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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Function
of I.C. Division
I.C. Division handles:- 1.
Proposal for external assistance from multilateral/bilateral
donors, technical cooperation under UNDP and General Country Programmes
of FAO and the World Food Programme. 2.
Bilateral cooperation with developed and developing countries. 3.
Deputation of officers abroad for participation in
meetings/conferences/seminars and trainings abroad. 4.
Training in India of personnel from developing countries. 5.
Annual membership contributions to FAO and other International
Organisations. 6.
Project planning and monitoring of externally assisted projects. 7.
Liaison and Protocol work of the Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation. Food
and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
India
is a founder member of the Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) and
has been taking part in all its activities.
During 2002-03, this Department has participated in International
Conferences/Meetings/Seminars/Workshops etc. dealing with various
aspects of agricultural development organized by the FAO and other
International Agencies. Indian
delegations led by the Agriculture Minister attended the 6th
Co-operative Ministers’ Conference for Asia-Pacific Region held in
Kathmandu, Nepal from 3-7 April, 2002, the 26th Session of
the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and Pacific held in Kathmandu,
Nepal from 13-17 May, 2002, and Fifth Anniversary of the World Food
Summit (WFS+5) held in Rome from 10-13 June, 2002.
Secretary, Agriculture & Cooperation led a delegation for
participation in the FAO Council meeting held from 28.10.2002 to
2.11.2002. A delegation led by MOS(A) participated in an International
Workshop on the Code of Conduct on the Right to Food from 22-23 May,
2002 in Bonn, Germany. Another delegation led by MOS(A) also visited
Netherlands from 10-14 November, 2002, to study the experiences in
Cooperative Sector. World
Food Day
The 22nd World Food Day was celebrated at the India
International Centre, New Delhi on 16.10.2002. The theme chosen by FAO
this year was “Water: Source of Food Security”.
As part of the celebration, a function was jointly organized by
this Department and the FAO at the India International Centre, Lodhi
Estate, New Delhi. Shri
J.N.L. Srivastava, Secretary (A&C), presided over the function.
Special supplements of magazines brought out by Directorate of
Extension, Department of Agricultural Reseach and Education and
Department of Food and Public Distribution were released on this
occasion. Prizes were
distributed to the winners of the essay competitions organized on the
theme of the World Food Day. An
exhibition was also put up jointly by Dte. of Extension and Food and
Nutrition Board. Technical
Cooperation Programme (TCP) of FAO
India receives assistance from the FAO from time to time in the
form of training, consultancy services, equipment and material in the
field of agriculture and allied sectors under its Technical Cooperation
Programme. The details of the projects which are currently under
implementation with FAO assistance are as under:- i) A project on Greenhouse Floriculture Technology for Small-Scale Farmers was approved in 1997. Phase-II of this Project was approved by FAO in March, 2000. FAO’s contribution in this project US $ 10,100. The objective of the Project is to introduce low – cost greenhouse floriculture technology as the basis for involving small growers in modern commercial floriculture production. ii) A Project on ‘Emergency supply of Concrete Pedal Pumps to Cyclone-affected Farmers in Orissa’ was approved by FAO in October, 2001, with a total assistance of US$ 62,000 for a period of one year. Subsequently, the period of the Project was extended upto December, 2002. The objective of the Project is to assist the Government of India in its efforts to restore agricultural productivity of small and marginal farmers in the most severely affected districts of Orissa. iii) Project on Strengthening National Codex Committee has been approved.FAO’s contribution for the Project is US$ 268000 for a duration of 2 years. It was signed on 12.12.2001. This project is being executed by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The objective of the Project is to strengthen the National Codex Committee (NCC) and the National Codex Contact Point (NCCP) to ensure the effective conduct of Codex work at national level. In addition, this Project aims to mobilize available expertise in the country and to enhance coordination, cooperation and communication among all those involved in Codex issues based on their specific fields of interest and expertise. iv) A project on ‘Improvement of Banana Production for Small-Scale Growers’ signed on 20.9.2002 is being implemented. FAO will be providing US $ 2,31,000 from its Technical Cooperation Programme and the main objective of the project is to assist the Government of India in improving Banana production for small-scale farmers by setting up an efficient multiplication system for production of disease free planting materials and a post-harvest management system. The Project will play a major role in establishing an integrated approach to the rehabilitation and improvement of Banana production for sustained food security and complement the national thrust for horticultural development as envisaged in the on-going agricultural development planning. v)
A project on Eastern Indian Poverty Reduction Programme-on-Farm
Water Management has recently been completed with a contribution of US$
3,65,000. Through this project FAO provided support in formulating four
Project proposals for evaluation by potential donors, such as the World
Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the
Asian Development Bank (ADB), etc. UNITED NATITONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)
The UNDP continued to provide financial and technical assistance
in the form of foreign experts, consultants, fellowships, equipments
etc. under this programme.
