Context: In an effort to enable tribals of Chhattisgarh to produce nutritious food year-long, the Government of Chhattisgarh, the Government of India and the World Bank inked a pact for a $100 million project to develop sustainable production systems in remote and tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.

Background

Chhattisgarh’s rich biodiversity and diverse agro-climatic zones provide an opportunity to focus on an alternative model of development allowing the tribal-dominated southern region to

• Leverage its natural resources,
• Diversify and grow resilient crops; and
• Assure a production system that takes care of the nutritional needs of every household.
• The project is part of the state government’s on-going efforts to build an inclusive development pathway for tribal communities, with special emphasis on the empowerment of tribal women.

About CHIRAAG Project

• It is a Chhattisgarh Inclusive Rural and Accelerated Agriculture Growth Project (CHIRAAG).
• It aims to develop sustainable production systems that allow tribal households in remote areas of Chhattisgarh to practice round-the-year production of diversified and nutritious food.
• It will be implemented in the southern tribal-majority region of the state where a large population is undernourished and poor.
• The project will benefit over 180,000 households from about 1,000 villages in eight districts of Chhattisgarh.

The CHIRAAG project in Chhattisgarh will

• Lay the foundation for a diverse and nutritive food and agriculture system;
• Mobilize smallholders into farmer producer organizations and
• Increase incomes by improving their access to profitable markets

Key Benefits

• “This project is part of the state government’s on-going efforts to build an inclusive development pathway for tribal communities, with special emphasis on the empowerment of tribal women".
• By focusing on diversifying cropping systems, enhancing nutrition, and encouraging investments in irrigation and post-harvest technology, the operation will support tribal communities through agricultural growth and increases in farmers’ incomes.”
• Further, the project will enable the stabilisation and restoration of the local food supply and production, secure livelihoods and expand income and job opportunities for people returning to their villages in pandemic-affected project areas.