About FOCUS Mizoram

FOSTERING CLIMATE RESILIENT UPLAND FARMING SYSTEMS IN           

THE NORTH EAST (FOCUS) : MIZORAM

Brief Detail of the Project

INTRODUCTION

IFAD is ‘International Fund for Agriculture Development’ under UN with headquarters in Rome, Italy. It has a regional office at New Delhi headed by Mrs. Ulac Demirag, Country Programme Manager. IFAD is taking up a Project in Mizoram through Government of India (Department of Economic Affairs, South Block, New Delhi). 

The IFAD team, visited Mizoram for a number of times, studied and surveyed the State and then chalked out formulation Plan (Draft Aide Memoire) which has been submitted to the Government of Mizoram. The Project is named ‘Fostering Climate Resilient Upland Farming System’ (FOCUS) . In order to implement this project, GoM would establish a society named Society for Climate Resilient Agriculture in Mizoram (SCRAM) under the DoA where Chief Secretary of the State is the Chairman.  There is no higher authority above the society. The main departments are Agriculture, Horticulture, AH & Veterinary Sciences, Soil & Water Conservation and Agriculture Department (CH) is designated as the Nodal Department. Project implementation at field level is to be done by Mission Director (Director of Agriculture, CH, Department) and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) deputed by the Government of Mizoram). In Districts, the District, Agriculture Officers will be utilized, on dual charge basis, as District Project Manager.

There are 3 project components viz.

             a)   Improvement of Jhum Cultivation 

                    * Better Jhum and conservation

                    * Settled Agriculture promotion

             b)   Value chain & Market Access 

                    * Value chain Development

                    * Market Access Infrastructure

             c)    Project Management 

                    * Project Management Structure

                    * M & E and knowledge Management

Selection of beneficiary/farmer:

*           Every jhumming families will be covered

*           WRC (existing) will be improved

*           Any jhumming family willing to go for settled agriculture will be     promoted.   

*           No government servant to be allowed

Project Management Unit (PMU) at State Level: It comprises of 1 no. CEO and a team of the Technical Officers deployed by Government of Mizoram from Agriculture, Horticulture, AH & Vety and Soil & Water Conservation Department (1 each = 4) on full time basis.

 District Management Unit (DMU) at District Level: This will be housed in District Agriculture Officers of 4 Project Districts where DAOs’ will be take dual charge. District Agriculture Officers (District Project Manager) will be assisted by 1 technical Officer (Mid-level) each from Agriculture, Horticulture and AH & Vety Department on full time basis,  In addition, 1 Extension Officer rank from, the aforesaid  Departments will also be deployed by Government of Mizoram.  This is the main implementing Unit / Agency at District Level

 IFAD desires the minimum/shortest layer of operational structure for implementation. However, Government of Mizoram is required/requested to fill up postings of field staff upto Village Level to assist & strengthen IFAD Operation in the field. Line Departments request for arrangements of deployement from the concerned authority. Fund will flow from a society called SCRAM to District Management Unit (DAOs Office) from where it will go to villages (FIGs/SHG/Cooperative Societies etc).

Project Objective 

     The overall goal of the project is to increase household agricultural income of 64,500 households and enhance their resilience to climate change. This would be achieved through the development objective of increasing the environmental sustainability and profitability of the farming systems practiced by the highland farmers of Mizoram. 

Project coverage

The FOCUS project is going to be implemented in four districts of Mizoram namely Mamit, Kolasib, Champhai, and Serchhip. The remaining four districts of the state, namely Aizawl, Lunglei, Lawngtlai and Saiha have not been considered due to on-going implementation of other major projects. Demographic details of the four districts are given in the Table below. It shows that the selected districts taken together constitute 42.75% of the total geographical area of Mizoram; 28.13% of the state’s population and 32.83% of the total number of households of the state. 

Coverage of Village and Households

      As per the Project document, the project would cover all the villages of the four selected districts namely Mamit, Kolasib, Champhai, and Serchhip. A saturation approach will be followed to ensure comprehensive land use planning for the entire village landscape and provision of support services to address the needs of 77% of the households who are involved in farm activities. In total, the project would cover all 272 villages* in the four project districts and would support 64,500 households comprising a population of 322,500 persons in these four districts. In four districts all the blocks will be covered in the project. Table below gives the details of the blocks.

Note: As per the Census of 2011, the total number of villages in four selected districts is 238, however, at the time of project preparation it was realized that there are several new village councils that were not included during 2011 Census. Keeping this in view the project preparation team had assessed number of villages in four districts as 272. Hence, all calculations in AWPB 2018-19, number of 272 villages are considered as the total villages.

