BHUBANESWAR: To strengthen management of natural resources for the benefit of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in 12 districts, the State government has entered into an agreement with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
ICRISAT will undertake capacity building initiatives, water harvesting, recording of hydrological parameters and crop productivity in addition to monitoring land-use and land-cover through remote sensing and GIS in 12 districts.
The collaboration is a part of Odisha’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups Empowerment and Livelihoods Improvement Programme funded by International Fund for Agricultural Development India.
“The main objective of this collaboration is to promote sustainable integrated natural resource management through capacity building and monitoring. The period of agreement is three years and the area of intervention is spread over 12 districts,” said Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary PK Jena, during signing of agreement on Tuesday.
Dr. Jacqueline Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT and Director, Country Relations, ICRISAT Arabinda Padhee were present.