Bhubaneswar: The Government of Odisha on Friday reiterated its commitment to empowering farming communities, stating that the success of its initiatives will be measured by tangible improvements in farmer incomes.
The Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment entered into six important partnerships with the Department of Posts, Odisha Circle, ICRISAT and M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) to strengthen digital agriculture, seed systems, climate resilience, nutrition and farmer livelihoods.
The MoU signing ceremony was held in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Commissioner-cum-Secretary Agriculture Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav, Chief Postmaster General Nirmaljeet Singh, Director of Agriculture Shubham Saxena and Director of Horticulture Kalunge Gorakh Waman.
“These six historic MoUs mark a paradigm shift in Odisha’s agricultural landscape. By leveraging our vast network of Gramin Dak Sevaks for AgriStack enrolment and partnering with premier research institutions like ICRISAT and MSSRF, we are decentralizing our seed systems, empowering our smallholder farmers, and tackling malnutrition at the grassroots level,” said Deputy Chief Minister Singh Deo.
“This holistic approach will ensure self-sufficiency in pulses and oilseeds while guaranteeing last-mile service delivery to every farming household in Odisha,” he added. The MoU with the Department of Posts will strengthen last-mile delivery of digital agriculture services in rural and remote areas. Gramin Dak Sevaks will facilitate Farmer Registry enrolment and Farmer ID generation, CM KISAN registration, PM KISAN e-KYC and NPCI/Aadhaar seeding, besides other farmer-centric digital services.
The partnership with ICRISAT covers four RKVY-DPR projects focused on strengthening seed systems for pulses and oilseeds, promoting Atmanirbhar Odisha in pulses, chickpea seed production and speed breeding for improved and climate-resilient varieties. The collaboration aims to improve availability of quality seed, promote crop diversification and increase productivity.
The MSSRF partnership will implement a three-year Farming System for Nutrition project in Nayagarh for 3,000 small and marginal farmers. The project will integrate biofortified crops, pulses, vegetables, backyard poultry and aquaculture, along with seed banks, nutrition gardens and community processing units to improve dietary diversity and household nutrition.
