Odisha has been awarded Agriculture Leadership Award 2022 for playing a pivotal role in improving agricultural productivity

Bhubaneswar:17/12/22; Odisha has been awarded Agriculture Leadership Award 2022 for playing a pivotal role in improving agricultural productivity.

The award was presented by Agriculture Today Group at a function held at Holiday Inn in Aero City, New Delhi on Thursday. A jury panel constituted at the national level has selected Odisha as the best state.

Additional Secretary of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Anjana Panda received the award on behalf of the department.Timely steps by the State government and the hard toil of the farmers have made Odisha a self-reliant State in foodgrains production from a deficit State in independent India.Today Odisha in addition to being a self-reliant State is exporting excess rice outside the State.

In 2020-21, Odisha has made a record production of 130.39 lakh MT of foodgrains.It has more than doubled its production of foodgrains in the last 20 years, the foodgrains production in the State in 2000-01 was merely 55.35 lakh MT.On the direction of the Chief Minister the Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Department has implemented Agriculture Policy-2020 ‘Samruddhi’ for the overall and continuous development of agriculture.For the establishment of agro-industries in the State, Odisha is the first State in the country to accord industry status to agriculture.Extensive use of scientific methods, improved technology, and agro machinery has resulted in increasing production.

To ensure complete transparency in implementation and benefits of schemes reach the farmers directly, the schemes and services are done online.Attractive subsidy is being provided for the extensive establishment of agro-industries through the implementation of the Mukhyamantri Krushi Udyog Yojana. In addition to this emphasis is being laid on integrated farming while creating maximum income opportunities for allied farming.Steps have been taken for increasing the income of farmers by providing market linkages for the marketing and sale of agricultural products

While KALIA Yojana has been implemented for the welfare of farmers, BALARAM Yojana has been implemented to make easy availability of loans to landless farmers.To provide nutritional value to the people Odisha Millet Mission has been constituted. It has been praised by NITI Aayog as a model mission.The State government apart from introducing a special Agriculture Budget has been constantly increasing the outlay in the Agriculture Budget. The State government has also constituted Agriculture Cabinet.This has resulted in a phenomenal increase in agriculture production and the welfare of the farmers.