Meeting with FOCUS Nagaland team
FAO participated in a meeting with representatives of the Nagaland Government to discuss the ongoing FOCUS project in Nagaland on October 08, 2021. Lead by Mr. Tomio Shichiri, FAO Representative in India, a team of five members of FAO-India were invited to the Nagaland House, New Delhi to meet with Mr. Y. Kikheto Sema (IAS), the Agricultural Production Commissioner (APC) and Mission Director and his team of six members from the FOCUS-Nagaland project.
Mr. Y Kikheto Sema acknowledged FAO’s support to the FOCUS project in the State. Further support to the State, particularly in terms of capacity building of the officials for effective monitoring and evaluation; proper documentation and innovative planning and management of jhum agriculture was discussed. Mr. Tomio Shichiri expressed gratitude to the Nagaland team and also agreed to extend further support to the State.
The Nagaland government launched the “Fostering Climate Resilient Upland Farming Systems in the Northeast (FOCUS) project in 2017 to help small and marginal farmers overcome the challenges in agriculture. FAO has been providing technical assistance to the Governments of Nagaland under this project since 2019. Areas of technical assistance include: Sloping Agriculture Land Technology (SALT); soil and water conservation; terrace rice cultivation; agronomy; horticulture focusing on fruits and spices; and animal husbandry.
Funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), this project is being implemented in eight districts of Nagaland with the overall goal of increasing household agricultural income of 1,37,000 households and to enhance their resilience to climate change. The overall objective of this initiative is to strengthen capacities of government institutions and extension services in the State to support local communities.
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