NAIP to be launched shortly in 12 districts of NE

Shillong, Aug 1 (UNI) The Indian Council Agriculture Research (North East) is working out modalities to implement the six-year ambitious agricultural research programme, National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP), in 12 most backward districts of North Eastern states.

The total budget of NAIP is 250 million dollars. The World Bank will fund 200 million dollars as credit (mostly interest free and a part with negligible interest) and 50 million dollars by the Government of India.

Of the 150 disadvantageous districts selected for the project, 12 districts from the region include Dhemaji, North Lakhimpur, Kokrajhar, Karbi Anglong, North Cachar Hills of Asom, South Garo Hills of Meghalaya, Dhallai of Tripura, Mon of Nagaland, Saiha of Mizoram and South Sikkim.

The project would facilitate an accelerated and sustainable transformation of the Indian agriculture so that it can support poverty alleviation and income generation, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (North East) Dr KM Bujarbaruah told reporters here today.

The council is fully geared to implement the project in terms of needed preparations, Dr Bujarbaruah said.

He said the aim of the NAIP is to promote livelihood security of the rural people in 150 disadvantaged districts, of which 12 are in the NE region, through partnership agreement with NGOs, village panchayats etc.

The NAIP will extend advanced technology to poor farmers in backward blocks. The future thrust areas would be on organic farming, conservation of resources by utilising the rich bio-diversity of the NE Region, he added.

Dr Bujarbaruah also informed that the just concluded National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) had provided more than 300 proven technologies and said that NAIP, would provide continuum in the direction of sustainable transformation of country's agriculture.

The project would focus on four components which aim at ICAR as the catalysing agent for the management of change in the Indian national agricultural research system, research on production to consumption systems, research on sustainable rural livelihood security and basic and strategic research in frontier areas of agricultural sciences.

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