Districts and Blocks to be covered

Area Source: Remote sensing GIS; Statistical Abstract, Department of Agriculture, Government of Mizoram

As given in the table above, 11 blocks will be covered under the project.

Targeting Approach in the Project

The project would adopt a two stage targeting strategy - Geographical targeting and social targeting.

Geographical Targeting: The project would adopt geographic targeting by excluding the districts which are covered by other major development projects. The project area in a district will be selected primarily based on high levels of jhum cultivation with an aim to increase the jhum cycle and at the same time increase the number of years of jhum cultivation to make a gradual shift towards settled agriculture. 

Social Targeting: The project would adopt social targeting approach by excluding the households with permanent government jobs. The target group categories would therefore include all tribal households involved in jhum farming and those unable to take up jhum cultivation on account of labour shortages and other vulnerable households having persons with disability and other challenges. A saturation approach will be followed to ensure comprehensive land use planning for the entire village landscape and provision of support services to address the needs of 77% of the households who are involved in farm activities. In total, the project will support 64,500 households comprising a population of 322,500 persons in these districts.

Project Organization and Management   

     IFAD projects in India use three models of project management: (i) project management structure built into the existing corporations; (ii) a separate project management structure built into the line department; and (iii) a separate society established for implementation. The advantages of working with the corporations and societies include the ability to retain unspent funds at the end of the fiscal year enabling these institutions to start project activities without waiting for budget release. 

Project Management

1.           At the Central Level: The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) would be the nodal agency for the project. Two broad principles would govern the management structure for this project. They include: (i) alignment to the existing government structure; and (ii) flexibility to make changes based on the requirements that may arise during the implementation phase. The project would be aligned to the existing government structure by making the DoA of the GoM as the state level lead implementing and nodal agency. Two options for alignment with the Agriculture Department were considered. These include: (i) establishing a project management unit within the Agriculture Department; and (ii) establishing a new society under the Agriculture Department. In view of the flexibility, the society structure provides in terms of carrying over the unspent balance of the previous year to the next year and in terms of human resource engagement, the option of establishing a society under the Agriculture Department was considered appropriate. 

2.           State level Project Management: In order to implement this project, GoM would establish a society named Society for Climate Resilient Agriculture in Mizoram (SCRAM) under the DoA. This strategy of establishing a separate society keeps it outside the government line department structure and makes it possible to bring in persons of repute as members of the Governing Council. This society would be registered under the Societies Registration Act and would have its own bye laws and financial rules. SCRAM would have adequate authority to enter into partnership agreements/contracts with agencies, FIGs, Village Councils and other committees under the Village Councils. The project management responsibility would be vested with a Project Management Unit (PMU) within the Society with the Chief Executive Officer/Secretary of the society as the SPD. S/he will report to the Director, DoA who will be the Mission Director. State budget allocations for the project from IFAD loan proceeds, IFAD grant, and GoM counterpart funds for IFAD loan will flow through the Agriculture Department to the Society by creating a separate line item in its annual budget.  

     Overall, PMU would be responsible for compliance to the stipulation of Financing Agreement signed between GoI and IFAD. More specifically the PMU will be responsible for (i) programme planning, implementation and monitoring; (ii) financial management and procurement; (iii) management and administration and (iv) co-ordination with GoI and IFAD.

     The society would be provided with senior technical staff of the rank of Deputy Directors. A Deputy Director-Agriculture, a Deputy Director-Horticulture, a Deputy Director-Animal Husbandry, and a Deputy Director – Soil and Water Conservation would be posted to the PMU on deployment. In addition, a Finance and Accounts Specialist (FAS), Manager - Planning and M&E, Manager – Knowledge Management and Manager – Gender and Community Institutions and other support staff would be engaged on contract basis. Staff appointments, except those on deployment, would be fixed term contracts of at least three years and the candidates would be recruited from the open-market based on professional competence and experience. The proposed project management structure for this project in Mizoram is provided in Annex 1. 

District Management Units (DMU): The project would establish a DMU in each district within the District Agriculture Office headed by the District Project Manager (DPM). A small team of professionals would be recruited to facilitate project implementation. DMUs would function as an outpost of SCRAM in each project district. DMUs would be authorised to release funds based on the sanctioned AWP&B. 

