Seven Sisters Development Assistance has launched a digital application named Bagisa under a NABARD-sponsored Green Fellow Initiative to promote home-based agri-horticulture services and create green livelihoods for youth in Northeast India.

What are Home-based Agri-Horti Services?

• Home-based agri-horti services refer to professional agriculture and horticulture solutions provided at the household level.
  
• These services support urban and semi-urban families in adopting sustainable green practices within their homes and communities.
  

Key Features of the Initiative

• The Bagisa application digitally connects trained rural youth, called Green Fellows, with customers in cities like Guwahati and Bongaigaon.
  
• The initiative is implemented by Seven Sisters Development Assistance with financial and institutional support from NABARD.
  
• It is part of a broader effort to link skill development, technology and market access.

The Green Fellow Initiative

• Capacity Building: Fellows are equipped with market-oriented skills in nursery management, composting, and landscaping.
• Service Delivery: Trained youth provide home-based services like terrace gardening and urban landscaping in cities like Guwahati and Bongaigaon.
• Livelihood Generation: It creates a sustainable “green entrepreneurship” model, moving beyond traditional subsistence farming.

Strategic Importance for India

This project aligns with several national objectives:

• Urban Greening: Combats the “urban heat island” effect through increased domestic greenery.
• Digital Innovation: Leverages technology (via the Bagisa app) to organize the fragmented informal labor market.
• Climate Resilience: Promotes organic farming and waste management (composting) at the household level.
• Relevant Frameworks: The initiative supports the goals of the National Horticulture Mission (NHM) and the Startup Village Entrepreneurship Program (SVEP) by fostering rural-urban economic linkages.

Significance for Youth and the Environment

• The initiative targets unemployed rural youth from vulnerable communities.
• It equips them with market-oriented skills in agriculture, horticulture and entrepreneurship.
• It creates self-employment opportunities while reducing distress migration from rural areas.

Exam Hook

Statement-based Question

Q. With reference to home-based agri-horti services under the Green Fellow Initiative, consider the following statements:

1. The initiative aims to link trained rural youth with urban households through a digital platform.
   
2. It is supported by NABARD and implemented by a civil society organisation.
   
3. It focuses exclusively on large-scale commercial farming.
   

Which of the above statements are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

One-line wrap:
Home-based agri-horti services combine youth skills, digital innovation and sustainable living to create green livelihoods in Northeast India.

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