Our Correspondent
Kohima | August 20
Entrepreneurs Associates (EA) of Kohima, gradually becoming a household name, has generated meaningful employment for over 1700 Naga youths. “EA competently promotes its activities by creating market networks, provide micro finance and teaching business skills,” said EA’s chief executive officer Neichute Doulo at a press conference here today.
EA introduced inter-district trade in 2006 and promoted ginger products’ export from the state. It has also provided market linkages for banana growers, cardamom and kiwi fruits in the state since 2004. A farmer, Khutsoyi Nakro of Phek who grows kiwi fruits, harvested about Rs. 1, 80,000 worth in 2008. EA has partnered with the State Bank of India, ICCI, North East Development Financial Corporation (NEDfi), Axis Bank and from members’ savings to provide micro-finance to first generation Naga entrepreneurs and unemployed youths. EA secures loans from banks standing as guarantors for self-employed and unemployed youths in taking up income-generating activities.
It also provided micro-loans to thousands of farmers through Self Help Groups, church and VDB besides NGOs in Peren, Phek, Mokokchung, Dimapur and Kohima districts. In the last 9 years, EA has provided micro-loans to about 1200 individuals mostly in Kohima, Dimapur and Phek districts. “Although, about 30-35 % of the micro-enterprise which are mostly shops failed, EA is proud to have a recovery rate of about 80 % in the first quarter of 2009-10, and bask in the fact that 65-70 % of the micro enterprises are successful,” said Doulo. This has generated meaningful employment to more than 1700 Naga youths, he said.
EA has also taken up agri-business by adopting Phek district as a pilot district and has begun associating with farmers in 2004 for cultivation of potato and cabbage there.
Today, with loan support to hundreds of farmers, Phek district almost entirely supplies the state’s requirement for cabbages, it claimed. It also identified piggery as one potential agri-business. It revealed that one of EA’s entrepreneurs Hutazu Hoshi of Phek town is doing extremely well in piggery, fetching an annual income of over Rs. 2 lakh. His model has been used by EA to promote others as well, said Doulo. The EA has also taken up Mithun-rearing in 2006 which has yielded very good returns of at least 36% profit per annum. In 2007, it entered into a MoU with Jaipur Rugs to promote profitable livelihoods for both urban and rural women folk beginning with the rural areas by weaving carpets or rugs in the villages.
In 2008, EA intensified its engagement in agri-business by taking up intensive micro-orchards especially for fruits such as banana, kiwi, passion fruit and water plum. “Seeing the small success, EA had made in the field of kiwi since 2004, cardamom, banana, plum etc, we went around looking for support and partnership with state government, NGOs, central government and others.
Fortunately in October 2007, EA approached Nagaland University for quality planting seeds for banana, potato, water plum, Kiwi and cabbage seeds as NU has an agri-department,” Doulo said. However, as the NU agri department had no such facilities, the vice chancellor of NU invited EA to come to Delhi to talk with department of Bio-Technology. This led to participation of EA on the DBT mission for quality planting material production and utilization for the north east commencing from 31 December 2007 for 3 years period.
Under the mission, EA entered into a MoU with NU in May 2008 to identify farmers to plant the quality saplings provided by DBT in New Delhi through TERRI for the project. Under the mission, Nagaland is to plant 50 hectares of banana, 30 hectares of edible bamboo, 45 hectares of Khasi mandarin, 30 hectares of cardamom, 30 hectares of kiwi and 15 hectares of cashew to explore which crop will do well in Nagaland.
Based on the success, Doulo said NU or other agency that is equipped will take up the successful crop for wider expansion of the technology for farmers. However due to the unavailability of quality planting materials in Nagaland and lack of any planting material of quality saplings, the DBT has asked TERRI, the overall project investigator, to supply quality planting materials.
So far, the project in Nagaland has received 12000 Khasi mandarins, 1500 saplings of cashew nuts and 46,000 saplings of banana to be planted by farmers. Under the project, EA has mobilized 160 farmers spread in 9 villages. The farmers had planted 20 hectares of banana, 26 hectares of citrus and 15 hectares of kiwi and 10 hectares of bamboo. “We believe that after 5 to 7 years, Nagaland will be able to enjoy rich harvest of the planted micro orchards,” Doulo hoped.
EA also provides business skills training to unemployed youths and self-employed youths. During 2008-09, EA has trained 145 youths. Through the Women Studies Centre of NU, EA trained 28 students on business skills out of which five have taken up business activities. Through the generous support of the CM’s Corpus Fund 2008 of Rs. 5 Lakh, EA trained 117 unemployed and self-employed youths. The generated 90 persons taking up entrepreneurship and generating jobs for 121 people, Doulo said.
“Business opportunities are limitless and dreams are endless. We want this reality fulfilled in the lives of people, particularly young people,” Doulo said. For want of capital and skills, “we would not like our young people to shatter their hopes and dreams,” he added. “This is where we are fully committed to forge partnership with like-minded organizations who can complement and supplement our initiatives. Such partnership will have a meaningful impact in the lives of first generation entrepreneurs and the economy of Nagaland and that of the north east region of India at large,” he said.
Stating how changing the mindset of farmers from subsistence to entrepreneurial farming has changed their lives instantly, he said “this streak is also true with the educated lot in the urban areas. Therefore, forging partnership to promote entrepreneurship in Nagaland, by sagaciously venturing together in Micro finance will usher in a new future filled with development and economic growth in Nagaland.”
