Become entrepreneurs, Kikheto Sema tells youths from Nagaland

Our Reporter
Dimapur, July 9 (EMN): Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC), Y Kikheto Sema on Friday encouraged the youth to get into entrepreneurship, saying that there are schemes for local entrepreneurs and that the departments will assist as well.

The official was speaking during the launch of ‘Naturally Nagaland’ outlet at 4th Mile in Dimapur.

‘Naturally Nagaland’ is an initiative of the state government to promote organic agri and allied products from the state and provide a platform for local artisan to sell their produce like finest arts, crafts, handlooms etc. 

Sema said that employment in the state government sector has reached saturation level and scope in large and medium scale industries is also bleak. So, he said ‘we need to help our people in producing and selling their products’.

All the districts should initiate start-ups of local products and “we will try to channelise the people and at the same time we will help them and encourage them to sell outside the state and country,” he stated.

‘There will be some officers who will control the quality of each product by identifying the local processed products with their nutritional facts,’ he added.

Shedding more light on ‘Naturally Nagaland’, Sema said it was initiated by former Chief Secretary of the state, late Temjen Toy, who along with other officers went to Delhi in February last year and renamed the state’s sales emporium in BKS Marg, New Delhi to ‘Naturally Nagaland’.

The idea was to extend the required support to entrepreneurs by creating a market chain while also identifying indigenous and medicinal food products of the different districts and tribes, he said, adding that in this regard, the state government had rechristened the state emporiums in Delhi and Kolkata as ‘Naturally Nagaland’ emporium.

He shared that some entrepreneurs and companies have their own brands but ‘for those who cannot afford to have their own brand’, the state government has decided to help by letting them use the brand name called ‘Naturally Nagaland’.

“While promoting the Naturally Nagaland brand, the government will not derecognise those entrepreneurs who have already created their own brand and established an image in the market,” he clarified adding that all the established entrepreneurs can also participate in selling their own brand through the window, making it an umbrella organisation for all the brands.

Stating that there are three important aspects in life: culture and tradition, language, and our food habits, he said ‘we should not shy away from telling the world and to the other people that we are Nagas’.

He informed that another outlet will be opened in Kohima, and the two outlets in the state will be linked with the outlets outside the state. He went on to add that the government is planning to open outlets in Guwahati and Shillong in the future, saying that ‘many of our students are studying there and they will want to have our foods’.         

Anungla Phom, Additional Director DUDA, also shared that the government has created this marketing window so that farmers will keep growing. And there will be no problem with supply and demand, she added.

Assuring that the outlet belongs to the entrepreneurs of Nagaland, she invited them to participate and make ‘Naturally Nagaland’ their own.

Phom informed that entrepreneurs can sell their products in the outlet for free this year but will start charging INR 1000 per month as rent for every full shelf (rack) starting from next year and their products will be displayed at three locations — Delhi, Kolkata and Dimapur.

The products from the state that are current available include honey, bee wax balms, bamboo craft, bamboo charcoal briquettes, hydroger, ram pump, ginger axone pickle, tomato and tamarind pickle, prawn and pork pickle, karela krackle, dry fish, dried oyster mushroom, dried tomato, plum squash, ginger candy, dried large cardamom, dried canarium, fermented bamboo shoot, lemon grass tea, nutgall tea, gooseberry tea, roselle tea, kholar and soya powder, aromatic tea, aomah nutgall, sichuan and black pepper, rice beans, handloom and handicrafts products, toys and kitchen utilities.

The launch of the outlet in Dimapur was attended by Commissioner and Secretary Horticulture, Director Horticulture and Agriculture, Chief Engineer Water Resources, MD, NHDDC, project director NLRM, RD and other officers from Agri and Allied departments.