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This five-year project was launched in July 2006 in 124 UCs of Rajanpur, D.G. Khan,
Layyah and Muzaffargarh districts at a total cost of Rs. 591.867 million. The MSs/Ps
wing of PRSP is implementing the project through a project director and community
mobilization staff outside the regional offices. It aims at providing Rs 100 million
as microcredit during the project period and investing Rs 90 million for the creation
of CPIs. The project area includes only the irrigated parts of the districts to
help the local communities in sustaining their livelihood. In the light of this,
the key objectives of the project have been to reduce poverty through targeted,
individual and community based initiatives and provide support to on-farm and off-farm
income generation activities, to improve socio-economic status of the poor population
through better NRM, to ensure implementation of improved productive small physical
infrastructure schemes and to develop a sustainable grassroots mechanism of COs
for interaction with Government departments for local development. The key stipulated
outcome includes a) the formation of 4,000 COs in 124 UCs, b) reaching 60,000 rural
poor of the project districts through social mobilization, CO formations, capacity
building and physical infrastructure schemes, c) capacity building through skills
development especially amongst the unemployed and women and d) provision of subsidized
wheat seed to small farmers with land holdings of 12.5 acres or less. Up to June
2009, 3,737 COs (93.43% of the target) had been formed by organizing 52,157 community
members. The members of COs have so far saved Rs. 26,226,401 with savings per CO
standing at Rs. 7,018. Furthermore, PRSP has disbursed Rs. 167.43 million as micro
credit against the target of Rs. 100 million in the project area. Rs. 109 million
(65.18%) was disbursed in agriculture. In addition, Rs. 3.9 million (2.33 %) was
disbursed for enterprises and Rs. 54.403 million (32.49 %) for livestock. A total
of 432 CPI schemes have been completed, in addition to the 252 hand pumps installed
in 2
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