Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has launched the expanded ‘Krushi Unnata Sahayogi’ (KUS) internship programme to bridge academic agricultural education with field-level extension services, deploying 964 final-year Agriculture and Horticulture students across all 314 blocks in the state.
Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo inaugurated the programme at a special ceremony at the Krushi Shiksha Sadan Conference Hall of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) here.
Originally launched in 2023, the expanded three-month programme will be implemented from October to December across all 30 districts, with around two to three student associates deployed in each block.
The selected students will work alongside Gram Panchayat-level extension personnel from Monday to Friday, between 10 am and 5 pm. Their responsibilities will include monitoring crop pests and diseases using digital platforms such as e-Pest and the National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS).
Each student will conduct a qualitative survey covering 100 farmers and undertake five semi-physical Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) to assess crop yields. They will also visit local agricultural input dealers, one Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO), two Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and two Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) or Large-sized Adivasi Multipurpose Societies (LAMPS).
The students will create awareness about government schemes and mobile applications while documenting farmers’ challenges, success stories and feedback to help strengthen grassroots agricultural extension services.
Their activities and performance will be digitally tracked through the KUS App and monitored through the ADAPT Dashboard. Block Agriculture Officers and Assistant Agriculture Officers will conduct weekly reviews of the interns’ work.
On successful completion of the three-month internship, each student will receive a ₹21,000 stipend and a completion certificate from the respective Chief District Agriculture Officer (CDAO).
Singh Deo said the initiative would help build a robust agricultural extension network while providing students with valuable practical exposure to field-level farming issues. Five top-performing students will subsequently share their field experiences and insights publicly, according to the department.
The inauguration was attended by Commissioner-cum-Secretary Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav, OUAT Vice-Chancellor Prof Prabhat Kumar Roul, Director of Agriculture Subham Saxena, Director of Horticulture Kalunge Gorakh Waman, SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof Pradipta Kumar Nanda and Private Secretary to the Deputy Chief Minister Ganeswar Jena, among others.
