Fostering Climate-resilient Upland Farming Systems (FOCUS), Mizoram
An IFAD-aided, multi-year project moving hill households from jhum toward settled, productive, climate-resilient farming — with market access and better productivity.
Run by: Department of Agriculture, Government of Mizoram (externally-aided project, with IFAD)
- Phase 2 approved
- November 2025 (IFAD)
- Coverage (FOCUS 2.0)
- All 11 districts, ~700 villages
- Households (FOCUS 2.0)
- ~75,000
- Project cost (FOCUS 2.0)
- ~US$87.45 million
Quick Summary
The key points from this page in about two minutes — read it or have it read aloud.
Quick Summary
Across Mizoram's hills, farming has long meant jhum — shifting cultivation, where a patch of forest is cleared and burned, cropped for a season or two, then abandoned. As the fallow cycles shorten, jhum gives thinning yields and strips the slopes, leaving a hill family poorer and more exposed to a bad year. FOCUS — the Fostering Climate-resilient Upland Farming Systems project — is the Mizoram government's big, long-term effort to move households from this toward more productive, settled and climate-resilient farming, without leaving them without an income in between.
It is not a quick cash scheme. FOCUS is a multi-year project, financially aided by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), run through societies set up inside the Department of Agriculture. It works on three fronts: making upland farming itself more productive and climate-resilient (including livestock), building market access and small enterprise so what is grown can be sold and value-added, and the project management and knowledge services that hold it together. The support reaches a household as a package — better practices, inputs, infrastructure, market links — rather than a single payment.
For a farmer, the entry point is whether your village is in a FOCUS project area and which component is active there; the project is delivered village by village through the Department of Agriculture's project units, not by an individual online form. The second phase, FOCUS 2.0, was approved by IFAD in November 2025 and extends the project to all 11 districts of Mizoram, so a hill household that was outside the first phase may now be covered.
Overview
FOCUS (Fostering Climate-resilient Upland Farming Systems) is an externally-aided project of the Government of Mizoram, financed with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The first phase agreement was signed on 25 January 2018 at a total project cost of about US$79.30 million, aiming to raise agricultural income and climate resilience for tens of thousands of upland households; across Mizoram and Nagaland the design envisaged about 2,01,500 households benefiting. It is implemented through societies set up within the Department of Agriculture.
The project works through three components: climate-resilient agriculture and livestock productivity; market access and enterprise development (market infrastructure built with climate-resilient techniques, agriculture link roads, value addition); and project management and knowledge services. The thrust is to help jhum (shifting cultivation) farmers adopt more productive, sustainable practices and move toward settled farming, so that incomes rise and the hillsides are not stripped bare by ever-shorter fallow cycles.
The second phase, FOCUS 2.0, received IFAD approval in November 2025 and scales the project up to cover all 11 districts of Mizoram — about 700 villages and 75,000 households — at an approved cost of around US$87.45 million, of which the IFAD loan is about US$45.78 million, over a roughly six-year period. It is aligned with Mizoram's flagship Bana Kaih (Handholding) programme and the central PM-DevINE and NESIDS initiatives for the North-East.
What you get
The benefit as the state notifies it — nothing here is an estimate.
- Support to shift from low-yielding jhum toward settled, climate-resilient upland farming.
- More productive crop and livestock practices suited to the hills.
- Market access — collection and market infrastructure, link roads, value addition and small enterprise.
- Delivered as a package to a household, village by village, not a one-time cash payout.
Who is eligible
State schemes usually state their criteria as prose rather than a checklist. This is that prose, unpacked — the department’s verification is what decides.
You qualify if
- Upland / jhum farming household in Mizoram
- In a village that falls within a FOCUS project area
- Taking part in the project's farmer groups / activities
- Component (crop, livestock, market / enterprise) active in your area
Documents you need
Have these ready before you start — most rejections are a missing paper, not a missing right.
- Aadhaar card
- Proof of residence / household in the project village
- Bank account details
- Membership of the project's farmer group / society where applicable
How to apply
Fewer steps than a central scheme, and usually one office rather than a portal.
- 1
Check if your village is a FOCUS area
Find out from your local Department of Agriculture office or the FOCUS project unit whether your village is covered, especially under the expanded FOCUS 2.0.
- 2
Join the project activity
Take part through the project's farmer groups / societies — this is how the crop, livestock and market-access support is delivered.
- 3
Use the component support
Access the relevant component — climate-resilient practices and inputs, livestock support, or market infrastructure and enterprise help — as rolled out in your area.
If something goes wrong
Missing from the list, or payment stuck — here is the channel the department itself publishes for it.
- For your village being left out, or project support announced but not reaching you, raise it with your local Department of Agriculture office and the FOCUS Project Management Unit under the department.
- Mizoram does not have a single public-grievance portal. Beyond the project, use the Deputy Commissioner's grievance cell and district Jan Sunwai hearings, with the Chief Minister's Office as the focal point; the Mizoram State Portal / e-District services are the online route.
Frequently asked questions
What does FOCUS stand for, and what is it?
Fostering Climate-resilient Upland Farming Systems — an externally-aided project of the Mizoram government, financed with IFAD, to move hill households from jhum (shifting cultivation) toward settled, productive, climate-resilient farming.
Is this a cash scheme?
No. FOCUS is a multi-year development project. Support reaches a household as a package — better practices, inputs, livestock support, market infrastructure and enterprise help — delivered village by village, not as a single cash transfer.
What is FOCUS 2.0?
The second phase, approved by IFAD in November 2025. It scales the project to all 11 districts of Mizoram — about 700 villages and 75,000 households — at a cost of around US$87.45 million over roughly six years.
How is it different from Bana Kaih?
Bana Kaih (Handholding) is Mizoram's own flagship financial-assistance programme for farmers and entrepreneurs. FOCUS is a separate IFAD-aided project focused on climate-resilient upland farming; the two are aligned but distinct.
How do I take part?
Check with your local Department of Agriculture office whether your village is in a FOCUS area, then join through the project's farmer groups. The support is delivered to covered villages, not through an individual online application.
Facts checked against agriculturemizoram.nic.in on 8 October 2026. editorial policy.