Assam: NABARD’s flagship project 'Integrated Tribal Development Programme' progressing well in Majuli

MAJULI: The flagship project of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the Integrated Tribal Development Programme, is progressing well in Malapindha village of Sri Luit Panchayat, Majuli. The project is being implemented by Ayang Trust, an NGO that has been working in Majuli for six years. The project envisions empowering 200 Mising Tribe families through fruit orchards (WADIs) and a handloom weaving centre. Of the 200 families, 160 landed farmers will be supported for five years to establish 1-acre fruit orchards with litchi, guava, and Indian gooseberry (amla) as the main crops, along with pineapple, moringa, and castor as border crops, and turmeric, ginger, king chilli, and seasonal vegetables as intercrops.

So far, in one year of implementing the project, about 40 farmers have developed their fruit orchards. Among them, 33 farmers have received drip irrigation systems through the project’s convergence with the PMKSY scheme, which provides these systems with an 85% subsidy. With the help of the irrigation system, farmers have successfully engaged in intercropping seasonal vegetables, ginger, and turmeric along with the main fruit plants. Anil Doley, a beneficiary farmer, mentioned that he has harvested over 70 kg of seasonal vegetables in the current season and is expecting more harvests in the coming days. Moving forward, the project envisions the empowerment of tribal farmers and the overall development of Malapindha, the village identified under the project, stated a press release.

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