Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today launched the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART), a World Bank financed project.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister expressed optimism that this project would be able to uplift the agricultural sector of the state and inspire the farmers to adopt latest technology to increase production.
Saying that the young generation must be motivated to take up farming as a viable profession by showing the great potentials of agriculture, Sonowal urged the colleges of the state to sensitise the students about agriculture and its allied professions.
Earlier, there were no data to back up the success stories of the agriculture department and therefore it is important for keeping records about the changes as a result of this project which would be implemented over a period of 7 years, he said.
ARIAS Society has been chosen by the State government as the nodal agency to manage to the project considering its earlier experiences in successfully handling such projects. Considering the change in market preferences and food habits, there is a need to diversify traditional agricultural practices into high value agriculture, horticulture and livestock production and this project seeks to guide this diversification process.
A loan agreement for 262.40 million US dollar equivalent to Rs 1784 crore was signed between Union Government, State Government and the World Bank for taking up Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART).
