Announcement of Irrigation Project in Northern India to Benefit Farm Families on March 10, 1983

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE • J .world Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone; (202) 477-1234 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 83/ 50 Contact: Hugh Blackman March 10, 1983 (202) 477-3573 IRRIGATION PROJECT IN NORTHERN INDIA TO BENEFIT FARM FAMILIES About 440,000 farm families living in northern India will benefit from an irrigation project supported by an SDR 91.6 million ($101 million) credit from the International Development Association (IDA). Most beneficiaries will be small or marginal farmers who cannot afford a private irrigation source. IDA is the concessionary lending affiliate of the World Bank. The Second Uttar Pradesh Public Tubewells Project will expand the State's irrigated area by 235,000 hectares, which will enable an increase in the production of foodgrain by 300,000, sugarcane by 371,200, and oilseeds by 9,990 tons per year. About 2,200 new tubewell systems will be built, using improved • designs developed under an earlier IDA-supported project. Wells will be constructed in clusters of about 25 with connections to the nearest power sub-station. About 650 existing public tubewells will also be connected to power lines, considerably improving their performance. A pilot program covering 100 existing wells will test mod.ernization measures. The IDA credit will also provide agricultural support services to help farmers move from rainfed to irrigated farming. Under the Uttar Pradesh Department of Agriculture, service centers in each tubewell cluster will help farmers achieve predicted crop production. Training will also be financed for the staff of both the Agriculture Department and the Irrigation Department's Tubewell Wing; and technical assistance reL:ited to future irrigation project preparation will be provided. Uttar Pradesh has benefitted from a number of Bank Group-assisted projects in the population, power, water supply, and agricultural sectors. The first Uttar Pradesh Public Tubewells project used an IDA credit of $18 million approved in 1980. The project, expected to be• completed in April 1983, is supporting the construction of about 500 improved-design public tubewells. The IDA credit is for 50 years, including 10 years of grace; it carries no interest but has a small service charge (0.5% on the undisbursed balances of the credit and 0.75% on the disbursed balances). • NOTE: IDA credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the SDR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at the time of the negotiation of the credit.