Mizoram government has urged the Fostering Climate Resilient Upland Farming System in the North East (FOCUS) to continue its efforts for the successful implementation of the project in the state. FOCUS is a project under a United Nations agency to improve the farming system by enhancing resilience to climate change and promote settled agriculture.
According to an official report, Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga discussed the matter with the officials of FOCUS on Monday regarding the “future action plan of the project”.
The report said the chief minister reminded FOCUS officials that “self-reliance is the top priority of the state government”.
The official report then said “FOCUS is a project taken up by a Rome (Italy) based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) of the UN through the government of India”.
It can be noted here that the “a plan for collaboration with the Mizoram government was started in June 2017 and the project agreement was inked in January, 2018”. The report added that Mamit, Kolasib, Champhai, and Serchhip are the four districts, which the project is being implemented.
It has been planned for the coverage of 11 blocks, 272 villages and 3, 22, 500 people from 64,500 households in four districts of Mizoram by FOCUS.
In Mizoram, a body called Society for Climate Resilient Agriculture in Mizoram (SCRAM) has been set up by the state government to implement the project. The state chief secretary is the chairman of SCRAM.
The project will target to increase agricultural income and enhance their resilience to climate change. “This would be achieved through the development objective of increasing the environmental sustainability and profitability of the farming systems practiced by the highland farmers of Mizoram,” the report added.
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