Bhubaneswar: The Kharif Campaign 2023 was approved by Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena on Thursday. The main features of Kharif Campaign are as follows: The state has programmed for production of –
- 116.82 lakh MT of food grains;
- 2.22 lakh MT of oilseeds;
- 9.28 lakh bales of fibers; and
- 87.42 lakh MT of vegetables & spices.
This will be covering cultivated area of 61.80 lakh hectares during Kharif 2023, basing on IMD forecast of a normal monsoon (i.e. 96 to 104% of Long Period Average). It has been decided to diversify around 2 lakh ha of paddy area to more remunerative crops, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment informed.
Special emphasis has been given on different programmes like Odisha Millet Mission (OMM), Crop Diversification Programme (CDP), Integrated Farming System (IFS), Farm Pond Plus, Mukhyamantri Krushi Udyog Yojana (MKUY), DBT Farm Mechanization, Jalnidhi & Saura Jalanidhi etc. The OMM has been extended to all the districts by targeting the rainfed areas covering 177 blocks of the State.
Similarly, in Crop Diversification Programme it has been targeted to divert the feasible upland & medium paddy lands situated in the ayacut of Mega Lift Irrigation Projects to different non-paddy high value crops focusing in area expansion of pulses, oilseed
& vegetables in the state. Special emphasis will be given for popularization of different farm machineries and equipment by organizing massive Krushi Jantrapati Melas in different pockets of the state.
Emphasis will be given for establishment of private lift irrigation points & pump sets under Jalanidhi programme and Sustainable Harnessing of Ground Water there by bringing more area under assured irrigation. Use of solar energy for irrigation will be promoted by popularizing solar photo voltaic pump sets & establishing solar lift irrigation points.
Horticulture Sector, having a promise for higher returns per rupee, will be given greater emphasis by implementation of special programmes like kharif potato, promotion of plantation crops, oil palm, Hybrid Vegetable cultivation, Jackfruit Mission, Mushroom Mission etc.
The Agriculture Production Clusters (APC) will be promoted for organsing the farmers into product centric groups there
by facilitating adequate marketing linkage to fetch higher income. Adequate arrangements have been made for making available the critical inputs like seeds, fertilizer, pesticides etc through prepositioning.
Besides, Rs.20792 Cr of crop loan is programmed to be disbursed to the farmers to supplement their efforts during Kharif season. Steps have been taken to cover all the willing farmers & loanee farmers under Crop Insurance. Owing to the regular occurrence of natural calamities of various forms during Kharif elaborate disaster management plan and contingent plan has been put in place to ameliorate their impact and bring back agriculture into normalcy.
All the Collectors have been issued with a Kharif Circular by the Chief Secretary, Odisha for taking up the Kharif crop with appropriate strategy suitable to the agro-ecological situation of the district.
