World Bank to provide $75 mn credit for AP rural project

The project is proposed to increase the incomes of 250,000 small and marginal farmers by at least 50% by enhancing productivity and improving their access to markets

 

The World Bank has sanctioned a $ 75 million credit to Andhra Pradesh for a project aimed at enhancing agricultural incomes of small and marginal farmers and ensure access to services related to health and other social entitlements.

Government of India, AP government and the World Bank today signed a deal for the Andhra Pradesh Rural Inclusive Growth Project to cover small and marginal farmers, especially from Scheduled Caste(SC) and Scheduled Tribe(ST) households in the 150 most backward mandals in the state.

The project was proposed to increase the incomes of 250,000 small and marginal farmers by at least 50 percent by enhancing productivity and improving their access to markets. It will also work towards improving the coverage and service delivery of social protection entitlements for 500,000 poorest households.

A host of MoUs with private sector organisations are being planned to enable farmers to better access markets. The project will also assist the state government in its efforts at creating an enabling policy framework, with real time analytics across sectors through the various missions.

"This new generation rural transformation programme will strive to fulfill the aspirations of small and marginal farmers, especially among the SC and ST communities, to ensure shared prosperity and increase in the pace of poverty reduction," said Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director in India.

The credit is from the International Development Association (IDA) - the World Bank's concessionary lending arm - and the credit is on IDA terms with a maturity of 25 years, including a 5 year grace period, according to a statement.