Agricultural experts from the Government of Ethiopia, on a tour to examine the impact of agri-tech efforts in Odisha

Bhubaneswar:26/6/23: A delegation of agricultural experts from the Government of Ethiopia, on a tour to examine the impact of agri-tech efforts on proactive governance and farmer income, visited Krushi Bhawan, the administrative centre of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha, today.A visit to the Krushi Samiksha Kendra, India’s first integrated command and control facility in the agriculture domain, was the highlight of this day-long engagement. Dr Addisu Bezabeh, Director, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research; M. Abraham Tesfaye, Adult Training Senior Expert, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Ethiopia and experts from Digital Green and the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute were among the delegates who witnessed the operations of the Krushi Samiksha Kendra, a review and monitoring centre that streamlines scheme delivery and emergency response for the Government.

Following that, the delegates met with senior department officials such as Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee; Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment) and Prem Chaudhary, Director, Agriculture & Food Production, before viewing a demonstration of the Odisha Millets Mission. The potential of harnessing technology to enhance proactive governance in agriculture and promote climate-resilient agriculture was discussed.

Chaudhary stated, “This visit signifies our two countries’ growing collaboration and exchange of knowledge in the field of agriculture. We obtain a greater awareness of global agri-tech advances, which allows us to focus our initiatives. It is also critical for the global community to comprehend the impact of projects like the Krushi Samiksha Kendra.”

The Krushi Samiksha Kendra was inaugurated by Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya on April 23 this year. Operated by a team of government officials, data analysts, and call centre agents, this command-and-control centre leverages analytics and real-time surveys to improve scheme delivery, emergency response, and officials’ accountability in addition to enabling evidence-backed policy decisions.The Krushi Samiksha Kendra equips all government officials with real-time data on key agri-operations to enable them to deliver better services to farmers and is one of the flagship initiatives of the Government of Odisha as a part of its 5T vision.