The World Bank (WB) has approved a $ 50 million additional credit to finance Assam Agricultural Competitiveness Project (AACP), a project which aims to increase the productivity, profitability and market access of the farming community in Assam.
The Project aims at enabling farmers to take advantage of rapidly changing consumer demand and marketing channels, and the additional credit is expected to complement and ensure the project’s long-term sustainability.
The Project, till now, has played an important role in increasing the productivity and market access of targeted farmer groups of the state, primarily the small and marginal farmers, and has mobilised more than 3,00,000 beneficiaries in more than 63,000 beneficiary groups across the fishery, agriculture, dairy, forestry, and livestock sectors in Assam.
“Since one of the objectives of the additional credit is to scale up some of the successful investments under the original Project, investments will also focus on increased crop production through a combination of increased irrigated Boro rice production, crop diversification, improved extension advice, expanded use of micro-nutrients, and opening up additional production areas through drainage,” stated a WB statement.
The Project will be financed by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) – the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm – which provides interest-free loans with 25 years to maturity and a 5-year grace period.
“The focus of the Project is on mainstreaming management approaches, make ground water usage more sustainable by setting up water quality monitoring stations, strengthen the Agriculture Technology Management Agencies (ATMAs) to provide better agricultural services and improve the rural road network for better market connectivity,” added the press release.
The Project also envisages construction of low-cost roads and innovative bridge designs which can be used to connect smaller habitations and linking agriculture production with markets in a cost-effective manner, particularly in areas that do not fall under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY).
The Project aims at building synergies with ongoing schemes of the Assam government and the Centre, and establish a system for sustainable use of groundwater; and mainstream project collaboration with the private sector; as well as enhance investments in irrigation, drainage, mechanization, extension advice, rural haat (markets) and roads to increase production, productivity and market access in selected.
