FISHERY FOR PROSPERITY

Compiled by Raingam Singlei, Community Co-Ordinator, MANNA Partner NGO, NERCORMP, Ukhrul

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ISSUE 1JUNE, 2013I

Newsletter of the North Eastern Region Community Resources Management Project for Upland Areas (NERCORMP) - A joint project of North Eastern Council (NEC), Government of India and International Fund for Agricultural Development [IFAD].

An active community organiser, A.S.Somi from Lungshang NaRM-G, Lungshang village lives with his family of nine

members, and is a beneficiary of fishery pond from the project. Prior to taking up fish farming, the family solely depended on

paddy and vegetables from the fields for their livelihood. The income was not sufficient to raise a big family like his.

With initiation from the project team, Somi took

interest in fish culture although he had not much

knowledge or skill on fishery. Initially, he undertook

fingerling culture, but it was not much of a profit for him.

In course of time, he got the opportunity of training in

fish farming (feeding and breeding) at the Indian

Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), Lamphelpat,

Imphal, and later took up aquaculture as his full time

profession. With a support of Rs 1,00,000 (in

instalment of Rs 50,000 each) given to the NaRMG

Cluster by the project for expansion of the fishery

pond, he added up his own contribution and

constructed three more fishery ponds of the sizes-

200'x68', 200'x80' and 50'x60'. He now has around 10

lacs of fingerlings in these ponds and has become an

expert in fish farming in the community. In the recent years, he could earn a profit of Rs 1,20,000/- and Rs 60,000/- approx by

selling the fish and also the fingerlings and expects that the profit will go up in years to come.

Somi in his fish pond

Fishery pond of Somi

knowledge and experiences with his communities. He is locally regarded as KINGFISHER (expert in fish farming) of the project.

Somi expresses his gratitude to the project and says “I will always remain grateful to the project for the opportunity provided

to me to improve my livelihood options and also for the support in making me capable to share the knowledge of fish farming with

my communities”.

Somi's journey to a successful fish farmer was not

an easy road, without much knowledge and

background on fish farming; the initial years were

difficult. Non availability of feeds, like oil cake etc. was

a big challenge as he had to travel to Imphal, the

capital city in Manipur to procure the feeds.

The hard work and dedication of Somi has paid off

well, he has also taken up other activities like poultry,

duckery, kiwi plantation and also vegetable

gardening. These activities has enabled him to

enhance his source of income as well as provide food

security and nutrition to the family. But fish farming

remains his passion and he had now become a

community resource person (CRP) and shares his

From the desk of the Managing Director

North Eastern Region Community Resources Management Project for Upland areas (NERCORMP) is a joint livelihood project of Ministry of DoNER, NEC- Government o f Ind ia and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations.

The overall objective of NERCORMP is to improve the livelihood of vulnerable groups in a sustainable manner through improved management of their resource base in a way that contributes to preservation and restoration of the environment.

The project is now in its second phase and is operating in six districts of the region covering Manipur, Meghalaya & Assam.

The NE Highlander is a Quarterly newsletter of NERCORMP. As publishers of this newsletter, we hope that it will be able to enrich the readers with new ideas and enthusiasm.

The NE Highlander is for free circulation. Readers are invited to contribute their views, articles, letters and photographs etc.

Chief Editor: Mr. L. Baite, MD,NERCORMP

Editors : Mr. K.H. Singh, Director (Admin) Dimple S. Das, Comm. Officer

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Dear Readers,

We have successfully concluded our assigned responsibilities

for the financial year 2012-13. I convey my gratitude to all officers and

staff of NERCORMP for their support and dedication. The project is

progressing in the right perspective as evident from the recently

completed Mid Term Review (MTR) held during the month of April-May

2013. The project team has also been able to impart trainings to the

project beneficiaries, carry out exposure visits and successfully

organised NEAT Fest's in the respective districts and also in Shillong.

Our dream of NERCORMP-III to be extended to Arunachal

Pradesh and its expansion to two new districts of Manipur was cleared

by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) of the Government of th

India on June 27 , 2013. With the inclusion of Arunachal Pradesh,

NERCORMP will now be operating in four states of the region. As the

project ventures into a new state and new districts, the team will need

to show greater dedication and devotion to meet the new challenges. I hope the readers will enjoy this issue of the NE Highlander. We

will be happy to receive suggestions for future improvement of this

newsletter.

