Bhubaneswar: On the auspicious occasion of Nuakhai, Odisha Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi today digitally disbursed the third installment of CM Kisan Assistance for the Rabi 2025-26 season, providing a total of Rs. 1,041 crore directly to the bank accounts of over 51.54 lakh farmers. The state-level ceremony, organized by the Department of Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment, was held at Krishi Shiksha Sadan, OUAT Bhubaneswar.
Deputy Chief Minister Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Principal Secretary Agriculture and Farmer’s Empowerment, Dr.Arabinda Kumar Padhee graced the occasion.
The financial assistance, disbursed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), reached 51,54,115 small and marginal farmers, landless farming families, Scheduled Tribes, and urban farmers.
In a significant announcement, the Chief Minister stated that the government would soon extend the period for farmer registration to ensure no eligible farmer is left out of the benefit programs. He also inaugurated a ‘Krishak Bhawan’ and a ‘Reception Hall’ at the Odisha Agriculture and Technological University (OUAT), built at a cost of approximately Rs. 59 crore.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister highlighted his government’s swift and serious approach to farmer welfare. He recalled that the first cabinet meeting had approved the ‘Samruddhi Kisan Yojana’ as per election promises, which led to a record 92.63 lakh metric tons of paddy being harvested with a price of Rs. 3,100 per quintal. He emphasized that the CM-KISAN scheme’s third installment, disbursed today, along with benefits from the ‘Subhadra Yojana’ and ‘PM-KISAN’, has increased the annual income of registered farmers by at least Rs. 58,000.
The CM Kisan Yojana provides small and marginal farmers with Rs. 2,000 per crop season (totaling Rs. 4,000 per year) to purchase agricultural inputs. Landless farming families receive Rs. 12,500 in three installments for allied activities such as goat, chicken, and duck farming, and beekeeping. The Chief Minister also expressed his joy that more than 18 lakh farmers have already registered under the ‘Kisan Samruddhi Yojana’ this year.
Speaking on broader agricultural reforms, the Chief Minister said that his government is implementing various schemes in partnership with the Central Government. He mentioned the emphasis on the ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)’ and the ‘Crop Diversification System’ to protect farmers from the impacts of climate change and delayed monsoons.
To achieve self-reliance in potato production, the government has conducted over 36,000 farmer awareness programs across 3,115 clusters, involving about 1 lakh beneficiaries. Last year, the state distributed 1,60,874 quintals of certified seed potatoes, a three-fold increase from the previous year.
The government has also implemented a new financial assistance scheme for cold storage facilities, effective from January 2025, with a plan to set up one cold storage in each sub-division in private partnership. This initiative, the Chief Minister said, will prevent post-harvest losses, ensure fair prices for produce, and help increase farmers’ income.
Additionally, under the ‘Chief Minister’s Krishi Udoyg Yojana’, young agricultural entrepreneurs are receiving subsidies up to one crore rupees to build business-based infrastructure. In the 2024-25 financial year, 1,406 projects received a subsidy of Rs. 188.34 crore.
The Chief Minister highlighted the ‘Krishi Vidyanidhi Yojana’, a scholarship scheme for the children of CM Kisan beneficiaries, covering higher education in fields like engineering, medicine, agriculture, nursing, and IITs. In the last academic year, 13,923 students received scholarships worth about Rs. 53.69 crore.
Deputy Chief Minister Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo reiterated the government’s commitment to the development of agriculture and farmers. He said the CM Kisan Yojana, funded by the state’s own resources, is a progressive scheme aimed at making needy farmers financially self-reliant and bringing them into the social mainstream. He urged for the inclusion of all eligible farmers to ensure the comprehensive improvement of agriculture in the state. Director Agriculture Shri Subham Saxena presented Vote Of Thanks.