Sonowal lays emphasis on farmers’ interests in APART

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has advocated priority profiling and creation of adequate amenities for the farmers under the Assam Agri-business and Rural Transformation Project (APART).

Reviewing APART, an agriculture department project, in a meeting here yesterday, Sonowal asked the implementing agency to take into account the interests and priorities of the farmers.

Sonowal also asked the implementing department to create infrastructure for farmers’ amenities around the production centres, an official release said. APART, a World Bank financed project, has been designed for five lakh beneficiaries in the state with an initial financial outlay of Rs 1700 crore for building agri-market, rural haat and warehouses among other things.

Sonowal also said that there should be inter-departmental synergy to make the project successful. Since market oriented production remains one of the essential components of the project, Sonowal emphasised that there should be good motorable roads to establish market linkages with the production centres, the release said.