Workshop to formulate district-level agricultural planning

Bhubaneswar, Aug 23 (UNI) Kalinga Industrial Institute of Technology School of Rural Management (KSRM) of the KIIT deemed university and the National Agricultural Bank for Rural Development (NABARD) will jointly organise a two-day workshop here, from tomorrow, to formulate a comprehensive district-level agricultural plan.

The workshop is being organised as per the suggestion of the Planning Commission to accelerate the process of preparation of district agricultural plans through participatory grassroot-level planning.

This was a major policy shift from the earlier top-down state centric planning to bottom-up-people centred approach and to decentralise the planning process.

The workshop is one of the four proposed to be organised in four regions of the country.

KIIT Chancellor A Samanta told newsmen here that as many as 180 persons from seven states of Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Tripura and West Bengal and consultants of Planning Commission are scheduled to participate in the interactive workshop.

Representatives of universities and NGOs, secretaries of Planning, Agriculture and Panchayat Raj,district collectors,directors of agriculture, fisheries and planning would also deliberate to find out the method for the district-level planning.

The workshop would also help increase capacity-building of state and district functionaries and the people at the grassroot level.

Mr Samanta said in Orissa, the outcome of the workshop would be implemented in three districts of Kalahandi, Bolangir and Ganjam on the pilot project.It would be extended to 27 other districts.

UNI