs alone, but to identify their own strengths and the schemes or opportunities available and suitable for them and work towards availing assistance from the Government and become successful entrepreneurs.

Not only in entrepreneurship, but Kikheto also stressed that the young people can be agents to introduce modern farming methods in the rural areas and identify areas within their village cluster with water availability for settled farming in the model of Naga Integrated Settled Farming (NISF) which would incorporate modern technologies, soil testing, etc with traditional farming, and will include comprehensive inclusive farming – agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, sericulture, dairy and piggery, goatery, etc. He stated that the State Government will soon come up with Weather Station advisory to help the farmers be updated on weather conditions, which will help them be prepared to face any changes in weather.

He urged them to start planning a road map for a new Nagaland, where there is no division or isms, where people do what is right and just, where there is humility and respect, where clean elections happen, and where everyone works to eat.

                                                                                    (DIPR)