DW BUREAU Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur presided over the launching ceremony of Rs 1010.60 crore phase-II of the HP Crop Diversification Promotion Project (HPCDP) supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the State at Dharamshala today. The Chief Minister said that the state government was committed for the development of rural areas as more than 90 percent of the total population lives in these areas and about 70 percent of the population was dependent on the agriculture sector for livelihood. Despite limited financial resources and slowdown due to the Corona pandemic, the present state government has launched various new schemes to promote irrigation, agriculture, horticulture, forestry and allied sectors besides ensuring all-round and equitable development of the State. Jai Ram Thakur said that the phase-II of the JICA aided crop diversification project would be implemented in all the 12 districts of state and would give a big boost to the socio-economic status of farmer's families. The phase-I of the project being implemented in five districts of Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Una on pilot basis since 2011 has virtually transformed the economy of the farmers in these districts. He said that the main objective of this project was to disseminate a successful model of crop diversification and increase the vegetable area in the project area from 2500 hectares to 7000 hectares by 2031. (editor@dailyworld.in)