Annual Report
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NORTH EASTERN REGION COMMUNITY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROJECT - UKHRUL (NERCORMP-UKHRUL) ANNUAL REPORT (1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018) A Joint Project of North Eastern Council, Ministry of DoNER, Government of India & International Fund for Agricultural Development Introduction Ukhrul district is a hill district covering an area of 4544 sq km in the eastern part of Manipur state bordering Myanmar. The district is dominantly inhabited by the Tangkhuls followed by the Kukis. Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood of the people in the district. Ukhrul, the district headquarter is 84 km from Imphal, the state capital of Manipur. The district is famous for its richness in wildlife resources; Shirui lily (Lilium Macklineae), the flower of the State, Uningthou, the wood of the state, nongyeen, the bird of the state are all found in Ukhrul District. Ango range where most of the endangered species of animals and plants of the state are found is along the border of Ukhrul district. Ukhrul district is a major supplier of potato, beans, cabbage, parkia, peas, beans and other agri-produces to Imphal market and other places like Dimapur. Besides agriculture produces, of late banana, orange and lemon have started penetrating Imphal market. Ukhrul is connected to Imphal in the south east and Nagaland in the north by National Highway 202. Road connectivity between the District Headquarters and villages still remain very poor although it is gradually improving. The district remains economically backward on account of many factors. Use of traditional methods in agricultural practices leading to low productivity, lack of power supply, absence of industries and lack of good governance are some of the reasons upholding the cycle of poverty. The literacy rate of the district has relatively improved to be at 81.87 % (2011). The population growth rate of the district stands at 30.07% which is high enough to neutralize the production in the district. Project Rationale Various governmental schemes and projects under the government of Manipur have been implemented without achieving the desired results. Hence, the rural poor always find themselves in the same cycle of poverty and find no means to come out of it. When designing and implementing developmental programme, the government has not taken unique ground realities of each district into account. As a result, stagnation in the rural economy persists and low productivity from cultivation continues on a wide scale. The shortening of jhum cycle (down to 3-4 years for many communities) with its impact on declining fertility has resulted in continued encroachment on the forest resources and progressive land degradation. Most families still recognize jhum cultivation as a sustainable livelihood system, but they lack knowledge in systematic improvement of jhumming system, alternative developments and the means to adopt them. In the midst of problems faced in various fields and lackadaisical attitude of the government, the people have been struggling to embark on the road to development. Fortunately, Ukhrul district came into the fold of North Eastern Community Resource Management Project (NERCORMP) for upland areas in the year 1999-2000. NERCORMP is a joint project of North Eastern Council, Ministry of DoNER, Government of India and International Fund for Agricultural Development. In the same year Ukhrul District Community Resource Management Society (UDCRMS) was established as an implementing agency of the NERCORMP project. One very interesting situation is that in the whole of Ukhrul district, there was only one bank branch till 3 years earlier. UBI was the sole service provider for many years and then very recently SBI has been installed at Somsai (inside the army cantonment). Through the project intervention, Ukhrul District Women Institute of Micro-Credit (UDWIM) has been created to cater to meet the needs of the marginalized and rural poor, especially womenfolk in the district. Ukhrul District Community Resource Management Society (UDCRMS) was first established in 1997 as a legal entity and an implementing agency of the North Eastern Community Resource Management Project (NERCORMP) for upland areas. The actual functioning of UDCRMS was realized only when the Development Support Team (DST) was put into place in the early part of the year 1999. The overall objective 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 protecting and restoring the environment”. