Khonoma, November 1 (MExN): The three-day capacity building training at Khonoma came to a close on November 1. The training is an initiative by Pabhoi Greens (PG) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which aims to help women farmers on ‘Sustainable Agricultural Practices,’ a press release informed on Monday.
PG is a farmhouse based in Assam which over the years has grown to become an organic seed production, besides dealing in fish, rice, animal rearing, vegetables, and other social and educational activities.
Neelam Dutta, Managing Director (PG) shared his dream on how he wanted Khonoma to become the first seed bearing village in the state and maintained that the climatic situation is well suited for it. As per the release, he shared his hope that the younger generation would step up and take up farming on a larger scale while taking all measures to ensure that the produce are purely organic. He shared how for the last five years, he has been working for seed sovereignty in the village. He appreciated and thanked the village for the love and trust that he has been bestowed with, over the years.
Dutta claimed that there are various hazards with the crops available in the market and that everything is just too tailored, devoid of its pure natural characteristics. He thus, called upon the farmers to make sure that they keep their produce, purely organic. He called upon the farmers to come together, and maintained that institution/community building is very important. He expressed his optimism that the seed production and packaging will go a long way in building the economy of the village, according to the press release.
District Horticulture Officer S Senka Jamir shared his optimism that the village was very suitable to undertake agricultural pursuits especially in terms of economical undertakings. He maintained that in today’s world, almost everything is adulterated and that, it is the cause of low immunity and fatigue. He also shared that Khonoma is blessed with natural beauty and rich resource, and there is much scope for agro-tourism. “Where there’s forest, there is wealth. Don’t cut your trees,” he said. He maintained that land is wealth and to strive for eco-sustainability. He also expressed his happiness that the workshop deals on seed-packaging, given that seeds are very expensive. He urged the young people to take up seed production seriously, as the village has the perfect weather condition. He lamented that there is no seed production still in the state, but expressed his optimism that Khonoma will rise up and meet the demands of the state and even beyond.
Jamir also urged the people to take up honey production, natural mushroom production, and soilless seeds production. He further urged the young farmers to focus on high value, less volume and less perishables.
Zapusazo, an agripreneur from Mezoma also shared his experiences on the practicalities and lessons, he learnt over the years through his farm. He maintained that ‘community farming’ is much needed when it comes to meeting the demands of the market. He urged the farmers to not resort to using fertilizers and said that farmers should strive for organic and shared methods on how to deal with pest menace. He shared his hope that the western Angami region would come to be an ‘agri-corridor’ meeting the demands of the market.
Rovizono Meru and Anjana Daimari, both horticulturalists and staff of PG demonstrated on nursery practices and bed preparation.
It may be mentioned here, that Pabhoi Greens has led the way in organic heirloom seed production in the entire NE India and is actively engaged in helping farmers to achieve seed sovereignty by sharing knowledge across different ethnic communities, the release stated.
