$ 318 million agreement signed with WB for TN agri. project

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The Government of India,  Government of Tamil Nadu and World Bank (WB)on December 26, 2017, signed a $318 million loan agreement for the Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernization Project to promote climate resilient agriculture technologies, improve water management practices, and increase market opportunities for small and marginal farmers. About 500,000 farmers majority of them being small and marginal are expected to benefit from improved and modernized tank irrigation systems.

The project will rehabilitate and modernize about 4,800 irrigation tanks and 477 check dams spread across 66 sub-basins in providing bulk water to irrigation systems.

” Tamil Nadu (TN) being a water-stressed state continues to experience water shortages which are expected to further worsen in the future. Rehabilitation and modernisation of irrigation tanks will improve the reliability and availability of irrigation water for farming communities making them less prone to climatic hazards. More than 1,60,000 ha of currently partially irrigated lands will come into full irrigation under this project,” said Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

The agreement for the project was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; S. K. Prabhakar, Principal Secretary, Public Works Department, on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu and John Blomquist, Program Leader and Acting Country Director, World Bank, India, on behalf of the World Bank.

” This project will help Tamil Nadu scale up its efforts to unlock the full potential of its agriculture sector. It will support farmers improve the efficiency of water used in farming, diversify into high value crops, and produce crops that are resilient to the increasing threats of climate change. Such efforts will be a win-win for all leading to better use of scarce water resources and raising household incomes of farmers,” said John Blomquist, Program Leader and Acting Country Director, World Bank, India.