Agriculture and Horticulture

One of the key drivers of rural poverty in the mountain states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland is the steep hilly terrain. Although the majority of the household have access to community land for farming, cultivable areas are small or far from the residential area. Hilly terrain makes mechanization virtually impossible, which is another disadvantage of this region. Mountain agriculture is comparatively unproductive in case if improper management of soil and water conservation issues, which leads to low productivity. Today, subsistence agriculture remains the mainstay of the economy in all three states.

NEIDA promotes agriculture practices that are ecologically sound and remunerative to the farmers at the same time. The goal is to plan, prioritize and demonstrate how integrated agriculture can be profitable and sustainable undertaking for smallholder farmers. We try to achieve this by intervening in the following areas:

1. Creating focus on soil rehabilitation, conservation and biomass development through optimised land use for reduction of excessive soil erosion and to improve the nutrient status of soil along with soil depth
2. Water resource management to support irrigation
3. Intensification of land use through double cropping
4. Market oriented fruit and vegetable cultivation
5. Skill enhancement through performance-enhancement trainings and promotion on demonstration plots for transfer of knowledge
6. Post-harvest management and market linkages for value addition to the products and increase profitability