     The DMUs would be responsible for: (i) coordinating with the circle level officers and the FIGs to prepare AWP&B for circle and incorporating the same into the district AWP&B; (ii) obtaining required sanctions for implementing activities; (iii) releasing funds to the FIGs and other implementation partners; (v) receiving utilization certificates from the FIGs and other implementation partners and reconciling their accounts; (vi) collecting, collating and analysing MIS and M&E data for the district for onward submission to PMU and for providing feedback to implementation partners; (vii) ensuring convergence between project activities and activities of other line departments in the project villages; (viii) conducting audit of books of accounts of FIGs and other implementation partners on a sample basis and submitting reports; (ix) maintaining books of accounts related to project expenditure of the district and prompt settlement of advances with PMU; and (x) ensuring compliance to audit observations.

     DPM would be responsible for: (i) coordinating with the PMU with regard to implementation of project activities; (ii) coordinating with the District Administration for convergence and support; (iii) supervising field level activities of block/circle level officers, FIGs and other implementation partners; (iv) releasing funds to the FIGs and other implementation partners as per the approved AWP&B; (v) ensuring convergence between project activities and activities of other line departments; (vi) functioning as a focal point to resolve issues faced by implementing partners and block/circle level officers and village level workers; (vii) reviewing field level activities and submitting reports to the Deputy Commissioner/PMU on a regular basis; and (viii) overall management of the DMU as per the directions of SPD including personnel and administrative functions. 

    A technical team comprising officers of mid-level seniority drawn from the Departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry and Soil and Water Conservation would be attached full time for this project. In addition, the project would also engage professionals on a contract basis. GoM would also post an Agriculture Officer for each project district on a full-time basis to deal exclusively with the project activities who would be the Field Coordinator of the project. The project would also engage a Planning and Monitoring Officer, Finance and Accounts Officer and the required junior professionals at the district level on a contract basis.

Project Coordination Mechanisms

State Level Coordination

     The Governing Council of SCRAM would also function as the state level Project Steering Committee (PSC) for this project. The Chief Secretary, GoM would be the Chairperson of the PSC. The PSC would meet once in six months to review progress, provide overall guidance and policy support and to facilitate inter-departmental coordination specifically with regard to convergence. All the members of the Governing Council would be the members of the PSC. PSC would invite representatives from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), civil society and Technical Experts of repute to participate in the PSC Meetings as Special Invitees. The SPD would be the member secretary of the PSC. Project coordination mechanism for this project in Mizoram is provided as Annex 2. 

1)      PSC would meet on a half yearly basis and its function would be to secure interdepartmental coordination and linkages for the project. It would: (i) review progress of the project on the basis of the reports submitted by SCRAM; (ii) resolve any problems requiring interdepartmental coordination with the line agencies and banks which require higher level of intervention; (iii) resolve any policy bottlenecks that impact project implementation and (iv) review AWP&B as prepared by SCRAM to ensure adequate budgetary provisions. 

2)      GoM would also establish a Project Management Committee (PMC) headed by the Secretary, Agriculture with the Director, DoA as the Co-Chairperson. The Directors of relevant technical departments such as Director-Horticulture, Director – Agriculture Research and Extension, Director – Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Director – Soil and water conservation, and Conservator of Forests as the members and the Chief Executive Officer of the society as the Member Secretary. The PMC would meet quarterly and would be responsible for: (i) reviewing and resolving any problems in the project implementation relating to coordination with the line agencies and banks which require higher level of intervention; (ii) liaise with other large schemes of the government such as NLUP and SRLM to ensure better co-ordination on the ground (iii) approving action plans for Central Sector Schemes and integrating these action plans into the AWP&B of the project; and (iv) ensuring release of GoM counterpart funding and IFAD loan proceeds to the society; (v) provide a forum for dialogue between the state level policy makers and the field level implementers; (vi) review issues arising out of the District level Coordinating Committee reports, monitoring reports, impact assessment studies and evaluation reports and give policy directions to resolve the issues; and (vii) ascertain ways and means of internalizing the lessons learned from the project delivery mode into the regular government programmes. 

District Level Coordination

     The project would also establish a District Project Coordination Committee (DPCC) in each project district. The DPCC would meet quarterly to discuss the project implementation progress, constraints and remedies. The most important function of this committee is to ensure flow of MGNREGS funds to the Village Councils for implementing Land and Water related activities. The DPCC would be chaired by the Deputy Commissioner / District Collector of the respective project district and the DPM would be the Vice Chairperson. The members of the DPCC would include: (i) District Horticulture Officer; (ii) District Animal Husbandry Officer; (iii) District Forest Officer; (iv) District Soil Conservation Officer; (v) Project Director-DRDA; and (vi) Block Development officers of project blocks. Planning, M&E and Convergence Officer would be the Secretary of this committee.  Based on the need, representatives of NABARD and Lead Bank would also be invited to participate in the DPCC meetings. A representative from PMU may attend any of the DPCC meetings if and when required. 

