“I was motivated to join ILP [the ‘integrated livelihoods programme’] after attending a community meeting held in my village in 2025,” says Hukhrulu Khamo, a 45-year-old farmer from Lozaphuhu in Nagaland’s Phek district. “That’s when I first learned about the potential of diversifying into vegetable crops.”
Ms Khamo, a mother of three children, and her husband Vechizo rely primarily on agriculture to support their family, while also pursuing piggery as an additional source of income. The couple owns five acres of land, where they cultivate a variety of seasonal crops, including cabbage, peas, beans, broccoli, potatoes, chillies and spices.
The Khamo household’s income in 2024 from farming was around ₹30,000. The meagre return was easily explained: limited access to quality seeds and inputs, unpredictable weather conditions, fluctuating market prices and financial constraints. The family was in dire need of a livelihood lift.
That’s what ILP and the Northeast Initiative Development Agency (NEIDA), an associate entity of the Tata Trusts, have delivered for Ms Khamo.
A year of being in the programme has enabled the Khamos to pull in approximately ₹55,000 through farming. The additional income has made a meaningful difference, allowing Ms Khamo to pay for her children’s school fees regularly and bringing a measure of financial stability to her life. The family is now looking to expand into orchard farming.
Subsistence farming is a thing of the past for Ms Khamo, as it is for many in Lozaphuhu.
