NEW DELHI, June 20 (MIC): Government has released Rs. 77.50 crore to different states under the Rain-fed Area Development Programme (RADP) in 2011-12 so far. The budgetary allocation for the current financial year is to the tune of Rs. 250 crore. Rain-fed areas of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh are covered under RADP.
RADP is a sub scheme under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). The programme aims at improving the quality of life of farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, by offering a complete package of activities suitable for rain-fed areas. The scheme is implemented by State Agriculture Department, the nodal agency for implementation of RKVY.
All the rain-fed areas (i.e. areas which are not covered under assured means of irrigation) having large extent of cultivable land and potential for increasing agriculture productivity are covered under RADP. Within the rain-fed areas, priority is given to arid, semi-arid and sub-humid ecosystems.
Rain-fed areas constitute about three-fourth of the land mass under arid, semi-arid, and dry-humid zones and account for nearly 57 per cent of the agricultural land spread across large parts of the country. These areas are significant in terms of ecology, agricultural productivity and livelihood for millions of rural households in the country.
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