The World Bank has agreed to extend financial support to Odisha to undertake projects under Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development (REWARD).
Following negotiations for the project, Odisha will go ahead with the 70 million Dollar World Bank project to improve land and water conservation and climate resilience in watershed areas.
While Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Land Resources, Government of India Satyabrata Sahu is happy with such a development, not only Odisha, Karnatatka and Andhra Pradesh will be benefitted with similar REWARD Projects.
World Bank India Director Junaid Kamal Ahmed has informed the Union Government in this regard and has complimented efforts of Odisha Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy in this regard, said sources.
While Additional Secretary Sahu played a key role in roping in World Bank for REWARD initiative in Odisha, Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC) Pradipta Kumar Mahapatra took leadership in this regard.
Principal Secretary Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Saurabh Garg held productive discussions with World Bank team for REWARD project and the international banker was convinced about the proactive approach of the Odisha Government, said sources.
Now Odisha will go ahead with the project to rejuvenate its watershed sector in a big way, said a senior official in Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment.
The project is a Program for Results (P4R) instrument and will be implemented in next six years. The proposed IBRD loan and the State Government will jointly fund the project in 70:30 proportions.
The REWARD will be different from “business as usual” watershed programmes because the State is expected to adopt modern technologies and data-focused land resource inventorization for watershed planning and implementation, work with technical partners, and expand the application of data bases and DSS tools to help farmers improve productivity and climate resiliency.
“With proven capacities and experience of DFID assisted Western Odisha Rural Livelihood Project (WORLP) and other watershed programmes, the State will effectively adopt these transformative technologies,” said Director of Soil Conservation and Watershed Development HK Panda.