SHIMLA: Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur will on Tuesday launch Rs 1,010-crore Phase-II of the HP Crop Diversification Promotion Project (HPCDP) supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at Dharamshala in the presence of JICA-India chief representative Saito Mitsunori.
Agriculture secretary Ajai Kumar Sharma said Phase-II of the project will be implemented in all 12 districts to boost the socio-economic status of farmer families, as continuation of phase-I implemented since 2011 in five pilot districts of Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, and Una. For the new phase of the HPCDP, JICA has loaned Rs 807.30 crore, while the state’s share is Rs 203.30 crore. The objective is to replicate the Phase-I pilot model to tap the potential of vegetables identified in JICA’s master plan.Phase-II of the project will have 296 irrigation subprojects to bring 7,933 hectares under crop diversification.
