Nagaland signs pact to bring 30,000 women farmers into bamboo value chain

Nagaland has partnered with Bengaluru-based Industree Foundation to promote certified bamboo plantations and strengthen bamboo processing in the state through a new agreement with the Nagaland State Rural Livelihoods Mission (NSRLM).

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Kohima and aims to integrate 30,000 smallholder women farmers into the bamboo value chain while establishing women-led collective enterprises based on bamboo processing, the foundation said in a statement on Monday.

The initiative is part of the Bamboo Sub-Sector Initiative under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) of the Union Ministry of Rural Development.

Under the partnership, Industree Foundation will serve as the technical and knowledge partner to NSRLM. The collaboration will focus on developing certified bamboo plantations, improving processing capacity and creating market linkages for bamboo-based products.

Chief Executive Officer of Industree Foundation, Neju George Abraham, said bamboo has long been an integral part of life and culture in Nagaland, while the state's rich diversity of bamboo species also offers significant commercial opportunities.

He said the partnership would support the development of certified plantations, facilitate carbon credit accreditation, establish processing units, promote new bamboo products and connect producers with high-value markets.

Industree Foundation works with farmer and producer collectives to strengthen value addition at the source and develop traceable supply chains in agroforestry and natural fibre sectors.

The organisation has previously signed similar agreements with State Rural Livelihood Missions in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana and Tripura to promote bamboo-based livelihoods among small and marginal women farmers.

Apart from bamboo, the foundation is also working on value chains involving banana and biodegradable leaf plates in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Maharashtra.