Announcement of India Receives Twenty Million Dollars IDA Credit for Agricultural Development on February 24, 1977

eWorldBank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. • Telephone: (202) 393-6360 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 77/30 FEBRUARY 24, 1977 INDIA_RECE!VES $20 MILLION IDA CREDIT FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELO_PM~NT India's plans to improve agricultural production in one of its poorest states will be assisted by a $20 million credit announced today by the International Development Association (IDA), an affiliate of the World Bank. The credit wi 11 finance an agriculturcil development project in the eastern state of Orissa, which among Indian states, has the highest percentage of people living in rural areas. The project's main aim is to increase the production of food grains by strengthening agricultural extension and related research. Small farmers with limited financial resources but excess labor are ex- • pected to benefit greatly from the project's emphasis on efficient use of locally available resources. Since groundwater resources are very Important to agriculture in Orissa both in the short- and long-term, the project also includes a three-year program of extensive geo-hydrologic investigation. Other components of the project include support for exploration of promising low-cost innovations in shallow tubewell technology; im- provement of land survey and land record systems in order to establish land ovmership and tenancy as a basis for farm credit and land consolidation efforts; and strengthening of agr1cultura1 data collection and processing capabilities to facilitate agricultural p1annin$ and policy-making by the Government. The $20 mill ion IDA credit will cover about half of the total cost of the project, estimated at $40 million. The other half will be borne by the Government of Orissa. The IDA credit is for 50 years, in- cluding 10 years of grace. It is interest free, except for a service charge of 3/4 of 1% to meet IDA's administrative costs . • ----·-----·-··---·----·-·-------·--------·---·--------------- NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents. FORM NO. 1121 (5-76) T E C HN I CA L DA T A PROJECT: COUNTRY: TOTAL COST: Orissa Agricultural Development India $40 mi 11 ion • !DA FfNANCING: $20 million, standard IDA terms OTHER FINANCING: Government of Orissa IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATION: Government of Orissa, Agricultural Prnductioi·1 Commissioner, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: It is a package of comp 1ementary componr.:::'d.s cl l rned d l achieving early and sustained improvemer.t in agricultural production, particularly of food grains. It comprises: a) strengthening of agricultural extension and training; b) strengthening and reorganization of agricultural research, including adaptive research and field trials; c) imprc,ved and acce"lerated ·iand surveys a n . land record systems to establish land ownership and tenancy as a bas is fc,r farm credit; d) support for design, testing, demonstration and distribution of improved animal-drawn farm implements; e) groundwater survey and monitoring; research, design, lnstd1lat10n and field testing of alternative types of shallow tubewell and pumping techniques; and f) support for farm management data collection and evaluation, and strengthening of agricultural statistics. PROCUREMENT: All equipment, furniture, vehicles and civil works wi 11 be procured locally. Scientific equipment valued at $0.3 mill ion will involve small contracts from various suppliers of specialized items and wi 11, therefore, be unsuitable for international competitive bidding. Other equipment and furniture valued at $3.6 million will be bulked where possible for local competitive bidding except where valued at less than $50,000, when purchase will be by prudent shopping. About 130 motor vehicles valued at $0.8 million to be purchased over five years will be unsuitable for international competitive bidding as it will be difficult to ensure adequate maintenance and spares for such a small number and variety of vehicles. Motorcycles and bicycles, valued at about $0.9 million, will be directly purchased locally, by individual staff, according to their preferences. Civil works contracts valued at $13.1 million will be small, scattered and spread over time and, therefore, not suitable for international competitive bidding. All local bidding will be according to procedures satisfactory to the Association. ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: June 30, 1983 - 0 - •