Australia Consul-General Kolkata Rowan Ainsworth during her visit to Merangkong village under Mokokchung district on November 29.
Mokokchung, December 1 (MExN): Australia Consul-General Kolkata Rowan Ainsworth visited Merangkong village under Mokokchung district on November 29 last to inspect the progress of Direct Aid Program (DAP) in the village.
The Nagaland Development Outreach (NDO), the Development wing of NBCC in a press release stated that it is the first DAP project being implemented in Nagaland with funding support from the Australian Consulate.
The project ‘Improving Food Production through Green Technology’ under DAP was implemented by Nagaland Development Outreach (FNGO) in convergence with the Divisional Management Unit, Nagaland Forest Management Unit, JICA Funded, Mokokchung District, it stated.
The one-year project targeted over 100 beneficiaries at Merangkong village with the main objective of achieving sustainability in the village by addressing food security, poverty and conservation. It was a community-based intervention where the JFMC, farmers and Self-Help Groups were strengthened to take ownership in carrying forward the programme activities.
During the visit, Rowan Ainsworth, Australia Consul-General Kolkata said that she highly regard and value the ‘working culture of tribal people, yet one need to be sustained by such practices.’ “Hence, while preserving our old practices, one should be able to adopt new technology-based methods to yield more outputs,” she stated. Ainsworth said that their DAP programmes focus more on women empowerment for sustainable livelihood and further, encouraged the women folks to participate actively in the process.
Dr Sentitula IFS, Divisional Forest Officer, Mokokchung encouraged both the parties to go hand in hand to create more impacts in the future.
She briefly highlighted the Nagaland Forest Management Project (NFMP) implemented in different villages under Mokokchung District and appreciated the Australian consulate for giving the support to the villages in ways of agricultural and horticultural activities.
Dr Major Mughavi Y Sema, NDO Board Chairman highlighted the role of NDO in community development and encouraged the communities to carry forward the project learning and intervention to other villages and also adapt the skills to remain self-sustaining.
Team Leader of the Field NGO, Akumtoshi Longkumer gave a short presentation on the various activities undertaken in the project.
At the welcoming programme, Rev C Amop Noklang, NDO Director and Merangkong Village Chairman expressed gratitude for the visit and the project. The programme was attended by members of village council Merangkong, JFMC, SHGs and other beneficiaries.
