Dr Vizokhonyü Yhome, District Project Officer, Kohima & Tseminyu test out the toll free helpline set up to address issues faced by farmers. (Morung Photo)
Farmers can use the helpline to learn crop practices, clarify doubts or enquire about seed supply etc.
Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | April 29
Giving a boost to the farming community, a toll-free helpline (+913707961144) for farmers of Kohima and Tseminyu has been set up by the District Management Unit of Kohima under FOCUS-Nagaland Project (Fostering Climate Resilient Upland Farming Systems in the Northeast-Nagaland). The toll-free helpline is envisioned to increase the efficiency and sustainability of their agricultural operations by addressing farming related queries and issues faced by the farmers in these two districts.
Speaking to The Morung Express, Dr Vizokhonyü Yhome, District Project Officer, Kohima & Tseminyu highlighted that farmers can make use of the toll-free helpline to learn about the package of practices for any crop, clarify their doubts or enquire about seed supply or fruits, etc.
With the availability of technical experts at the District Management Unit, he said, farmers can reach out for anything related to agriculture, horticulture, soil and water conservation, livestock or fishery. The helpline will also serve as a knowledge hub for the farmers as they can get expertise knowledge ranging from land preparation, seeding/sowing to pest and post-harvest management.
Yhome also impressed upon that while there are multiple schemes available for farmers today, there is a possibility that some schemes don’t reach people at the grassroots level because of bogus reports. In this connection, he emphasised that one of the objectives of the helpline is to maintain transparency as farmers can directly call the number and get first-hand information on any kind of assistance they can avail. Moreover, he said, the helpline will serve as a means for mass awareness on Project activities at the grassroots level.
Further highlighting that FOCUS also endeavours to ensure gender balanced intervention and improve gender relations in communities, he articulated that when it comes to government schemes, most of the time, it is availed by the menfolk.
In this regard, he said that women farmers would have the same opportunity to reach out for any queries they may have.
The toll-free helpline for farmers of Kohima and Tseminyu was formally launched by Neikhotuonuo, District Project Manager, FOCUS-Nagaland on April 25 at the District Management Unit, Kohima.
Mention may be made here that FOCUS-Nagaland is an externally aided project funded by the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) with the primary objective to gradually increase the Jhum cycle and eventually change it to Permanent Settled Farming. One of the interventions of the project is towards making agricultural practices more climate resilient, ecologically sustainable and economically rewarding.
FOCUS-Nagaland covers 645 villages spread across 9 districts of Nagaland namely, Mon, Longleng, Zunheboto, Wokha, Kiphire, Phek, Mokokchung, Kohima and Tseminyu and is being implemented by the Society for Climate Resilient Agriculture in Nagaland (SoCRAN).
