Lok Sabha Question No. 388 (STARRED), answered on 2023-03-28
Subject: NICRA Project
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: P. Velusamy, M.K. Vishnu Prasad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH & EDUCATION

LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO: 388 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28 th  March, 2023

## NICRA PROJECT

*388.  SHRI VELUSAMY P.:

DR. VISHNU PRASAD M.K.:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE be pleased to state:-

- (a) the salient features of National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project;
- (b) the achievements of this flagship network project in the last three years;
- (c)  the budget allocated and utilised under the NICRA project during the last three years and the current year, year-wise;
- (d) whether it is a fact that there was under utilization of funds during the said period; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor along with the steps taken for optimum utilisation of the allocated funds?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ षि और षकसान कल्याण मंत्री (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 388 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28 TH  MARCH, 2023 REGARDING 'NICRA PROJECT'

(a) Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR),  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and Farmers Welfare, Government of India launched a flagship network project namely National Innovations  in  Climate  Resilient  Agriculture  (NICRA)  in  2011.  The  project aims to develop and promote climate resilient agriculture to address vulnerable areas of  the  country  and  help  the districts  and  regions  to  cope  up  with  extreme  weather conditions  like  droughts,  floods,  frost,  heat  waves,  etc.  The  project  has  three components viz. strategic research, technology demonstration and capacity building. The  main  thrust areas covered  are (i) identification of the most  vulnerable districts/regions,  (ii)  development  of  crop  varieties  and  management  practices  for adaptation & mitigation and (iii) assessment of climate change impacts on livestock, fisheries and poultry vis-a-vis identification of adaptation strategies.

(b): Major Achievements of this flagship project during the last three years are:

- i. Assessed  risk  and  vulnerability  of  573  districts  out  of  650  predominantly agriculture districts of India as per Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) protocol. A total of 109 districts are categorized as very high and 201 districts as highly vulnerable.
- ii. Updated District Agriculture Contingency Plans for 356 districts.
- iii. Estimated carbon accumulation and storage of 5 wetlands in West Bengal.
- iv. Prepared risk map of classical swine fever for Assam state, African swine fever for north-eastern hill region and avian influenza for India.
- v. Location-specific climate resilient technologies have been tested and validated at  on-farm  sites  of  151  climatically  vulnerable  districts  for  adoption  by  the farmers.
- vi. Identified 366 promising climate resilient technologies for 6 states (Maharashtra,  Karnataka,  Assam,  Himachal  Pradesh,  Uttar  Pradesh  and Odisha) and shared with respective state governments for further upscaling.
- vii. Conducted  3858  capacity  building  programs  benefiting  94394  stakeholders during the last 3 years.

(c) to (e): The details of budget allocated and utilized under NICRA project during the last three years and current year (Rs. In crores) is as follows:

| Year    |   Sanctioned | Utilized   |   % Utilization |
|---------|--------------|------------|-----------------|
| 2019-20 |        46    | 40.58      |              88 |
| 2020-21 |        49.83 | 44.74      |              90 |
| 2021-22 |        47    | 46.06      |              98 |
| 2022-23 |        40.87 | 32.64*     |              80 |

*Funds utilized up to 31 st  December 2022

The expenditure during the year 2019-20 and 2020-21 was relatively less due to COVID pandemic situation. For last two years, optimum utilization of allotted funds was ensured by close and regular monitoring of the financial milestones with a clear roadmap.

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