ADB gives 130 million dollars

The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a $130 million loan agreement to support initiatives aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, improving irrigation access, and promoting horticulture agribusinesses in Himachal Pradesh. The project aims to enhance farmers income and resilience to climate change in seven districts of the state.

An Overview of the News:

This $130 million loan will be used to horticulture in, improve irrigation facilities and promote horticulture agribusinesses in Himachal Pradesh.
Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of India, while Takeo Konishi. Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, signed on behalf of ADB.

Benefits from the Agreement:

Improvement of sub-tropical horticulture in southern regions of Himachal Pradesh,
Crop diversification in rural areas of the state,
opportunities for climate adaptation and more equitable economic and social development.
Supporting horticulture value chains will also encourage the contribution of this sub-sector to the development and food security of the country.
The implementation of this project will help at least 15,000 agricultural families in 7 districts of the state – Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Sirmaur, Solan and Una – to increase their income and combat the effects of climate change.
The project will also help create an ecosystem to improve farmers access to markets for subtropical horticulture.

Enhancing Irrigation Infrastructure

One of the key focuses of the project is to improve on-farm irrigation and water management in around 6,000 hectares of farmland. This will be achieved through the rehabilitation or construction of new irrigation schemes. The project will also strengthen the capacity of Water Users Associations (WUAs) for micro-irrigation management. The initiative will be a joint effort between the state’s Jal Shakti Vibhag (Water Resources Department) and the Department of Horticulture (DOH).

Promoting Horticulture Agribusinesses

In addition to irrigation improvements, the project aims to create an ecosystem that enhances farmers’ access to subtropical horticulture markets. The farmers will be organized into cluster-wide Community Horticulture Production and Marketing Associations (CHPMAs) and district-wide CHPMA cooperative societies. This approach will facilitate collective marketing and value addition activities, benefiting farmers by providing better market linkages and improved bargaining power.

Increasing Resilience to Climate Change:

The project recognizes the challenges posed by climate change and seeks to enhance farmers resilience. By improving irrigation facilities and promoting climate-resilient agricultural practices. The project aims to minimize the adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture. This will enable farmers to continue farming and increase their incomes sustainably.