INTEGRATED HILL FARM

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The Integrated Hill Farming Development Project will prevent further deterioration of the environment of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and raise farmer incomes by providing support for a Hill Management Strategy. It will include measures to improve agricultural productivity, introduction of fodder, crops, afforestation, livestock improvement and feeder road construction. For this purpose, it will provide extension services, farm inputs, training, technical assistance, research and support for project management. Some 28,000 farm households, whose average annual family income is US$810, will benefit directly from the project. The remainder of the population in the two project districts will also benefit from conservation measures. The main risks stem from the innovative nature of the project which will seek to change farming technology, social attitudes and government procedures. The importance of cooperation - among government agencies, between Government and farmers and among farmers - to project success presents an added risk. The main factors mitigating the risks are the widespread local awareness of the problem and careful project design drawing upon experience under an ongoing Hill Farming Technical Development Project (Credit 751-PAK).