Himachal Agriculture Department today signed a pact withthe Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the new crop diversification project.
The MoU was signed by Secretary (Agriculture) Anuradha Thakur on behalf of the state government and Takema Sakamoto, Chief Representative, JICA in the presence of State Agriculture Minister Sujan Singh Pathania for implementation of Phase II of the Crop Diversification Project.
Pathania said that state agriculture department has successfully completed phase I of Crop Diversification Project in November 2015 and the new project would be for five years from 2016 to 2020.
He said that another project with loan assistance of Rs 321 crore from JICA was also under implementation.
The minister said that the phase II project aims at upliftment of farmers and stabilisation of their livelihood level through further expansion of crop diversification keeping in view the agro-ecological conditions in five districts of Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi and Una.
The project would focus on the enhancement of crop diversification model which was developed under Phase I and would ensure strengthening the organisational capacity of the Department to promote crop diversification in the five districts through training and extension services to the farmers, compiling replicable packages on new techniques, identifying effective marketing activities and formulation of five-year-action plans.
The Minister said that the activities of the project would cover over 200 irrigation sub-project sites spread over 3710 hectare, developed under the on-going JICA supporting Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loan Project.
