The Union Agriculture Ministry has worked out a package for revival of the farm sector in the drought-hit Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh on the lines of the Rehabilitation Package for Vidarbha and other drought-prone districts where farmers' suicides were high. Among other measures for relief, the Bundelkhand package suggests a debt relief for farmers in the region. It calls for contingency cropping, diversification and cross-breeding for local cattle that had lost fertility due to lack of minerals and green fodder. The neglect of drought-prone Bundelkhand was one of the foremost issues that Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi raised as part of his campaign to revive the party in Uttar Pradesh after its rout in the 2007 Assembly elections. The package put together calls for seeds multiplication/seeds banks, micro irrigation, warehousing and marketing infrastructure, capacity building, mechanised farming, introduction of new livestock and upgradation of the Indian Grass Land and Fodder Research Institute at Jhansi among other measures. It focuses on watershed management, revival of farm ponds and dug-wells, development of water resources, cattle camps, crop insurance and diversification to horticulture. The Ministry is holding inter-Ministerial consultations after which the package would be put to the Union Cabinet for approval. The Ministry has held consultations with the State Governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, as well as functionaries of the Congress party. The package is based on the report of a central team of natural resource management experts that visited the Bundelkhand region. In its report on Drought Mitigation Strategies for Bundelkhand Region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the team noted that the region, which is backward, had faced "continuous drought' in the past four years. The rainfed agriculture in the region was capital and inputs-intensive leading to indebtedness. In the region, 58 per cent farmers had borrowed from the informal sector, while 35 per cent had borrowed from commercial and 7 per cent from cooperative banks. The team suggested a weather insurance scheme based on rainfall deficit to cover risks. Although 40 per cent of the area under consideration (i.e. seven districts of U.P. and six districts of M.P.) with a total area of seven million hectares was fertile with medium black soil, it was difficult to cultivate in dry and wet conditions. While U.P. needed to improve the efficiency of its water system, M.P. needed to invest in their development. While recommending watershed development, the team has stressed the need for desilting, renovation and repairs of the traditional water structures like the Chandelas, Peshwa tanks and Havelis. It has recommended restoration, repair and maintenance of dams and canals, etc., and completion of ongoing projects. It said that the region should have a contingency plan of medium, short and extra short period. The team pointed out that due to lack of fodder and minerals, the livestock in the region had lost fertility, migrated and were sold out. While recommending improvement of the livestock breed, the team suggested setting up a modern meat and milk processing plant in the region for value addition. The team noted that 63 per cent of forests in U.P. and 50 per cent of M.P. Bundelkhand forests were degraded and needed to be treated.