Nagaland needs ‘more attention’ for development — Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio

DIMAPUR— Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has contended that resource-crunch states like Nagaland need to be given more attention and privilege rather than imposing conditions to take up developmental activities.

The Chief Minister, who chaired a review meeting of Project FOCUS (Fostering Climate Resilient Upland Farming System in Nagaland) at his residence in Chümoukedima on July 10, highlighted the financial constraints of the state government owing to various challenges over the years.

The review meeting held with Han Ulac Demirag, Country Director of International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and Piyush Kanal, Country Programme Analyst, IFAD, was also attended by Mhathung Yanthan, Advisor of Agriculture; R Binchilo Thong, APC and Mission Director, FOCUS Nagaland; Kesonyü Yhome, Commissioner and Secretary to Chief Minister; and Dr. Jitendra Gupta, Additional Secretary, Agriculture, and State Project Director, FOCUS Nagaland.

While the FOCUS Project had difficult trajectory for some years and was categorised as ‘Chronic Problem Project,’ Rio however said that “with the concerted efforts of IFAD and the new project leadership, the project has not only moved out of the ‘Chronic Problem Category’ but also shown strong positive and promising trend which requires stronger and better support from IFAD and Government of India.”

The Chief Minister also urged upon officers working in externally-aided projects to be prompt in fund utilisation and submission of utilisation certificate.

Han Ulac Demirag apprised the Chief Minister about the turn-around of the project and improvement on all performance indicators in the past three quarters. Demirag informed that the bottle necks and problems have been resolved and the project has shown positive and promising trajectory in the past three quarters and that if the same trend continues, the project can achieve its targets.

The IFAD Country Director requested for timely release of pre-financing to the project so that the improved performance can be sustained for the remaining period of the project.

Committee for ‘Agriculture Land Use Policy’ constituted

Briefing on the market linkage required to fetch better prices for farmers, Advisor of Agriculture, Mhathung Yanthan highlighted that the state government is working towards a comprehensive Agriculture Land Use Policy for which a committee has been constituted with Sushil Patel as the convenor.

In this regard, Yanthan emphasised that all Agri and Allied departments should come out of the silos and work in tandem to avoid duplication and converge in empowering the farmers through integrated institutional mechanisms.

Binchilo Thong informed that with most of the issues resolved and a motivated team in place, the project has absorption capacity of INR 8 crore per month.

Dr. Jitendra Gupta highlighted the improvement in financial progress, physical progress and convergence from Agri and Allied departments.

Kesonyü Yhome said that the FOCUS Project has taken up initiatives for developing agriculture infrastructure, particularly in value chain and market linkage. If the project can come out with a model which serves the need of the state and can be replicated, it will be a great contribution of the project, he said.