World Bank: Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate resilient Agriculture in Odisha

The Government of Odisha and the World Bank have signed 165 million USD loan agreement to strengthen smallholder farmers. The aim of the loan is to implement “Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture”.

The loan will help strengthen the resilience of the farmer production and to improve the marketing of their produce. The scheme will be implemented in rural areas that are largely rain fed and vulnerable to droughts

Key Features

• The scheme is to benefit 125,000 smallholder farmers from 15 districts of Odisha
• It aims to cover 128,000 hectares of land.
• The project aims to strengthen the resilience of the small holder farmers against adverse climate. It will help to improve access to resilient seed varieties, diversify towards climate resilient crops. It also aims at improving access to better water management and irrigation services.
• The project will also support rehabilitation of 532 water tanks and irrigate 91,435 hectares of land.

Aim of the project

The main objective of the project is to support farmers to reduce the current emphasis on food grains, especially paddy and wheat. The project will help to increase the share of high-value and more nutritious products like fruits and vegetables

Significance

The scheme will help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It is one of the major objectives of the GoI’s National Action Plan on Climate Change that largely includes adaptation of climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies.

The frequency of drought in the state has increased to one in five years to one in two years since 2009. In 2019, about 70% of the agricultural land in Odisha are prone to droughts as compared to 40% in 1970s.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2019