Government of India, World Bank sign loan agreement of 115 million US dollar for implementation REWARD Project
What is the news:
- The Government of India, State Governments of Karnataka and Odisha, and the World Bank have signed loan agreements of 115 million US dollars for the implementation of “Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development” (REWARD) Project.
How an agreement will help :
- It will help national and state institutions adopt improved watershed management practices to help increase farmers’ resilience to climate change, promote higher productivity and better incomes. Ministry of Finance in a statement said that the Government of India has committed to restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 and doubling farmers’ income by 2023.
- effective watershed management can help enhance livelihoods in rainfed areas, while building a more resilient food system. In this context, the new program will help the participating state governments in their efforts to transform watershed planning and execution and adopt science-based planning that could be replicated across the country.
- It will also help the participating and other states to adopt new approaches to watershed development.
About REWARD project:
- The Department of Land Resources, Government of India initiated a World Bank supported multiState project namely Rejuvenating Watershed for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development (REWARD).
- It is expected to positively influence by promoting resource efficient growth in selected watersheds, investing in human capital at State and National levels, and developing networks of scientific and technical partners.
- The project will enhance productivity and net income of farmers and contribute significantly to Lighthouse India by implementing new science and data-driven approaches for climate resilient watershed management, land resource inventory, land use planning, and precision farming in a range of agro-ecological conditions in participating states.
- The project will directly address key strategic actions around agricultural and rural development, including doubling farmers’ incomes, more crop per drop, water to every plot, soil health, and promotion of entrepreneurship through technical and financial support for better delivery and impacts through improved planning approaches, capacity building, coordination and convergence, and supportive research and development.
- The outcomes are prevention of soil run-off, regeneration of natural vegetation, rain water harvesting and recharging of the ground water table.
- This enables multi-cropping and the introduction of diverse agro-based activities, which help to provide sustainable livelihoods to the people residing in the watershed area. REWARD is being implemented in three to four Indian States. It is proposed as a 6 years Project.
- The total allocation for the Project is approximately USD250 million of which USD178.5 million is International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan from the World Bank and the balance is funded by the Government of India/ State Governments.
Project Objevtives And Results
- The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to: improve land and water conservation and climate resilience in selected watersheds, and strengthen capacities of national and state institutions to deliver more effective science-based watershed development programs.
Result till now:
- Improved land conservation outcomes in demonstration sites
- Improved agricultural outcomes in demonstration sites
- Improved water outcomes in demonstration sites
- Improved climate resiliency outcomes in demonstration sites
- Strengthened capacities of watershed development institutions
- Revised policies for watershed programs.
Project Components:
- Component 1.
- Improved National Watershed Governance and Institutional Capacity Building This component will strengthen capacities and systems primarily in DoLR, for delivering national watershed programs.
- Component 2:
- Improved State Watershed Governance and Institutional Capacity Building. This component will strengthen capacities and systems primarily at state levels for planning methodology, technology development, decision-support tools, and delivery models. The component would ensure climate change considerations are integrated into all activities.
- Component 3:
- High Impact Demonstration Watersheds in Rainfed Agricultural Areas. This component will support the development of model watersheds in rainfed areas in each of the participating states.
- Component 4:
- Project Management and Coordination. Project management and coordination will be supported at central and state levels. The sub-component would support incremental administration costs and specialists, travel, meetings, financial management, internal/external audit and procurement, and equipment.
About world bank
- The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects.
- The World Bank is the collective name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), two of five international organizations owned by the World Bank Group.
- Formation- July 1944
- Headquarters – Washington D.C.
- President – David Malpass
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