The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government of India on 30 December 2020 entered a USD 10 million project readiness financing (PRF) to help finance piloting activities, and design and capacity building for an ensuing project that aims to expand horticulture production and farm household income in Himachal Pradesh.
The PRF for Himachal Subtropical Horticulture, Irrigation, and Value Addition Readiness Project will support advance actions to achieve high level of project readiness through detailed design activities, capacity building of state level agencies, and creating an enabling environment for subtropical horticulture development in the state.
The project aims to ensure implementation readiness with prior testing of new production technologies and marketing systems so that the ensuing project is cost-effective and gets completed in a timely manner to enhance farm profitability.
The ensuing project, to be designed by the PRF, will support development of subtropical horticulture, including cultivation of fruits and vegetables, in the state’s southern region which is currently lagging due to limited access to perennial water sources, crops losses due to wild animal encroachment and limited access to high value markets.
The pilot activities supported by the project include establishment or rehabilitation of 16 irrigation schemes for water extraction, distribution and storage; developing 17 subtropical horticulture plots for ultra-high density production of selected fruits; fencing horticulture plots to protect crops from animal predation; and forming community horticulture production and marketing associations to build their capacities for business and marketing.
These pilot activities will then be scaled up under the ensuing project to be implemented in seven districts of Himachal Pradesh.
The PRF also supports establishment of water user association (WUAs) on completed irrigation schemes and enhancing women participation.