SHIMLA: World Bank funded Rs 700-crore Integrated Development Project (IDP) on source sustainability and climate resilient rain-fed agriculture will change the scenario for farmers in Himachal Pradesh. The project is likely to be started from April this year.The project is likely to focus on livelihood of farmers by ensuring two-fold increase in income through farming practices and allied activities, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said here on Sunday. To be implemented in the ratio 80:20 by World Bank through Government of India and the state government, the project is likely to bring within its ambit small ruminants and also provide training to rural youth in livelihood activities and open avenues of employment to them.Thakur said the project was likely to strengthen existing water sources, which originate in high-lying catchment and forest areas. He said the project will also go a long way in realising the dream of Prime Minister Narendar Modi for zero-budget natural farming.He said farmers would benefit by way of enhancing milk production and its processing besides value addition. Fisheries would also be given a boost in rural areas of the state, besides vermi-compost. The World Bank team was led by Ranjan Samantary and Chris Jackson , who gave a detailed overview of the project to the CM.

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