Dimapur, May 10 (EMN): In order to enter the new financial year “with renewed vision and clarity of objectives,” the Nagaland State Rural Livelihoods Mission (NSRLM) is organizing a workshop on “Roll-out of Annual Actual Plan (AAP) 2017-18” for “its cutting-edge staff” on May 9 and the 10th in Kohima.
The workshop is a first of its kind for the state mission where the AAP’s objectives will be discussed in detail so that the staffers are equipped with the knowledge and resources “as it carries out the implementation of the year’s plan in line with the approved AAP,” a press release from the organisers stated on Tuesday.
Athel O. Lotha, additional secretary to the Rural Development department and mission director of the SRLM of Nagaland, delivered the keynote address. She appreciated the staffers for their ‘commendable efforts in achieving 80% of FY 2016-17 targets despite the financial challenges the state mission faced, according to the press release.
The official briefly highlighted the FY 2017-18 strategies: focus on intensive community mobilization for promotion of community institutions (self help groups / village level organisations in the 11 new ‘intensive blocks’; promoting and strengthening self help groups and higher-level organization and ‘intensive livelihoods interventions’ at resource and ‘intensive blocks.’
Further, it includes strategies such as enhancing capacity of human resource at all levels; strengthening community institution towards financial security through bank linkage and state specific innovative models; and strengthening program quality through quarterly monitoring and ‘field support visit’ to mission managements units by the state mission team.
Chief Operating Officer of programs M Rollan Lotha spoke about the objectives of the workshop. He said that community institutions such as selfhelp groups and village level organisations are the ‘core of DAY-NRLM.’
According to the press release, the state mission will continue to engage its resources to building enabling environments for the community institutions by complementing services that include financial and capital services, production and productivity enhancement services and platform, among others for partnership with various stakeholders.
It will do so by building an environment for the poor to “access their rights,” entitlements and public service thereby enabling them to enjoy a portfolio of sustainable livelihood, the press release stated.
The press release explained in one good length: “This platform will be created through the ‘5-7 years in a Block strategy’ wherein year 1 focus on intensive mobilization; promotion of community Institutions and developing community cadres (village facilitators and master bookkeepers); year 2-3 focus on promotion of higher level community institutions and livelihoods interventions (collectives / groups), innovations and resource diversification; year 4 focus on communitization of the program in the block; and year 5-7 focus on strategic exit implementation from the block.”
The speaker highlighted the objectives of FY 2017-18: strategies, activities, targets and expected outcomes.
District “functional specialists”, block program managers and area coordinators are taking part in the workshop from the 9 NRLM districts of Nagaland.
On day-2, the districts will be preparing plans with the state mission management unit and present it for discussions and future implementation, the press release added.
