Bhubaneswar: To help the farmers in procurement of necessary items required for cultivation, the State Government has disbursed more than Rs 11,600 crore to the farmers under Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme.
This was informed by Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain here on Friday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today reviewed the performances of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment. Following the meeting Shri Swain and Principal Secretary Arabinda Padhee addressed the press about the major achievements of the department.
The Minister said KALIA scheme was introduced in 2018 to provide support to cultivators for cultivation for small and marginal farmers and livelihood support for landless agricultural households for taking non-farm activities
Till now, 43.04 Lakh small and marginal farmers, 18.72 Lakh landless agricultural households (LAH) and 1624 numbers of students have been assisted under the scheme. Financial assistance of more than Rs 11,600 crore have been extended for the purpose, he said.
Agriculture being the major source of livelihood of the majority of the population of Odisha, the State Government places utmost emphasis on agricultural development for enhancing farmers’ income and empowerment of the farmers, Shri Swain said.
Besides, a more inclusive and comprehensive state agriculture policy in force coupled with various developmental initiatives enabled through a special agriculture cabinet, separate agriculture budget and greater investment in the sector over these years has led the State to cross many milestones in the process.
Odisha has transformed from a net food grain deficit State to a surplus State. Now, Odisha is the fourth largest contributor to the Paddy procurement pool of FCI, the Minister said.
He said that food grain production in the State reached 136.07 lakh MT in 2022-23, more than doubling the production from 55.35 lakh MT in 2000-01.
Similar progress has also been recorded with regards to vegetable production in the state. The vegetable production touched a high of 98.52 lakh MT during 2022-23 which is almost thrice that of 33.37 lakh MT vegetable produced during 2000-01, he pointed out.
“The reckonable progress in the food production front has been achieved in spite of the state being frequently affected by different natural calamities. This has proven the resilience of the sector,” Shri Swain said.
For achieving nutritional security through revival of cultivation of millets, the State Government has launched Odisha Millets Mission in the year 2017-18. The strategy of reviving millets both in farms and on plates helped to provide livelihood support to small and marginal farmers of rainfed areas and contributing to nutritional security of the community with focus to tribal farmers of Odisha. Odisha is the only State which procures Finger millet on MSP at present.
The programme has been rightly scaled up to 177 blocks covering all 30 districts from 2023 onwards. Procurement of 6.03 lakh quintals of millets has greatly contributed to the income stability of the millet growers, said Padhee.
NITI Aayog has recognised Odisha Millets Mission as one of the best models and has asked other States to adopt such model. UN-IFAD and UN-FAO have supported the framework of Odisha Millets Mission as suitable for taking up agro ecological initiatives, he said.
In the run up to the International Year of Millets; Odisha became the first State to dedicate a particular day i.e, November 10th to celebrate as Mandia Divas (Millet Day) to glorify the importance of Millets.
Similarly, Ama Krushi, a two-way Interactive Voice Response (IVR) service, a mobile phone based extension system was introduced in the State.
A live call centre [Toll Free Number: 155333] has been established to enable all farmers to get their queries answered immediately. So far more than 54.47 lakh farmers have been on board and more than 65.31 crore crop advisories have been sent to farmers, said Padhee.
Further, the State Government’s effort in improving the agricultural sector and empowering farmers have been recognized in various national level platforms.
He pointed out that the State has bagged the “Krishi Karman” Award 5 times for higher food grains production.
Besides, the State has been conferred with, “Best Millet Promoting State” under “Poshak Anaj Award” by ICAR-IIMR and FAO both during 2020-21 and 2021-22. Odisha State Cashew Development Corporation received best nursery award for the year 2019, 2021 and 2023 from the Directorate of Cashew nut & Cocoa Development (DCCD).
