Bhubaneswar: Odisha Government in Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, has significantly ramped up efforts to boost pulses and oilseed production by leveraging international expertise.
The State has entered into a collaboration with several international and national institutions, including the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), to implement the Comprehensive Project on Rice Fallow Management.
The initiative, which seeks to maximize the use of residual soil moisture in the state’s estimated 16 lakh hectares of rice fallow area, was scaled up to target 4.55 lakh hectares for the current year. This includes cultivating short-duration pulses like green gram, black gram, Bengal gram, lentil, and field pea, as well as oilseed crops.
Deputy Chief Minister Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, who is also the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, highlighted the importance of this project. Dr.Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Principal Secretary Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment and other senior officials were present.
The collaboration is designed to facilitate the timely dissemination of critical, climate-smart agricultural technologies to farmers. It also includes developing a crop-specific input cafeteria focusing on bio-based inputs and integrated pest management (IPM) to promote sustainable practices. The project aims to reach approximately 5 lakh beneficiaries across the state.