The One District One Product (ODOP) initiative that has been making the headlines in Nagaland in recent days is a government-led program in India that aims to foster balanced regional development across all districts of the country. The initiative aims to select, brand, and promote at least One Product from each District (One District – One Product) of the country for enabling holistic socioeconomic growth across all regions. It may be recalled that implementation of ODOP initiative in Nagaland has already been approved under the Pradhan Mandri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFPE) scheme.
The ODOP initiative was launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). The initiative is being implemented by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in collaboration with the State Governments. The ODOP initiative has identified a total of 1102 products from 761 districts across the country. These products include a wide range of agricultural products, handicrafts, and other manufactured goods.
The ODOP initiative has been implemented in a number of ways, including identifying and promoting district-specific products, providing financial assistance to entrepreneurs, facilitating market linkages, and providing training and capacity building. The ODOP initiative has had a number of positive impacts in the country, including increased production and productivity of district-specific products, increased employment opportunities, improved incomes of rural households, and enhanced brand image of district-specific products. The ODOP initiative is projected to be a significant step towards achieving the goal of balanced regional development in India with the potential to improve the lives of millions of people in rural areas and boost the Indian economy.
It may be mentioned here that, according to a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on 24 March, the minister of state for Food Processing Industries, Prahlad Singh Patel, has said that the ODOP initiative has identified coffee as the district specific product of Mokokchung. ODOP, like many other government initiatives, is a novel exercise. However, its success and positive result is yet to be manifest in Nagaland. In Mokokchung, the success of coffee as the district product is yet to make any impactful outcome as yet. No doubt, many farmers are now turning to coffee plantations in recent years and the results are likely to be seen in the next few years. It is hoped that ODOP will be a success in Mokokchung. The ODOP initiative is still a work in progress, but coffee has the potential to make a significant contribution to the economic development of Mokokchung. Whether that potential can be realized or not, only time will tell.