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The Maharashtra Government has launched State of Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART) Project to promote sustainable farming in the state. The project will be implemented across Maharashtra & will cover 10,000 villages i.e. one forth of the state. The project will be implemented over next 3 years.
What is State of Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART)? A project in association with the World Bank to transform rural Maharashtra through “SMART” interventions in Agriculture and Livelihood sectors.
Objectives:
- Increase farmer`s income
- To provide easy access to markets for farmers to sell their produce
State of Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART) Project:
- Official Portal: smart-mh.org
- Email: smart@villagetransformation.org
State of Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART) Project Highlights:
- A World Bank assisted project
- Corporate houses such as Reliance, Amazon, Walmart, Mahindra Agro, Pepsico, Tata Rallis, Big Basket, Patanjali, Tata Chemical etc to partner with government & some of them has already signed MoU with the government
- Goal is to make agriculture sustainable & affordable for the farmers
- Many of the food & agricultural startups are also working on the farmers issues
- Government is intending to increase crop productivity with the project
- Government will also be helping farmer groups with market access
- It will provide assured market for agricultural produce
- It will crease employment opportunities as well
- SMART project will provide direct market access along with direct connect between farmers & corporates
- It will ensure better prices
- Maharashtra Village Social Transformation Foundation (MVSTF), Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MSRLM), & Maharashtra Agricultural Competitiveness Project (MACP) along with Confederation of Industries (CII) is an entrepreneurial partner of the project
- Rs. 2,118 crores will be invested into the project
- World Bank will provide funding of Rs. 1,483 crores
- Rs. 565 crores will be invested by the state government
- Rs. 71 crores will be given by Village Social Transformation Foundation
- Rest of the funds will be raised with the help of CSR funds