A sub-programme on Maize Based Cropping System for Food Security
in India with an assistance of US$ 8,14,000 is under implementation. Payment
of Contributions to International Organisations
This
Department is a member of many International Organisations. Annual
contributions to these organizations is made by this Division. These
Organisations are as under:- i) Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations Organisation. ii) Trust Fund of FAO for Desert Locust in Eastern Region. iii) Trust Fund for International Desert Locust. iv) Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA). v) Regional Network on Development of Agricultural Cooperatives (NEDAC). vi) Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). vii) Asia and Pacific Coconut
Community (APCC). Participation
in International Seminars/Workshops/Conferences etc.
During 2002-2003, so far, this Department has participated in 63
International Conferences/Meetings/Seminars etc.
dealing with various aspects of agricultural development
organized by the FAO and other International Organisations.
In addition, technical clearance for the visits of 47 State
Government Ministers/Officers were conveyed to Department of Economic
Affairs for foreign visits. Office
of Minister of Agriculture, Embassy of India, EOI Rome
The
Office of Minister of Agriculture at Rome is a subordinate office under
this Department. Government
of India (GOI) for the purpose of maintaining liaison and coordination
with the FAO has nominated the Indian Ambassador in Rome as its
Permanent Representative to the FAO.
Keeping in view, the
specialized nature and the increasing volume of interaction with the FAO
and its various bodies, an agricultural wing headed by a senior officer
of the level of Joint Secretary with the designation of
Minister(Agriculture) has been set up in the Indian Embassy, Rome.
Minister (Agriculture) has been designated as India’s Alternate
Permanent Representative (APR) to the FAO and the World Food Programme.
Minister (Agriculture) represents Indian interests at the
meetings of FAO/WFP and other agencies dealing with the issues relating
to agriculture and having their Headquarters in Rome e.g. International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). European
Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) extends assistance in the
form of grants which can be used to finance the rupee as well as foreign
exchange cost of identified projects.
EEC aid commitments to India are made on an annual basis during
bilateral consultations. At present five projects, namely, Doon Valley
Integrated Watershed Management Project,
Alkali Land Reclamation and Development Project, Rural Growth
Centre Project, Kerala
Coconut Development Project and Kerala Agriculture Marketing Project are
under implementation with EEC assistance. Training/Deputation
abroad
During the current year, 22 officers have been nominated for
training/deputation abroad under various programmes to acquire knowledge
and expertise in agricultural and allied fields. Cooperation
with Developed Countries
At present 21 externally aided bilateral projects in various
sectors of agriculture such as Watershed management, Soil Conservation,
Extension etc. are under implementation with assistance from several
developed countries such as Denmark, Germany and Netherlands.
During 2002-2003, around 25 to 30 project proposals pertaining to
certain thrust areas of Indian agriculture, such as watershed
development, soil conservation, extension, agriculture mechanization,
horticultural development seeking specific financial/technical
assistance from several developed countries/international organizations,
such as Germany, Japan, Sweden, Netherlands, UNDP, IFAD are under
consideration. Joint
Commissions
The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation is the nodal
Department for the following two Joint Commissions:- i) Indo-Bulgarian Joint Commission for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. ii) Indo-Burkina Faso Joint Commission for Economic, Cultural, Political and Technical Cooperation. The
meetings of the Joint Commissions are held alternately in India and the
partner country.
Agriculture Minister led an Indian delegation for participation
in the 14th Session of Indo-Bulgarian Joint Commission which
was held in Sofia, Bulgaria during 11-12 July, 2002. Agreements/MOUs
Agreements for cooperation in Agriculture Sector were signed with
the Republic of Croatia and the United Republic of Tanzania on
13.11.2002 and 16.12.2002 respectively. Foreigners
Training in India
The Government of India has been providing technical assistance under the various programmes of the Ministry of External Affairs, such as Technical cooperation Scheme (TCS) of Colombo Plan, Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme, Special Commonwealth African Assistance Programme (SCAAP), Aid to Sri Lanka Programme etc. to member countries in the form of training facilities in India. This Department arranges training of foreign scholars/experts in the field of agriculture and allied subjects under the programmes as stated above and also those sponsored by FAO, UNDP, World Bank, British Council etc. These trainings are imparted by the various institutes/centers which fall under the administrative control of this Ministry. During the current year 13 foreign nationals are being considered for training at various training institutes. The training is given in the disciplines of Cooperation, Seeds Development, Fertilizer Development, Plant Protection, Agricultural Machinery and Agricultural Extension. The majority of candidates who are being imparted training during the year 2002-03 in the field of Fertilizer & Cooperation are from Iraq, Thailand, Bhutan, Vietnam, Kenya, Sudan, Ghana and Myanmar. The sponsoring agency wise number of foreigners who are being imparted training in Indian Institutes are as under:-
Foreign
assignments
15 officers from the Department/Subordinate Offices/State
Governments have been recommended for short-term assignment, training,
study visit etc. to New Zealand, Yemen, Sudan, China, Japan, Bangladesh
and Philippines. 3 officers
have also been deputed to Mozambique under Food and Agriculture
Organisation’s Special Programme for Food Security. Cooperation
with Developing Countries
Assistance is provided to developing countries for study visits
and training facilities for their technical personnel in India.