Block Level Coordination

     A Block Project Coordination Committee (BPCC) would be established in each block of the project area. The BPCC would meet bimonthly to discuss approval and review of the MGNREGS activities and their convergence with project activities. This committee would be chaired by the Block Development Officer and the Circle/Block Agriculture Officer would be the Member-Secretary. The members of BPCC would include: (i) Chairpersons of all project Village Councils; and (ii) All block/circle level officers.

Implementation Partners

a)                    Village Councils: Village Councils are the most important grassroots institutions. Village Councils in Mizoram are democratic institutions and are responsible for decentralised governance at the grassroots’ level. These councils would be the focal point for implementation of the project activities mainly with regard to taking free, informed and prior consent for implementing the activities. Village Councils are empowered with powers to allocate land for jhum cultivation and also to implement MGNREGS activities. This project being a jhum improvement project would have to coordinate with the Village Council for taking up improvement on jhum land.  The activities related to participatory land use planning, allocation of land appropriate for jhum and settled agriculture based on remote sensing maps will be taken up by the project along with the Village Councils.

b)                   Site Allotment Advisory Boards (SAAB): In Mizoram, the government has established a SAAB in each of the villages vested with powers to identify land in consultation with the Village Councils and make recommendations for allotment of periodic patta for five years to persons interested in taking up settled cultivation. Thereafter, this committee monitors the activities on the allotted land. This committee makes recommendations for issuance of permanent patta of 99 years lease after ensuring settled cultivation on these lands is undertaken by the persons to whom land is allotted. The project would use these committees as partners in allocating land to the poorest households undertaking jhum cultivation.

c) Farmer Interest Groups: The project will form FIGs for: (i) jhum and fallow management; (ii) wet rice cultivation; (iii) support to land less; (iv) support to existing orchards; and (v) value chain crops production. FIGs would comprise of rural households interested in taking up a common economic activity. These FIGs will comprise of 10-20 members and each FIG will open a bank account for receiving project benefits. The project would use the existing FIGs and also promote new FIGs for implementing project activities.      

d)                   Self Help Groups/Societies/Associations: The project would also support SHGs that have been promoted under various government programmes. These SHGs are women groups that take up a common activity. These SHGs would be used to implement non-farm activities and livestock related activities. In addition, there are several associations such as the Young Mizo Association, and the services of these agencies would be used depending upon the project need during the implementation.

Implementation Arrangements 

     At the state level, the project will be implemented by SCRAM through a PMU which will be established within SCRAM. The state government will allocate an office space for SCRAM where the PMU will be set up. District level offices of SCRAM will operate from the office of the District Agriculture Officer. The block/circle offices of the Departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, Soil and Water Conservation and Animal Husbandry are the key players in supervising project implementation at the field level. The project has made allocations to engage staff to fill in human resource gaps in the Block/Circles and also village level including their mobility. A joint planning and implementation modality will be put in place at the circle level for implementation. Lead farmers, VFAS, CAHWS and CRPs will be the next level of implementing partners and will also assist the project in mobilizing the households. The capacity of these field level operators will be built using project funds to deliver services to the farmers in the project area. Village Councils, Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs), Site Allotment Advisory Board (SAABs), and Producer Organizations will be largely used for implementation at the field level. Financial resources will be provided to these FIGs for implementation and adequate measures will be put in place to ensure that funds provided are used for the purpose for which allocation has been made. All the community based organizations that will be supported under this project at the grassroots level will be under the overall supervision of the Village Councils and Village Assembly (Gram Sabha). The chairperson and members of VCs will also be members in some of the committees such as SAABs.

Aims and objectives of the Society (SCRAM)

* To promote climate resilient agriculture systems and support increased income generation by: (a) promoting improvements in traditional agriculture systems; (b)encouraging transition from traditional systems to settled/sedentary agriculture systems; (c) promoting feasible value chains, thereby contributing to sustainable ecosystem and increased income of farm households in the State of Mizoram.

* To increase environmental sustainability and profitability of the farming systems in the uplands covering both jhum cultivation, settled agriculture and other allied activities including livestock. 

