NAMSAI, 20 Jan: Under the NABARD’s Joint Initiative for Village Advancement (JIVA) project, a diet and nutrition awareness programme was organised at Lathaw village in Namsai district on Tuesday.
The programme was aimed at promoting nutritional awareness, sustainable agriculture, and holistic livelihood development among tribal farming communities.
The JIVA project, an agroecology-based initiative under the NABARD’s Tribal Development Programme (TDP), focuses on promoting natural farming practices that are knowledge-intensive, low-input, and environmentally sustainable. The project is being implemented by the Namsai Organic Spices Agricultural Products Producer Company Limited (NOSAAP) as the project facilitating agency.
Nutritionist Md Javed Ahmed conducted an informative session on the importance of balanced nutrition in daily life. He emphasised how appropriate food habits and healthy lifestyles play a crucial role in improving physical wellbeing and preventing lifestyle diseases.
Aniket Likhar from WASSAN, the technical support agency for the JIVA project, elaborated the role of natural farming in ensuring long-term ecological sustainability, reduced dependence on chemical inputs, and improved economic resilience of tribal farmers.
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) business development manager Md Ashraf Kamal briefed the participants on various APEDA schemes available for farmers-producers organisations. He also highlighted the potential for promotion and export of Khaw Tai (Khamti rice), which has recently received the GI tag with the NABARD’s support, enabling farmers to access premium markets and secure better income.
NABARD AGM Kamal Roy elaborated the NABARD’s holistic approach towards rural development, covering farm and off-farm sector interventions, GI initiatives, value chain development, marketing support, credit planning, and financial inclusion measures aimed at improving livelihoods of rural and tribal communities.
Earlier, NOSAAP CEO Chau Athina Chauhai highlighted objectives of the JIVA project, which include soil health restoration, diversification of farm livelihoods, nutrition security, and income enhancement of tribal farmers.
A health camp was also organised in collaboration with OIL Sparsha, a corporate social responsibility initiative of Oil India Limited. The mobile primary healthcare unit provided free medical check-ups, medicines and health counselling to beneficiaries of NABARD-funded TRIBES/TDF projects, with special focus on women’s health and hygiene.
