Phase 2 of crop diversification project to begin soon: Minister

Our Correspondent

UNA, NOVEMBER 7

Agriculture Minister Virender Kanwar today said the second phase of the Himachal Pradesh Crop Diversification Promotion (HPCDP) Project, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will be launched soon in the state.

In a press release issued here today, Kanwar said about 25,000 farmers of the state would be covered under the Rs 1,010 crore project, which would focus on bringing rain-fed land under irrigation, crop diversification and bringing new cultivation techniques for the farmers in their fields.

The minister said the project objectives had been designed to encourage the farmers to adopt cultivation of cash crops so as to boost their economy. He said the first phase of the HPCDP project had been successfully implemented in five districts of the state, which culminated in June this year. Going by its success, he said the scope of the project had now been extended to all 12 districts through the second phase.

Kanwar said 306 new irrigation schemes would be implemented in the state which, when complete, will have a total irrigation command area of about 9,000 hectares. He added that new irrigation techniques like drip and sprinkler irrigation systems would be adopted to conserve water.

Besides, high-yielding varieties of seeds will be introduced to the farmers to boost their produce. In order to provide road connectivity for transportation of produce from remote areas, the construction of village roads has also been proposed, he said, adding that a sum of Rs 30 crore had been set aside for strengthening 13 existing agriculture produce marketing yards.

Kanwar said the duration of the second phase of the HPCDP project would be from 2021 to 2029, adding that five farmer training centres would be set up under the project in different districts. He said 10 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) would be constituted during the project implementation period and expressed hope that the project would boost the farm sector and attract more and more educated youth towards agriculture.