LRD Staff of Dimapur, Kiphire and Longleng during the visit to rubber farm at Hezheto village under PMKSY-WDC Project VIII of Batch 5 Dimapur.
Dimapur, February 13 (MExN): With the objective of creating a platform to assess and gain better insight on the various methods and practices adopted by different districts while implementing watershed activities under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana- Watershed Development Component (PMKSY-WDC Erstwhile IWMP) programme, the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Dimapur district hosted Kiphire and Longleng district as a part of its inter-district tour programme on February 12.
Kiphire district was headed by Ahozhe Sema (Deputy Director LRD & district in-charge) and Longleng district was led by K Kughalu Chishi, District Project Officer (DPO). Both the officials were accompanied by six staff members from each district.
Bearing in mind the goal to enhance maximum utilization of potential generated by the various watershed activities and to maintain a consistent generation of income for households within a watershed area, this initiation transpired through a rigorous field visit made to selected Micro-Watersheds of ongoing projects in Dimapur district, a press release stated.
Led by Dimapur DPO, I Acato Chishi and his staff of 14 members took the visiting districts to Kiyezu ‘B’ and Hezheto village under PMKSY-WDC Project VIII of Batch 5.
The one day tour saw both visiting teams tirelessly trek through various plantation and soil and moisture conservation sites established under Natural Resource Management (NRM) at both villages. The activities inspected include plantation sites of Rubber, Arecanut, Lemon, Sandalwood, Yongchak, Coffee and Soil & Moisture conservation activities that included staggered trenches and water harvesting structures (WHS).
While under off-farming activities, the visiting teams engaged in interaction with beneficiaries under various Self Help Groups, Livelihood and Micro-Enterprise units. Qualified in various fields of expertise ranging from Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fisheries and MSW etc. the team members shared inputs on the observations made on each activity with the aim of bringing about room for improvement where needed and also addressing noteworthy practices which could be emulated at their respective Districts.
A brief demonstration on effective latex extraction was given by Kiphire DPO Ahozhe Sema at the rubber plantation site of Kiyezu ‘B’ village. During the demonstration, he laid stress on measures to prevent loss of rubber yield due to incorrect methods of rubber tapping which is a common error committed by many Rubber farmers in the State.
While conversing with members of Kiyezu ‘B’ community members, Longleng DPO K Kughalu Chishi laid stress on the importance of grabbing every income generating opportunity no matter how small the job was. He was of the opinion that a major chunk of low profile jobs were being ignored by Nagas which in turn brought huge benefits to non-local citizens settled in various parts of the State. He also appealed for their continuous support and cooperation towards the department which was pivotal for the smooth functioning and successful implementation of the project activities.
The tour concluded with a brief interaction with watershed community members at the village Rostrum (Entry Point Activity) of Hezheto village where I Acato Chishi (District Project Officer, Dimapur) applauded the active participation of the womenfolk in particular whose activities under various Self Help Groups thrived with great success. While highlighting this, he pointed out the womenfolk as being more active compared to their male counterparts when it came to making the most out of the Government sponsored schemes.
It may be mentioned here that as a part of this inter-district tour programme, Dimapur team will visit Kohima, Mon and Tuensang in the following week. Later, followed by Mon and Mokokchung districts visiting Dimapur as a part of their respective tour.
