The Mokokchung Ao Officers’ Telungjem (MAOT), in collaboration with the ABAM Youth Ministry, conducted a two-day youth empowerment training on agriculture and leadership at the State Agricultural Research Station (SARS), Yimsemyong, on September 22 and 23.
Held under the theme “Grow Skills, Grow Enterprise, Grow Leaders,” the training sought to equip youth with practical agricultural skills, entrepreneurial knowledge and leadership capacity, while encouraging agriculture as a pathway to self-reliance and enterprise creation.
MAOT president and Joint Director, SARS, I. Lipokonen Jamir, highlighted opportunities available to young people in the agricultural sector. Referring to limited employment opportunities in the State and demand in local markets, he encouraged participants to explore agriculture and entrepreneurship rather than depend solely on available jobs.
Assistant Professor and MAOT General Secretary Yashikala Jamir, in the introductory session, highlighted the interconnected nature of agri-based activities and said greater youth participation could contribute to both individual self-reliance and the wider agricultural ecosystem.
The training combined theoretical sessions with practical demonstrations covering beekeeping, kitchen and nutrition gardens, oyster mushroom cultivation, composting and organic inputs, poultry management, tree nursery management, youth groups and collective enterprise, leadership, and basic agricultural business planning.
Seventeen experts and resource persons from departments and institutions including Agriculture, Horticulture, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Veterinary, District Rural Development Agency and Nagaland State Rural Livelihoods Mission facilitated the sessions.
Participants also heard experiences from vegetable and poultry farmers, who shared their journeys in developing agricultural enterprises and spoke about learning through trial and error, persistence and overcoming social and cultural challenges.
In his closing remarks, MAOT vice-president Er Chubatoshi encouraged participants to identify their individual skills and areas of interest and remain committed to developing them despite competing influences.
The programme brought together 46 youth from different churches and institutions affiliated to the Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang (ABAM).