Besides, services of Indian experts in the desired fields have
been made available. World
Food Programme(WFP)
The World Food Programme (WFP) set up in 1963 jointly by the
United Nation and Food & Agriculture Organisation(UN/FAO), has been
providing assistance to the most vulnerable sections belonging to (a)
Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, (b) marginal and small
farmers/agricultural labour, and (c) people living in areas affected by
recurring disasters and whose coping mechanisms are weak.
Within these food insecure households, attention is paid to
female headed households, adolescents and girl children who are the most
vulnerable and also for other development programmes and emergency
relief operations. The
assistance is provided in the form of
Corn Soya Blend (CSB), wheat, rice, vegetable oil and pulses for
supplementary nutrition. India
is a member country of the World Food Programme.
Since its inception India has contributed US 26.94 million
dollars till 2002-2003 to WFP. The
assistance provided by WFP to India from 1963 to 2001 is 807.98 million
US dollars.
The following two WFP on going projects are under
implementation:- i) Project 2206 – Support to Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh. ii)
Project 5569.01 Tribal Development through Forestry activities is
under implementation in tribal areas of Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. In the programme concerning women the emphasis of investments under ICDS programme is to provide supplementary nutrition for pre-school children, pregnant women and nursing mothers. Under forestry development programme, however, the emphasis is given to improve house hold food security. At least one third of the direct beneficiaries of food assistance are women. Emphasis is also given to the involvement of women in the identification and implementation of the programme carried out with help of the generated funds and in the subsequent management of assets and benefits from these investments. At least 30% of the activities financed from the generated funds directly benefit women and benefits from investments such as irrigation, drinking water etc. flow to both women and men.
The Executive Board, WFP, has also approved the Next India
Country Programme, 2003-2007, proposed to be implemented in 49 districts
in the eight states of U.P.Uttaranchal, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Orissa.
Some of these districts are covered intensively by the programme
i.e. all the components of the programme such as Food for Work,
Integrated Child Development Scheme and Food for Education are included.
The total cost of the programme would be about 402.86 million US
dollars and would be shared between the Government of India and WFP to
the tune of 303.56 million US dollars and 99.30 US dollars
respectively. The agreement in this regard has also been signed between
Government of India and WFP.
The programme has three Activities:- (i) Activity No IND 10107 ACT-1 : Improving the nutritional status of children and women through Integrated Child Development Services Scheme. (ii) Activity No IND 10107 ACT-2: Investing in Human Capital with Special emphasis on girls (Food for Education) ( being finalised). iii)
Activity No IND 10107
ACT-3 : Improvement of food security through Joint Forest
Management activities and
asset preservation and creation for food insecure rural households.
Presently, there are six ongoing projects in Agricultural Sector
which are being operated with the World Bank-assistance as per details
given at Annexure. Out of
these, four projects are undergoing their first phase of operation and
the remaining two projects namely, the Integrated Watershed Development
Project (Hills) and U.P. Sodic Land Reclamation Project are currently
under-going their second phase of operation, after having successfully
completed their fist phase operations in March, 1999 and March, 2001
respectively. These ongoing
projects mainly relate to Watershed Development, Soil and Water
Conservation measures (Natural Resource Management), agriculture
extension, improved agricultural practices, as well as overall
agricultural development related issues and all these six ongoing
projects, taken together, involve a total IDA credit of XDR 449.600
million and IBRD loan of $ 261.700 million. Cumulative
drawal of all the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation
administered six ongoing projects since their individual inception upto
30th November, 2002, aggregated to XDRs 263.588 million,
constituting about 58.63 percent of the total committed IDA credit
assistance worth XDR 449.600 million.
During the current financial year 2002-2003, as against Budget
Estimate of XDR 127.316 million, total IDA credit assistance worth XDR
34.508 million has already been utilized by all these six ongoing
projects upto November, 2002. At present about 8-10 State Government proposals seeking World Bank assistance for the implementation of certain specific agriculture sector related operations in different parts of the country are at various stages of processing - either with the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Planning Commission or with the proposed State Implementing Agencies for necessary modifications therein. Latest
of World Bank Assistance for Indian Agriculture Sector
Central Government’s existing
policy in the sphere of World Bank assistance to India aims at promoting
overall economic development of the country, including its pre-dominant
agricultural sector. In
pursuance thereof, at the end of November, 2002 six agriculture sector
related projects have been functioning under the administrative control
of Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, as per the following
project-wise basic details:-
World Bank assistance already availed as percentage share of the total committed World Bank assistance for the project. Abbr: XDR = Special Drawing Right, IBRD = International Bank for Reconstruction & Development. IDA= International Development Agency. |
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