India and the World Bank on Monday signed a $200-million (Rs 1,297 crore) loan agreement to increase Assam’s agriculture productivity.
The money is for the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project, which will support the state government to get more investments for agriculture and increase yield. It will also help small farmers produce crops resilient to floods or drought, which are recurrent in the state.
The project will be implemented in 16 districts of the state, and is expected to benefit five lakh farming households, the government said. At least 30% women are expected to participate in project-related activities.
The Assam government aims to double farm incomes in the state and transform the agricultural sector into a source of growth and economic development, Hisham Abdo, the operations manager at the World Bank, said.
The project also plans to introduce crops resilient to climate change. Currently, more than 50% of its paddy growing areas are prone to floods or drought.
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