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT The foremost objective of the Project is to create and strengthen Village based Institutions, which will be self-sustaining and capable of meeting their own requirements, through active participation of the Villagers. Through these Institutions we hope to achieve ecological balance and improve the livelihood of the People and at the same time, achieving food and cash security by diversifying the economic activities of the People. The specific objectives are: - To promote a more sensitive approach to the design and implementation of development interventions. To enhance the capabilities of local people to manage new technologies and institutions at the Village level. To increase incomes through the development of more sustainable farming system and establishment of non-farm enterprises. To make people more aware of the need to preserve and regenerate natural resources particularly forests and biodiversity. To establish effective and appropriate delivery systems for inputs (credit, extension, etc.) and for the maintenance of assets and resources. To increase the participation of women in local institutions and in decision-making processes within the community. To enhance savings capacity and establish the habit of thrift. To increase access to basic services and infrastructure facilities. Project Area Under the first phase of NERCORMP in Ukhrul district, 5826 target households from a total of 7768 households in 103 villages were covered. 146 NaRMGs with 689 Self Help Group were formed in the Phase I of NERCORMP Project. During the second phase, 69 villages were taken under the project with a total target household of 3833 out of the total household of 7217. During the same period, 263 SHGs were formed, nurtured and supported. During the financial year 2017-18, the Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWPB) has only three (3) tables budgetary provision namely, Table 1, Table 2 and Table 5 as the phase –II of NERCORMP came to a close on 31st March 2017. Table-wise description is given below for better understanding. TABLE 1: STRENGTHENING CAPACITY OF PARTICIPATORY AGENCIES. Under this table 15 units of capacity building trainings for both SHG Federations and Cluster Associations were carried out by the Development Support Team of NERCORMP Ukhrul both in the district headquarters as well as in the centre villages of the various cluster associations. The trainings were mainly based on accounts and book keeping besides organizational management and advocacy. Table 1. (ii) Capacity building of community based organizations for non project villages were also conducted by clubbing them into different groups according to the distance convenience of the villages both in district headquarters as well as in the villages which are centre to surrounding villages. The training was focused on newly formed SHGs regarding the books of accounts and SHG movement and growth. Capacity Building for new SHG in Non-Project Villages To capacitate the newly formed SHGs on concept of SHG, understanding roles and function of each stakeholders & structure and functioning of UDWIM etc. and Books of Accounts to be maintained, a series of training program has been organized from 5th to 18th October, 2017 for strengthening the capacity of the newly formed groups for 128 groups formed till date. The training program was coordinated by the felicitating old project villages. Development Support Team (DST) along with UDWIM staffs was the resource person. Community Resource Person (CRP) from the facilitating villages shared their learning on the importance of SHGs and role of village federation in monitoring the performance of the group as well as the role of UDWIM in strengthening Groups. The details of the trainings conducted are presented in the table. Trainings conducted for non project villages: Venue Falicitating Participating villages Total Staffs involved Date village Partici pants Ringui Sirarakhong Ringui & Ringui Ramhon 49 FFA UDCRMS & 5-6 Credit Manager, /10/2017 UDWIM Teinem Phalee Teinem 48 AO & Credit Officer, 5-6 UDWIM /10/2017 Phungyar Shakok Phungyar & Lungshang 39 IDO & Account 9-10th Officer, UDWIM Oct. 2017 Erong Lungpha & Shungriphai, Erong Credit Officer, 10-11th Kongleiram Kongleiram, Chakama, UDWIM & IA, October NERCORMP 2017 Jessami N.Tusom Jessami 53 CM, UDWIM & FAA, 10-11th UDCRMS Oct. 2017 TTA, Ukhrul Ngainga & Hunphun & Hungpung 74 CM-UDWIM & 12-13th Hungpung AAO-NERCORMP October Kaziphung 2017 TTA, Ukhrul Shangshak Kl, Choithar, 30 Credit Officer & 17-18th Lamlang, Shokvao Account Officer, October UDWIM 2017 Riha Ramrei & New Cannaan, Muirei, 50 IDO & FAA 17-18th Riha TM.Kasom, Chadong NERCORMP Oct. 2017 Table 1 (iii) gives provision for NEAT fest and exhibition and under this head the district has participated in North East-Myanmar Exim Conclave from 21st to 28 February 2018 followed by participation in 105th Indian Science Congress, Imphal from 16th to 20th March 2018. TABLE 2: VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT FUND-LIVELIHOOD .