Bhubaneswar: The regional conference to review agriculture was held at the Mayfair Convention in Bhubaneswar on Friday under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. Senior officials of the Agriculture departments of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal attended the conference.
Odisha Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Department Principal Secretary Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee welcomed everyone. They said that Odisha has planned the ‘Balabhadra Jaivik Chasa Mission’ to promote climate-friendly farming in the agricultural sector. The state has eliminated gender inequality in agriculture using technology in agriculture, and geo-tagging of agricultural land through the ‘e-chase’ app. “The digital crop survey method can obtain accurate data about crop cultivation. Through rice fallow management, the production of 6 types of pulses and 2 types of oilseeds has been increased in the state using 4 lakh hectares of fallow agricultural land, Padhee said, adding, “A few days ago, the International Symposium on Shree Anna and Forgotten Foods was organised to recovery & regenerations’ and promote Odisha’s traditional food and agricultural heritage. Microsoft founder Bill Gates visited Odisha Krushi Bhavan and praised Odisha’s Krushi Samrudhi Helpline.”
Attending the conference as a special guest, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja said that Odisha is currently strengthening the irrigation infrastructure for agriculture. Currently, paddy is being procured at Rs 3,100 per quintal and insurance is being provided to the farmers.
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Secretary Dr Devesh Chaturvedi, who attended as the chief guest, praised the major schemes launched by the Odisha Agriculture Department. The conference reviewed various schemes in four sessions.
Later, Central schemes such as Rashtriya Krushi Vikash YojanaNational, Krushi Unnati Yojana, PM Jan Jatiya Unnat Abhiyan, Digital Agriculture Mission, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Oilseeds Mission etc. were reviewed. Union Joint Secretary Rukmani Devi discussed the ‘Namo Drone Didi’.
Union Agriculture Department Joint Secretary Purna Chandra Kishan delivered the vote of thanks at the inauguration, while the guests were felicitated at the end of the session. Director of Agriculture Premchandra Chaudhary delivered the vote of thanks at the end of the programme.
