Bhubaneswar: The first Integrated Cluster Development Initiative (ICDI) Consultation Workshop was held today at Lok Seva Bhawan with an aim to accelerate economic growth in Odisha through agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and dairy sectors.
The workshop deliberated on cluster development potential, identification of priority areas, removal of bottlenecks, institutional coordination and the future action plan.The programme was jointly organised by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), NITI Aayog and the Odisha Planning and Convergence Department.EAC-PM Chairman Prof. S. Mahendra Dev, Chief Secretary Anu Garg, NITI Aayog Programme Director (Economic and Financial) Dr. Prabhakar Vastu, EAC-PM Joint Secretary Dr. K.K. Tripathi, Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Commissioner-cum-Secretary Sachin Ramchandra Yadav, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Department Commissioner-cum-Secretary Prem Chandra Chaudhary, IFPRI Senior Researcher Dr. Sudha Narayanan and senior officers of various departments participated.
In the inaugural session, Prof. Dev stressed the need to shift from a ‘productivity approach’ to an ‘agricultural livelihood approach’ to enhance income from agricultural produce. He emphasised increasing post-harvest value addition, upliftment of small and marginal farmers, and strengthening FPOs and cooperatives through convergence.
He said Odisha, as an eastern state, can set an example by integrating agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and tourism. It was discussed to start the cluster initiative as a pilot in Puri and Ganjam districts, and later expand to Angul, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur and Deogarh. Collectors of these districts were present.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg said a developed Odisha will significantly contribute to the goal of Viksit Bharat. She stressed inclusive and balanced regional development and strengthening the entire value chain from production to market by linking farm produce with value addition, processing and marketing. She said linking regional produce with larger markets and involving women SHGs will give new momentum to the rural economy, and called for strong coordination among departments, district administration, research and financial institutions, cooperatives, private sector and local entrepreneurs.
Agriculture Secretary Sachin Yadav made a detailed presentation on horticulture. He said Odisha has emerged as a major fruit and vegetable producing state, with horticulture crops cultivated over 16.53 lakh hectares, annual vegetable production of about 1.1 million metric tonnes, and around 3.83 lakh farmers engaged in 95 cluster activities.
He underlined focus on cashew, mango, vegetables, spices with collection, cold storage, processing and marketing linkages in Puri and Ganjam as primary clusters, and a roadmap for strengthening FPOs and linking produce to national and international markets.
Fisheries and ARD Secretary Prem Chandra Chaudhary outlined strategies for fisheries and dairy, including Deep Sea Fishing Mission, Shrimp Mission, reservoir fish farming, cold chain, processing, FPOs, and for dairy, productivity, animal health, fodder, milk collection, processing and cold storage to enhance farmers’ income.