* To promote the development of knowledge on climate resilient and climate change adaptation, theory and practice of sustainable development in its various aspects of agriculture and to improve the level of skills and capabilities. 

* To bring about coordination, convergence and synergy among the various components of different climate resilient agriculture of the state and central government programmes. 

* To document Technical Knowledge on climate resilient agriculture and climate change adaptation and promote relevant technology both traditional (indigenous) and contemporary.

* To build capacity of youth (18-29) with preference to women to effectively address issues of gender mainstreaming and social inclusion. 

* To implement IFAD funded “Fostering Climate Resilient Upland Farming Systems (FOCUS) in Mizoram and any other project approved by the Government of Mizoram.

* To promote marketing of farm produce through value chain support, marketing support, processing and value addition. 

* To establish an innovation fund to provide funding based on a detailed business plan and agreed outcomes to legally registered and tax compliant local agencies that have already implemented innovative interventions requiring scale up support with demonstrated ability to bring own funds to part finance the proposal. 

* To develop a Knowledge Management strategy and action plan and generate knowledge relevant to upland agriculture covering both production and marketing and dissemination to the stakeholders in the northeast. 

General Body of the Society

The General body of the Society shall comprise of the members of:

a.  Governing Council and 

b. Deputy Commissioners of the Districts. 

c.  Nominated Members: the GC may nominate; representatives of NABARD, Commercial Banks, etc.

d. There would also be provision for special invitees including Community representatives in the meeting of General Body.

The General Body shall comprise of all the members of the Society and shall meet once in a year to discuss the affairs of the Society and adopt the annual report of the Society. The meeting of the General Body shall be presided over by the Chairperson of the GC.

 Governing Council 

The society shall have a Governing Council (GC).The GC shall have the following composition:

Powers and Functions of the Governing Council (GC):

Governing Council (GC) shall be the highest decision making body of the Society. A minimum of 10 members, excluding the Chairperson, shall form the quorum for the meetings of the Governing Council. The GC shall meet at least 1 (One) time in a year. It shall have the following powers and perform the following function:

i.              Approval of Operational Manual of the Society including financial regulations, human resource policy and procurement policy.

ii.          Approval of Annual Work Plan and Budget of the Society.

iii.       Approval of Annual Report along with financial statements of the Society.

iv.        Facilitate convergence with other Departments & Schemes to achieve the objectives of the Society.

v.           Approval of such programmes and plans for furtherance of the objectives of the Society.

vi.        The GC shall be Project Steering Committee Members of FOCUS project

vii.    Any other functions, which may be added at a later stage 

Project Management Committee (PMC)

The Project Management Committee (PMC) of the Society comprises of the following officials and member as specified below:

There shall be a provision for special invitees to the meeting of the Project Management Committee (PMC).

 District Coordination Committee (DCC):

a. A District Coordination Committee (DCC) shall be set up in every district in which the Project will be implemented. The DCC shall be deemed to be a constituent unit of the Society, and shall have its office at the District headquarters. The DCC shall be headed by Deputy Commissioner of the district.

b. (i) The District Coordination Committee shall provide the necessary guidance to the Project, review performance and approve budgets of the District Project Management Units. 

(ii) The District Coordination Committee shall consist of following:

Technical Assistance

      IFAD will provide a grant of about USD 450,000 to GoM for identified areas of technical assistance for the project. The major activities envisaged in this include; (i) preparation of training materials and conducting training of Veterinary Officers in animal production related issues covering pigs, cattle, goats and poultry; (ii) preparation of training materials and conducting ToT in implementing Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT); (iii) preparation of training materials and conducting ToT related to terrace rice cultivation; (iv) preparation of training materials and conducting TOT for establishment of private nurseries of high quality planting materials; (v) engagement of Specialist Consultants in Highland farming systems, Agro-forestry, soil and water conservation, organic certification, animal production and to formulate policy reforms related to Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act; (vi) prepare a long term weather data based agro-climatic atlas for Mizoram; (vii) development of a computerised MIS and the support and training of MIS staff in its operation; and (viii) support for project monitoring and evaluation including baseline survey and endline survey with impact assessment. GoM has agreed to engage Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO) to implement these activities in view of its well established expertise in these fields. A FAO engaged consultant has joined the mission and is in the process of preparing a technical proposal including budget. FAOwill submit the technical proposal to the state government which will review and submit to IFAD for approval. Thereafter GoN will enter into a TA Agreement which among other things will provide details on the activities, work plan, payment modalities and reporting requirements.      

