Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat called on the Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh in the national Capital on Monday.
Informing the Union Minister in detail about the various agriculture related schemes in the State, Rawat urged the Centre to approve an externally-aided (World Bank-funded) Rs 714 crore project related to cluster based agriculture.
This project is a seven-year project, he said.
The Chief Minister further informed the Union Minister that agriculture is the basis of livelihood for the people of Uttarakhand, despite which about 88 per cent of the State’s agriculture is non-irrigated.
About 91 per cent of the farmers in the State are marginal or small category farmers. Due to lack of use of latest technologies in the agriculture sector in Uttarakhand, the expected success is not being achieved in agricultural production in the State.
Considering the local ecological conditions, a cluster based scheme has been prepared for such areas.
The State’s economic affairs and planning department has systematically checked the Rs 714 crore project entailing 400 clusters of 100 hectares each for the production of seeds of local crops, organic farming, agriculture mechanisation, moisture preservation, development of irrigation facilities, marketing, post harvest, technical, skill development and other works.
Rawat urged the Union Agriculture Minister to make effort from his level for approval of this project to enable the development of Uttarakhand.
Rawat further said apart from the major disaster experienced in the State in 2013, drought experienced consistently every year, unseasonal rain, hail and other factors have caused substantial damage to agriculture and horticulture — especially to apple and other cold-climate fruits.
He requested Singh to approve a special assistance amount of Rs 500 crore as compensation for loss of apple and other cold-climate fruits due to disaster on the lines of such facility provided to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Rawat further said that the department of economic affairs should soon present a proposal for Rs 700 crore to enable World Bank assistance for all round development of horticulture in the State.