L. Baite, IFS

Managing Director

WELCOME

NERCORMPwelcomes

Shri Ameising Luikham, IAS,Secretary,

North Eastern Councilas the new CHAIRMAN

of NERCORMP

Published by NERCORMP, 1st Floor, Sympli Building, Dhankheti-Malki,

Shillong-793001, Meghalaya.Phones: +91(364) 2500495,2500497

Fax: +91(364) 2500027Website : www.necorps.org

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Minor Forest Produces

The annual SHG Trade Fair of NERCORMP “Neat Fest” was held for the fifth

consecutive year from 21st to 24th of May 2013 at the All Saint's Cathedral

Hall, Shillong. The theme for this year was “Showcasing value added minor

forest produces of North East”. The Self Help Groups (SHGs) from all the six

project districts of NERCORMP showcased different types of value added

minor forest produces, besides other farm and non-farm products. The

products were displayed and marketed under the brand name “neat” (North

East Agro-business Trade).

The NEAT FEST was inaugurated on the 21st of May 2013 by Shri Ameising

Luikham, IAS, Secretary, North Eastern Council, Shillong, Shri J. Lhungdim,

Planning Adviser, NEC and Shri G. K. Chin, Financial Adviser, NEC attended as Guests of Honour in the inaugural function.

Shri Hrishikesh Singh, Director (Administration), NERCORMP, presided over the function. The program was also attended

by the staff of NERCORMP, senior officers from the North Eastern Council,

district project teams, representatives from various agencies like NeDFi,

NERAMAC, NSIC and others. The Chief Guest in his inaugural speech said

that “it is an effort to bring about regeneration of the rural economy with the

active participation of the rural people”, and praised the activities of the

project for improving the quality of life in the rural

areas and for developing entrepre neurship

among the people. He further stressed

that “there is a need to create more

awareness in order to develop and

market the indigenous products of

the North East region”.

Shri P.B.O.Warjri, Addl. Chief

Secretary, Govt. Of Meghalaya

chai red the va led ic tory

function on 24th May 2013

and a l so d i s t r i bu ted

mementos and prizes to

the participating teams.

Knowledge

Sharing

SessionsAn interaction and knowledge exchange

session was held on the 22nd of May 2012,

led by Ms. Dimple S. Das, Communication

Officer, NERCORMP and the documentation

team from NESFAS, Shillong. The project staff

from the districts, shared on the different ways of bee

keeping practiced by the communities in their respective

districts. The participants also discussed the efforts of the Project

and communities in conservation of crops like Millet, Job's tears

(Chinese pearl barley) that is losing its popularity among the

communities.

A Community to Community (C2C) interaction session was held on

the 23rd of May 2013. Community members from all the project

districts of NERCORMP participating in NEAT FEST 2013, took part

in this forum, wherein discussions were held on “minor forest

produces of the North East”, keeping in view the theme of the NEAT

encouraging to see that the communities across three states were

Chief Guest Inaugurating the NEAT FEST and inspecting the stalls

2013

World Biodiversity Day 2013

World Bio-diversity day on the theme “Water and

Biodiversity” was observed on the 22nd of May 2013

during the NEAT FEST. The communities from the

project districts shared their experiences and efforts

for biodiversity conservation in their villages. Shri Toki

Blah, former PCDS of NERCORMP also encouraged

the communities to preserve the rich biodiversity of

the region. Mr Mihin Dollo, Coordinator (NR),

NERCORMP, delivered a short talk on biodiversity of

the North East and the efforts taken up by the project

to conserve the rich flora and fauna of the region

through Community Conserved Areas. The session

ended with closing remarks from Shri Hrishikesh

Singh, Director (Admin), NERCORMP.

Visit of Prof. Amar Nayak

Prof Amar KJR Nayak, Professor of Strategic Management, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar and Chair

Professor, NABARD visited NERCORMP on 30th May 2013 and held discussions with the officials on the prevailing natural

farming practices and the status of producers companies (both farm and non-farm enterprises) in the North Eastern Region.

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Communities interacting during the Community to Community (C2C) interaction session

keen on learning and sharing knowledge about their forest produces that are not available in other villages. Organic tea

growers from Meghalaya also took part in the interaction and shared their experiences and challenges. The communities

also came together and shared about the various traditional cuisines that they had showcased during the neat fest, as it was

one of the major attraction during NEAT FEST 2013.

Adapt Himal

WorkshopOne Day Consultation workshop

on Mapping Impact Pathways for

Adapt Himal Project entitled

“Livelihoods and Ecosystem

Services in the Himalayas:

Enhancing Adaptation Capacity

and Resilience of the Poor to

Climate and Socio economic

Changes”, was held on June 7,

2013 at ICIMOD Conference Hall,

Kathmandu, Nepal.

