Farmers’ Mobilization & Awareness Programme organised by NECTAR under PM-DevINE Scheme in Nihoto Village, Nagaland.

North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India with its headquarters in Shillong conducted a Farmers’ Mobilization and Awareness Program on 17th March, 2025. The program was held in Nihoto Village of Dimapur district in Nagaland where representatives from eight villages participated. It was part of the PM-DevINE project “NECTAR livelihood Improvement project (Multi State) – A Value Chain on Utilization of Banana Pseudo Stem for Value-Added Products”, which is being implemented by NECTAR. Under this scheme, NECTAR constructed a Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Kukidolong village, Chumukedima in Nagaland.
This project is focused on creating sustainable livelihoods and rural entrepreneurship by encouraging the utilization of Banana Pseudo-stem by converting it into various marketable products, like Extraction of fibre from banana pseudo stem, preparing nonwoven fabrics, preparation of organic liquid nutrient using banana pseudo stem and various types of hand-made paper from banana fibre.
The training was conducted by Consortium for Training, Research and Development (CTRD), Guwahati with support from The Entrepreneurs’ Associate, Kohima. The program also received valuable insights from SDAO Pughoboto, Kitoho Michael Swu of the State Agriculture Department, and progressive farmer Kitoho S. Rotokha and officials from NECTAR. They guided farmers on best agricultural practices and emphasized the importance of supporting the Common Facility Center (CFC) for the collective benefit of the community.
This initiative is expected to boost rural entrepreneurship, reduce agricultural waste, and promote sustainable industrial development in North East India.