Convergence

     The project had originally planned for joint implementation of part of IFAD funded activities and CSS activities through flow of funds from these two sources into SCRAM. There had been changes into the CSS funding modality and GoI has stipulated direct benefit transfer to farmers from the line departments. In view of this it was decided to delink CSS funds from the society and ensure convergence between IFAD funds and CSS funds through development of micro-plans at the village level for a comprehensive set of activities covering both IFAD and CSS funding. Micro-plans will be consolidated at the district level. These micro plans will be shared with SCRAM and both the line departments implementing the CSS in these districts. Subsequently funds will be released for the activities under the CSS directly by both the concerned departments whereas the rest of the micro plan will be included in the AWPB of the Project and funded through SCRAM. However, in order to ensure that micro-plans of the project are included, funded and implemented coherently and is fully aligned with the project, the project will allocate funds to engage staff for financial management and data entry in both the line departments.

     The project has also made plans to converge with MGNREGS. This convergence will be directly implemented by the Rural Development Department using the prevailing procedure. However, there is a need to prepare a joint action plan to ensure that MGNREGA activities are built around the proposed project activities. In order to achieve this, the staff of agriculture and allied departments at the block/circle level will prepare action plans and labour budgets in consultation with the Block Development Officer of the area and this action plan will have to be entered into the MIS of the Rural Development Department. This activity will have to be taken up October-November every year to ensure timely implementation of the proposed MGNREGA activities. In addition, the project will also converge with the existing government scheme related to crop insurance.

Monitoring and Evaluation

      The project’s M&E system will measure performance against the project logframe. The M&E system will also provide evidence of the results in terms of the government’s sector objectives and IFAD’s objectives at the country level, with data disaggregated by gender.  Progress of project activities and outputs will be tracked via a computerised management information system (MIS) with information on the status of activities in each of the project villages. Outcomes, such as adoption of improved methods and the resultant increase in production, will be assessed via Annual Outcome Surveys covering a sample of project and non-project households. More detailed information on the performance of project interventions and achievement of objectives would be gathered by focused surveys covering households participating in specific sub-sector interventions through the engagement of a Specialist Organisation. Higher level results at the project goal level will be measured via sample surveys of all participating households plus a control group, to be carried out at start-up (baseline) and completion. The project management unit will produce consolidated reports on project progress and results, including annual reports on IFAD’s ORMS (Operational Results Management System) 

Knowledge Management

      The project will develop a Knowledge Management strategy and action plan. This will include internal learning through regular progress review meetings, and participatory M&E at the community level. Information will be shared at the village level via a village notice board, posters and leaflets. Knowledge will also be shared with external stakeholders and the wider development community through the generation of knowledge products, such as newsletters, briefs, training materials, technical manuals, booklets, posters, videos, etc. As FOCUS is a two state project, an annual Knowledge sharing workshop will be organised for exchange of knowledge between the two states. The project will also aim to be a platform for learning for the other states in the region wherever jhum is being practiced and where there is an increasing focus on market-orientated production. A project website will be established as a knowledge sharing tool, with information on good practices and innovations shared with NITI Ayog, DEA and MoDoNER and also displayed on the IFAD Asia website.

Capacity building and knowledge generation

     The project will be working on both jhum improvement and settled agriculture. In order to generate concurrent impact data and to demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches, the project will engage with a Specialist Organisation which has expertise in upland farming systems as well as good knowledge of the region. This exercise will also generate knowledge that may be useful for informing the policies and practices of other states in the NER.  The project has allocated USD 250,000 to generate knowledge on the evolution and sustainability of upland farming systems and their capacity to respond to climate change. The ICAR Regional Centre in Barapani with specialisation in Research and the Regional ATARI which co-ordinates the work of all KVKs in the NER have been identified by the Project as the most suitable agency to be engaged for this purpose. Both these institutions come under the ICAR, Government of India. It is, therefore, proposed that the GoM will  sign an agreement  with ICAR detailing the terms of engagement.  The responsibilities will be divided between the ICAR Regional Centre, Barapani and the ATARI as follows:

a.                   Regional Centre of ICAR which has a sub-centre in Kolasib will be responsible for: (i) demonstration of settled agriculture models on a micro-watershed basis in about 50 ha per district; (ii) technical backstopping for project activities in the field related to jhum and settled agriculture; (iii) evaluating impact of project’s settled agriculture activities; (iv) knowledge sharing by way of regional workshops to disseminate the results impact assessment studies; and (v) knowledge sharing by way of regional workshops to disseminate the results of action research conducted by KVKs under the supervision of ATARIs. 

b.                  Agriculture Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI) through the KVKs in all the district will be responsible for (i) action research on settled agriculture on jhum land in various microclimates of Mizoram in collaboration with local research agencies; (ii) supply of quality planting materials; (iii) development of improved varieties of seeds (paddy) using local seeds; (iv) technical backstopping and training of village level workers; and (v) establishment of demonstrations of pig breeding units, stall fed goat units and backyard poultry hatchery units.  