Shri Mihin Dollo, Coordinator

(NR), NERCORMP attended the

one day workshop held in

Kathmandu, Nepal.

The goal of the Adapt Himal project

is to reduce rural poverty and

increase the resilience of the rural

p o o r t o t h e c h a n g i n g

environmental and socioeconomic

situations in the mountain areas of

the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH)

region. As the TAG project with

NERCORMP is ending by June

2013, ICIMOD organised the

workshop with implementing

partners to (i) map impact

pathways and (ii) to prepare the

impact pathway for the next phase.

Mid-Term Review of NERCORMPThe Mid Term Review (MTR) for

NERCORMP-II was carried out

by the International Fund for

Agricultural Development nd(IFAD) from April 22 to May

th10 , 2013. The MTR team

composed of Mr. Deep Joshi as

the Team Leader, Dr. Vincent

Darlong, Mr. A.M. Alam, Ms.

Saleela Patkar, Mr. Pratul Dube

and Mr. Susanta Nanda. The

MTR team was divided into

three teams, where each team spent three days in each district covering more than 36

villages across the 6 districts of NERCORMP. The team reviewed activities of

livelihood, social sector development, village planning & convergence, management

& rural infrastructure, community institutions, gender, capacity building, rural finance,

financial management, procurement & audit and community biodiversity thconservation. The wrap up meeting of the MTR was held on May 9 , 2013 at the

conference hall of the NEC Secretariat, Shillong. The meeting was Chaired by the

Chairman, NERCORMP & Secretary, NEC and attended by Managing Director,

Sector Heads and Project Managers of NERCORMP. The project was given an

overall rating of 5 out of a maximum 6.

Celebration on World Environment Day (5th June, 2013 ) In Project Districts of

NERCORMP

West Khasi Hills :

West Garo Hills :

Karbi Anglong:

The NaRMGs of Mawranlang and Tiehtaliar villages

under NERCORMP organized a plantation drive with the school children

and the community members.

The World Environment Day was

observed at Rongbretgre village on 5th June 2013. A

drawing competition on environment was also organized for

the school children. The day was commemorated by planting

of trees by the children and the communities.

The Department of Forest and

NERCORMP- Karbi Anglong jointly organized an

environmental awareness programme. Students from

different schools in Hamren participated in the programme

on the World Environment Day and also took up awareness procession.

Later, fish spawns were released in the rivulet that passes through the town

and saplings were distributed to the students, to plant around their own homes

and surroundings.

UKHRUL

Capacity Building Training to S H G l e a d e r s a n d I W M P (Integrated Watershed Management Programme) Committee

Inauguration of Inter Village Road at Lairam Phungka

Inauguration of Common Facility Centre (CFC)

The District Team of NERCORMP Ukhrul District conducted a series of capacity building programmes for the SHG leaders and committee members of the IWMP programme 14th May to 27th of May 2013, in Ukhrul, Manipur.

NERCORMP -Ukhrul District constructed a 3 km long IVR at Lairam Phungka village at a total cost of Rs. 4.2 lacs. An amount of Rs.2 lacs was supported by the projects and the remaining amount of Rs. 2.2. Lacs was contributed by the community. The IVR was inaugurated on 29-05-2013 by Shri. Shyamchandra Sharma, SDO, Kasom Sub-division, Ukhrul District, Manipur.

The Common Facility Centre (CFC) constructed at Kharasom Lazo by NERCORMP Ukhrul District was inaugurated by the Project Manager, Shri. Tychicus Vashum on 31-05-2013.

DIMA HASAO

SENAPATI

5th June 2013: A meeting on Policy Assessment of NERCORMP was held under the Chairmanship of Shri

Hitendro Kr. Baruah (ACS), Principal Secretary (T) North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) &

Chairman, NCHCRMS at Circuit House, Haflong. It was attended by the PHE, Forest, DRDA, Sericulture and

PWD departments' along with the NeDFi Consultants and discussed about the possibilities of convergence

issues at district level.

6th June 2013: The Project Manager, Business Development Officer

and the Institutional Development Organizer of NERCORMP-

Dima Hasao attended the Autonomous Council Review

Meeting at the Conference Hall of NCHAC in the district

headquarter, Haflong.

