The 4th Project Steering Committee meeting of Fostering Climate Resilient Upland Farming System in North East (FOCUS) – Nagaland was held on 12th August 2021 at the Secretariat Conference Hall, Kohima. 

Chief Secretary Nagaland, J Alam, IAS appealed the Agri and Allied Departments and all concerned departments to contribute towards making the FOCUS project a success.  He stated that the project has the potentiality to have a positive impact on the farmers across the State.

APC and Mission Director FOCUS, Kikheto Sema, IAS while giving a presentation on the project activities stated that project is designed to provide farmers with better jhum cultivation practices that will be both more productive and more sustainable, thus creating an ecological balance, enhancing resilience to climate change, and raising farmers' incomes, assist jhumia households to adopt alternative farming systems, particularly settled farming and support improved market access and value chain development as farmers move to more market-oriented production. The overall goal of the project is to increase agricultural income and to enhance resilience to climate change. This would be achieved through the development objective of increasing the environmental sustainability and profitability of farming systems practiced by highland farmers. He also thanked the Agri and Allied Departments for deputing able officers towards the successful implementation of the Project.   

Various agendas discussed at the meeting included inclusion of three new Districts in FOCUS project. With the creation of Noklak as a new district and with the World Bank projects in Tuensang and Peren having winded up during 2019-20, it was felt genuine to propose for inclusion of the three districts to FOCUS for the remaining three years of the project implementation. The Project Steering Committee agreed to submit the proposal for inclusion of the three districts to Department of Economic Affairs, GoI.

(Akummeren, IA)