SPREAD NE is a Non-Government Organization working with the vision of gradual but steady transformation of agricultural practices from chemo to organic production mode increasing natural resource use efficiency, building competitiveness of farm to fork value chain actors encompassing innovations in the organic food production packages, input use pattern and market dynamics. . SPREAD NE is working in the entire north-eastern region of India creating farm and food entrepreneurs using natural resources sustainably and equitably for an inclusive growth in the sector. The organization firmly works on the principle of local people eating local food from the local resources thus converting the bio-wealth into bio-economy.. It aims to promote ecological farming methods for eco-system management using scientific means, methods and methodologies; tools, techniques and technologies – attracting young farmers, women and children to the ever demanding avocation called agriculture . The organization is leading a mass economic development movement in the villages of Assam in particular and that of the North East in general, – by training the small and marginal farmers to develop their homestead gardens into organic nutrition gardens with local nutraceauticals plants, herbs, fruits and vegetables ensuring nutrition security and also sustainable livelihood development by marketing the surplus through formation of cooperative and Farmers’ Producer Organizations.

Women members of SPREAD NE Agriculture Farming Cooperative at SPREAD NE Farm Learning Centre, Sonapur, Assam.

SPREAD NE is working towards bringing commerce into agriculture, make the sector remunerative and comparable to any government job pursuing it technologically and skillfully with dignity and honour. The aim is also to halt the process of rurbanization (Rural to urban migration) by empowering the rural youths on agri-trade and business particularly through organic input production and output marketing under appropriate grading, packaging and branding doing away completely the – dependence on external inputs. -. To attract youth to agripreneurship, SPREAD NE has started its programme on Attracting Students to Agripreneurship (ASAP) in rural schools and colleges of the region The students are trained to establish a school nutrition garden with – local nutritious herbs and vegetables. The products are consumed by the students in the mid-day meal programme of the school. The students learn to collect all the dry leaves and weeds and make them into compost. They are trained to plant bamboos at their home gardens/ villages and are made aware of – the – climate friendly quality of bamboo as well as their income generating potentials –

SPREAD NE has started its own Farm Learning Centre (FLC) at Sonapur which is 15 Kms away from the main city of Assam i.e. Guwahati. The FLC -represents hill and valley ecosystems with components like – bamboo forest, edible food forest, animal husbandry, fishery and farm tourism where -students and youths from different parts of the region are provided hands on training under farm camping facility. From the trainees, the FLC – creates Green Commandos – after the training who then move to their respective village and start promoting ecological and climate friendly farming practices by establishing farms and social enterprises. So far SPREAD NE has created 6 large model Organic Farms in the region through – farm entrepreneurs it produced and they have been linked to the main Farm learning Centres at Sonapur. The organization has also created 5 model organic villages in Assam and Nagaland. More than 50 Green Commandos have been created who have started similar activities in their respective areas by starting their own foundations and are social entrepreneurs. 3 Farmer cooperatives have been formed to lead a market-led extension programme for the indigenous crop and animal production. 1500 women members are trained on ecological farming methods and homestead gardening of nutraceautical herbs and vegetable. The women groups are also trained on processing and marketing of these indigenous crops. Local seed villages are created in the tribal dominated regions. Two bamboo villages are being created in the region – * SPREAD-NE works on the food production base that is land, water, forest, biodiversity over and underground biota caring for their sustainable health. * It imparts Hands on training and skill development programmes from resource handling to input production to crop caring and marketing -. * It’s clients are Farmers, Policy-makers, politicians, financial organizations, press & media, village councils/panchayats, consumers, food value chain managers, certification agencies, social media, National and International players in Agriculture. SPREAD NE is manned – by professionals and experts in Ecological Farming who are decorated – with National recognition in form of National Awards. It has its reach across the region, has tie ups with agricultural university and other institutions of repute. It also has access to resource persons to impart training from farming to financial management. –

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