UN pledges USD 4 million for Mizoram livelihood project

Four specialised agencies of the United Nations have pledged USD 4 million to implement a livelihood project in Mizoram that will be launched in state capital Aizawl next week, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The UN agencies – UNDP, FAO, UNIDO and ILO have drawn up a detailed work plan and budget of USD 4 million (of which the state government will contribute Rs 122.7 lakhs) for the “UN Joint Initiative Project”, P L Thanga, chairman of the flagship New Land Use Policy, or NLUP, Implementing Board said.

The project would include a wide range of issues including food security, livelihood, energy security sustainable livelihoods, income generation and eco-system preservation, P L Thanga said, adding one aspect focused on would also be the setting up of a “trans-border animal disease control system” in the wake of the swine epidemic that devastated the state’s piggeries last year.

In agriculture, the project would seek to establish market linkages for the state’s produce, he added.