Bhubaneswar: The State Government has decided that one Kalia Centre will be made functional in every district for the welfare of farmers.
The Centre will encourage agri-innovation and serve as a one stop resource Centre. The Centre will equipped with adequate technical man power to resolve different issues of farmers related to different agricultural programme/activities like MKUY, SAFAL, GO SUGAM, Krushak Odisha and Kalia, etc., said Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain here on Saturday.
A nodal officer from the office of chief district agriculture officer will monitor the day-to-day functioning of the Kalia Centre at district level, he said.
In this context, a letter has been issued by Agriculture Principal Secretary, Arabinda Kumar Padhee to all Collectors to arrange a suitable building for functioning of Kalia Centre in and around District Headquarters.
Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (Kalia) scheme has been 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.
The scheme of the State Government is perhaps the first Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme of the country.
The scheme has been universally acclaimed not only for its conceptualization but also with respect to its implementation. A unique aspect of the scheme has been the inclusion of landless agricultural households and sharecroppers.
Since the launch of the scheme, 43,04,876 small marginal farmers/actual cultivators(Sharecroppers) and 17,71,756 landless Agricultural Households (LAH) have been disbursed financial assistance. Financial assistance of more than Rs 11,600 crore has been extended for the purpose.