Fund Flow mechanism: 

1.      To the Project:  The Project will be funded from the following sources: IFAD Loan, IFAD Grant, GoM contribution to SCRAM (comprising of CSS and its own share towards such schemes), GoM contribution by way of taxes, contributions from beneficiaries and by way of convergence from other Govt schemes.  Funds from IFAD loan will flow to a Special/Designated Account maintained in USD in a bank acceptable to IFAD and operated by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Government of India (GoI). MoF will transfer the IFAD loan to the State Treasury of the Government of Mizoram (GoM) through the prescribed national procedures for budgetary support to State Governments. The GoM will release these funds to SCRAM as soon as it receives the same from GOI. Besides IFAD contribution, the GoM will deposit its contribution in the project account of SCRAM in accordance with the approved AWPBs. The CSS funds will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries in accordance with the schemes but these will be tracked by a designated officer who will facilitate recording of such transfers in the books of the project.    

a)          IFAD Funds: Proceeds of IFAD loan funds will be disbursed using one of the following four methods: (i) advance withdrawals or replenishments to the bank account(s) designated to receive loan resources; (ii) direct payment; (iii) Special Commitment (under letter of credit); and (iv) reimbursement.  IFAD will make an initial advance of USD 3 million which is about six months of IFAD allocation towards the project into the Designated Account and then replenish the Designated Account on the basis of Withdrawal Applications submitted by the Project through the State Government to the CAA&A, Government of India. 

b)         Counterpart Funding  

(i)         Budgetary Allocations: The PMU of SCRAM will be responsible for preparing the Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWPB) for the Project by consolidating the AWPBs of all DMUs which will be based on village level activities as proposed by COs. The AWPB comprising of IFAD and GoM funds (including CSS contribution) will be a separate line item in the budget of the DOA Department for Grant-in-Aid and will be presented for legislative sanction from the State Assembly. Fund will flow from the DOA to SCRAM bank account as Grants-in-Aid in one or two tranches once the annual State budget is approved by the State Assembly. Since the funds from the GoM will be by way of Grants-in-Aid, the Treasury would not insist on certification of the Accountant General’s Office for further release of funds. 

(ii)     Funds of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS): DoA will dovetail the CSS funds and its own share towards those schemes for the project districts and include it the DOA budget for the project (which will be a separate line item in the State budget) and these funds will be released by the DoA to the beneficiaries in accordance with the scheme and the approved AWPB for implementation of project activities. These transfers will be recorded in the books of the project as Govt contribution to the project. 

c) Beneficiary Contribution: The beneficiary contribution shall be in kind (labour provided by the beneficiaries). The DMUs shall evolve a system to collect information in respect of beneficiary contribution to the project on a regular and ongoing basis. This could form part of the reporting system by the COs to the DMUs. The utilization certificates of funds disbursed for activities which involve beneficiary contribution could be used as a basis for accounting the beneficiary contribution.

2.      Within the Project:  Initially the PMU shall provide an advance to the DMUs to cover the expenditure for six months based on their AWPB. The DMUs shall submit monthly statements of expenditure to the PMU. The DMUs shall seek replenishment of the amount spent when it has utilized at least 50% of the amount advanced earlier by submitting a utilization certificate. Accordingly, whatever amount has been spent by the DMU shall be reinstated to them by the PMU. The DMUs will fund the COs and all other activities at village level. 

     The COs shall maintain separate bank accounts in respect of funds received from the Project and the amounts utilized towards the project activities. A copy of such bank account statement shall be submitted to the DMUs every month along with the utilization certificate. The project staff or any person authorized by it shall be entitled to verify the books of accounts and all supporting documents and records of the COs in respect of the project expenditure.