NERCORMP-Senapati participated in the

trade fair organized by the District

Industries and Commerce (DIC) from 14-

16 May 2013 at Kanggui Village under

Sadar Hill Autonomous District

Council of Manipur.

The jointly organized three day

fair was a step towards

convergence between the

project team and the

District Industries

and Commerce

department.

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NEAT FEST HELD AT WEST GARO HILLS The annual NEAT Fest 2013 at district level was held on the 4th and 5th April, 2013 in SMELC

campus, Tura, West Garo Hills. The theme was “Colors of Celebration” as it was for the first

time the Koch and Hajong tribes of Garo Hills participated.

The two day fair was inaugurated by Shri Pravin Bakshi, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, West

Garo Hills, and Chairman of - WGCRMS.

Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Natural Resource Management Groups (NaRMGs),

Cluster groups formed by NERCORMP participated in the fest exhibiting their

indigenous food and jhum products. Besides handloom and handicraft products,

Aloe Vera products and Durama tea, were some significant products exhibited

during the fair. Various line departments of West Garo Hills also participated in

the two day fair adding more festive colors of celebration to the programme.

Training of Master Trainers on Apiculture

The community members from West Garo Hills selected to take up Apiculture

under the convergence scheme of NERCORMP and the Integrated Basin

Development & Livelihood Promotion Programme (IBDLP) of Meghalaya

attended a training programme on Apiculture at the University of

Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Bangalore, from 5th -14th April 2013. The

team was accompanied by Ms Reena Thokchom, Business

Development Officer, NERCORMP-West Garo Hills.

The participants who attended the training were certified as Master Trainers by

the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore at the end of the programme.

These master trainers will be responsible for training and motivating other bee

keepers in Garo Hills to adopt the modern technology of Bee keeping.

The team had a Community to Community (C2C) interaction with Bee farmers in

Coorg (Karnataka) and also visited honey outlet run by the Bee Keeper's Co-

op. Society Ltd, S.K. Bee Keepers at Puttur, Karnataka.

A two day follow up programme was also held at RRTC, Umran, Meghalaya

where the participants were introduced to low cost scientific bee hives that are

made using locally available materials. Practical demonstration of making mud bee

hives, that can be done by using locally available materials was also demostrated and

introduced to the participants. Submitted by Ms. Reena Thokchom, BDO, NERCORMP-West Garo Hills

The trainees at the colony site

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Trainings / Workshops attended

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Shri L.Baite, Managing Director attended the Joint

DEA-IFAD Tripartite Portfolio Review Meeting on 4th

June 2013, in New Delhi.

Shri L.Baite, Managing Director attended the Senior

Foresters Workshop (25 years) for 1988 batch of IFS

organized by Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy,

Dehradun on 11th & 12th June 2013.

Shri Mihin Dollo, Coordinator (NR) attended the one

day consultation meeting on ICIMOD IFAD TAG 1113

Project on 7th June 2013 at Kathmandu, Nepal.

Ms Reena Thokchom, Business Development Officer,

NERCORMP-West Garo Hills attended the Training

of 'Master Trainers on Apiculture' organized by the

University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore from

5th -14th April 2013.

NERCORMP Expansion to Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur

NERCORMP which is currently operating in the states of

Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya will now be extended to

Arunachal Pradesh and two new districts in Manipur.

The new project entitled 'NERCORMP-III' will be operating

in the districts of Tirap and Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh

and Churachandpur and Chandel in Manipur. The project

was approved by the Expenditure Finance Committee

(EFC) which was chaired by the Secretary, thExpenditure,Govt. of India on June 27 2013, at the Fresco

Room, North Block, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi.

The project will be funded by the North Eastern Council,

Ministry of DoNER, Government of India for a period of six

years starting from this financial year. The EFC meeting was

attended by the Secretary, Ministry of DoNER, Secretary,

North Eastern Council, Officers of the Planning

Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs,

Ministry of Rural Development and Managing Director and

team from NERCORMP.

NERCORMP extends its gratitude to the Government of

India for the trust bestowed upon the project team.

Paper presented on initiatives of NERCORMP

A paper entitled “NERCORMP's initiatives in conserving

biodiversity through community participation in North East

India” by Mihin Dollo & L. Baite was presented during the

National Seminar on “Burning Environmental Issues: Risk to

Biodiversity and Human health with special reference to

North East India”, held at St. Mary's College on 15th & 16th

May, 2013. The seminar was organised by St. Mary's

College, Shillong and State Council of Science, Technology

and Environment, Govt. of Meghalaya, Shillong.

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