By GD Disinrei
IMPHAL, Oct 12: After three days of assessment and inspection on the workings and functions by an official team of the ACE Registrar Co-limited and the International Accreditation Forum, IAF, the Foundation for Environment and Economic Development Services, (FEEDS) a Hengbung village Senapati based NGO has been awarded an ISO certification in Ecological and Environment.
The FEEDS has became the first among the NGOs of the entire North East region of India to have given the recognition by the ISO headquarter at Noida and it will have a three years validity.
The FEEDS has been awarded the ISO certificate No ACE/ISO91/121 issued on August 14, 2010.
The FEEDS is an institute of Krishi Vigyan Kendra of ICAR, Senapati and has been awarded the certificate for its activities on research and development in the field of Organic Farming, Technical Training and Skill Development in recycling of energy including development of land and water resources for plantation, floriculture and agriculture.
Saitu assembly constituency MLA, Haokholet Kipgen, who is also president of the FEEDS while speaking to the IFP stated that the organization is located some 40 kms away from the state capital and its farm area covers a total of 50 hectare and 180 acres on the hillock of Hengbung village, Senapati.
The MLA further said that the sister organization of FEEDS, Orchid Gene Conservation Region of Eastern Himalaya was also the first organization of the North Eastern region of the country to be recognized by the ICAR, Sikkim.
The FEEDS is involved in various activities including tree plantation, floriculture, orchid conservation and regeneration, tea plantation, emu and turkey farming, medicinal herbs, natural resources management, ecology/environment, agriculture and horticulture.
The president of the organization has also established that he wants to set up an ecological tourism centre inside the campus of the organization’s head office.
The organization give employment to around 100 people which include 30 technical staffs, three non technical staff, 27 field staffs, 20 casual laborers apart from the deputed staffs for being the centre has been recognized under the Krishi Vigyan Kendra Senapati by the Ministry of the Agriculture since 2002.
The FEEDS president MLA Haokholet Kipgen while interacting with the media yesterday evening at the Hengbung centre mentioned that with the induction of KVK programmes into the site, the organization have to bear more expensive in terms of delivering the payments of salaries for the employees for the over the needed over staffs into the site because of vast and extensive programmes taken up by the FEEDS which are still under the coverage of the projects of the KVK into this farm , he added.
He further mentioned that considering the limited potentialities of earning sources for the people especially living in the hill districts of the state, the FEEDS have been encouraging grassroot movement to bring back the forest on the tribal habitats by putting pressure on the government.
He further said the result of the efforts that have been extended by the FEEDS since last many years is not only to give benefits to the common villagers of the hills and valley districts but the procedures and fall out of the success are now becoming the properties of the state, he added.
Explaining over the successful ventures of the programs that have been conducted by the FEEDS, MLA, Haokholet Kipgen further mentioned that, the FEEDS has it landmark in successful venture in terms of tree plantation programmes initially, floriculture, Orchid Conservation and Regeneration and finally the organization is now concentrating in the Turkey farming with an objective to meet the requirement of meat productions as a part to have additional meat productions in the state apart from the chicken, ducks, guinea fowl and quail Turkey.
Apart from this activities the FEEDS is credited with the first unit of the women scientist scheme in the state under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, the unit is presently involved in doing research in basic/applied science on organic Kiwi fruit plantation and piggery, furthermost the unit has also conducted several activities and schemes including Natural resource management, opening of IGNOU study centre, holding of Kishan Mela and introduction of Project for tribal women etc. till today.
Haokholet Kipgen also mentioned that the unit will be organizing first ever Emu Fest at the said FEEDS campus by next month with an objective to expose the economic potentiality out of raring Emu which have been successfully conducted by the FEEDS at Hengbung village at present. The fest will certainly impart the real effectiveness of economic sustainability to the individuals after raring the Emu products which will be supplied to from the unit to the interested persons he added.