Actions taken

   i)          Meeting on Discussion of Draft Aide Memoire on IFAD Project at Office Chamber of the Secretary, Govt. of Mizoram, Agriculture Department vide No.B.14016/2/2017-AGR(NLUP) of 1^st June, 2017.

ii)          Meeting held on 20^th June, 2017 in the Cabinet Room of the Chief Minister’s Office under his chairmanship to discuss strategy for implementation of IFAD vide No.B.14016/2/2016-NLUP of 3^rd July, 2017.

iii)          Wrap-up meeting with IFAD Final Design Mission Team and stakeholders under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary, Govt. of Mizoram in his Conference Hall on 7^th July, 2017.

iv)          Meeting on interaction with the team members of IFAD to work on the final design of IFAD Mission Team at Conference Hall of the Secretariat vide No.CS/MZ/MISC/2017 of 8^th July, 2017.

v)          Appointment of Agriculture Director (Crop Husbandry) as Mission Director, FOCUS vide No. B.14016/4/2017-AGR (IFAD) of 31^st July, 2017. 

vi)          Notification issued designating Agriculture Department (Crop Husbandry) as Nodal Department (vide No. B.14016/4/2017-AGR(IFAD) of 31^st July, 2017) 

vii)          Constitution of Society for Climate Resilient Agriculture in Mizoram (SCRAM) vide No. B.14016/4/2017-AGR (IFAD) of 18^th August, 2017.

viii)          Constitution of Project Steering Committee at State Level and Project Management Committee (PMC) for FOCUS vide No. B.14016/4/2017-AGR(IFAD) of 18^th August, 2017. 

ix)          Appointment of Shri Rohmingthanga Colney, Joint Director of Agriculture (Crop Husbandry) as State Project Director, FOCUS vide No. B.14016/4/2017-AGR (IFAD) of 22^nd August, 2017. 

x)          Registration of SCRAM under Registrar, Firms & Societies Act bearing Registration No. 882 of 23.10.2017.

xi)          1^st Meeting of Society for Climate Resilient Agriculture in Mizoram (SCRAM) on 13^th November, 2017 held at Chief Secretary’s Conference Hall.

xii)          Signing of IFAD’s Loan Negotiation on 16^th November, 2017 held at New Delhi.

xiii)          Participate in the Round Table Conference on IFAD during 20^th -22^nd November, 2017 at Dimapur, Nagaland for identify the technical management, intensification and transformation of traditional upland farming systems (shifting cultivation or jhum) in North East India.

xiv)          Constitution of District Level Coordination Committee and Block Level Coordination Committee for implementation of FOCUS Project vide No.B.14013/2/2017-AGR(IFAD/FOCUS) of 13^th December, 2017

xv)          Opening of Bank Account in the name of Society for Climate Resilient Agriculture in Mizoram (SCRAM) under IFAD funded Project called Fostering Climate Resilient Upland Farming Systems in the Northeast (FOCUS) on 12^th January, 2018 at IDBI Bank Limited, Aizawl Branch. 

xvi)          1^st  meeting of Project Management Committee, FOCUS under the chairmanship of Shri Lalhmingthanga, Secretary, Agriculture & Chairman, PMC in his Office Chamber on 5^th January, 2018.

xvii)          Signing of Project Agreement between Govt. Of Mizoram and IFAD on 19^th January, 2018 at New Delhi.

xviii)          Consultative meeting on the implementation of FOCUS Project with Departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, AH& Vety, LR, S & WC, KVK’s etc. from State and IFAD implementing Districts on 7^th March, 2018.

xix)          2^nd meeting of Project Management Committee (PMC) for implementation of FOCUS Project under the chairmanship of Shri Lalhmingthanga, Secretary, Agriculture & Chairman, PMC in his Office Chamber on 27^th March, 2018.

xx)          Meeting of Sub Committee on Human Resource Development under FOCUS Project under the guidance of Pi K.Vanlalrawni, Additional Secretary, Govt. of Mizoram, Agriculture Department on 28^th March, 2018.

xxi)          Meeting with ICO-IFAD for finalisation of Annual Work Plan & Budget for 2018-19 for FOCUS Project, Mizoram on 1^st June, 2018.

xxii)          Meeting with ICAR for technical support to FOCUS on 19^th June, 2018 at New Pusa ICAR Complex, New Delhi.

xxiii)          Training on IFAD Project of Monitoring and Evaluation on 18^th – 21^st June, 2018 at Hotel Royal Plaza, New Delhi.

xxiv)          Joint meeting with officials representatives from ICAR-ATARI Umiam, ICAR Headquarter and  IFAD for engagement of ICAR-ATARI to FOCUS Project, Mizoram on 3^rd July, 2018 at ICAR Complex, Umiam, Meghalaya.

                                                             Annex 1: Project Management Structure