What are the different Government initiatives in agriculture sector in Odisha?
A large portion of the population depends
directly or indirectly on farming, horticulture, fisheries and allied sector
for their livelihood. However, the sector faces several challenges such as low
productivity, climate change impacts and lack of infrastructure. Recognizing
this Orissa government has taking different initiatives and through different
programs and reforms to enhance productivity, promote sustainability, empower
small and marginal farmers so that they can adapt to challenging climate change
conditions.
Major Government initiatives:
One of the major flagship
programs by the Odisha government is Kalia scheme which provides financial
assistance to small and marginal farmers, landless household and vulnerable
groups.
Some Major Schemes and their Features are given below
Schemes Key
Features
|
CM-KISAN
Yojana |
Financial Assistance: Rs.4000 annually to small/ marginal farmers; larger amount Rs.(12,500) to land less agriculture household. |
|
Samrudh
Krushak Yojana |
Paddy Procurement at
Rs 3100 For Quintal; aims to help farmers get fair price and reduce middleman
interference |
|
KALIA
Scheme |
Provides financial
aid for Cultivation Support to land less households, Vulnerable agriculturists;
includes insurance, interest-free loans etc. |
|
Animal
Husbandry & Allied sector Scheme |
Several state plant
schemes; Upgradation of livestock healthcare services; support to vaccine
procduction and disease control; layer/poultry farming chick rearing units minipoultry
feed mills, diagnostic labs etc. |
|
Nesam
and centrally sponsor scheme in Odisha |
EX:PM-Kisan Pradhan
Mantri Fasal Bima Yojona(Crop Insurance); Nation food security mission(NFSM);
Sub mission on seed and Planting Materials; National Mission for sustainable
Agriculture(NMSA); Mission integrated development of Horticulture etc. |
|
Agri-Tech
Smart Farm(ATSF) |
Launched in four
pilot locations- Semiliguda( Koraput) Sukinda(Jajpur) Sakhigopal(Puri) and
Chakuli (Bargarh); Use of modern technologies like LOT sensor, drones,
protected cultivation,( greenhouse hydroponics) micro-irrigation; Cold-chain;Included
agro-tourism themes in some regions. |
There are so many other schemes
are listed in FPO Odisha Portal;
around 13 schemes (both state and central) with support components relevant for
farmer producer organization FPO) under various categories.
Main objectives and expected outcomes:
These initiatives of government are aims to:
1. Raise
farmers income:
Especially for small, marginal and landless farmers.
2. Promote
sustainable farming: Organic agriculture Agro-Biodiversity, regenerative
practices.
3. Improve
resilience
to climate change (Flood, drought, Erratic rainfall.)
4. Modernise
Agriculture: Using
Technology (Sensor,drone) Mechanisation, Post Harvest Infrastructure, Cold
Chain.
5. Ensure
food and nutritional security by reviving underutilized crops and
local varieties.
6. Empire
women and tribal communities: Giving them better institutional support and
market linkage.
7. Improved
market access and Beloved Addison: by connecting farmers to local national
and international markets. Promote food processing industries, branding and
marketing of local produce to increase profitability.
8. Reduce
Risk and Provide Social security: by implementing crop insurance scheme
(like PMFBY) to protect farmers against natural calamities and crop loss. Offers pensionscheme, interest-free loans and
disaster relief to support farmers in difficult times.
9. Promote
inclusive growth: By ensuring the benefit of Agricultural Development to
reach all section of society, including women, youth and marginalized groups.
Encourage youth participation in Agri-startups and Agri-entrepreneurships.
Challenges faced by government in implementing agricultural schemes:
1. Lack
of awarness among farmers: Many farmers especially in rural and
remote tribal areas are unaware of the scheme, Eligibility criteria or
application procedures. And also information often does not reach the
grassroots due to poor communication, law literacy level or weak extension
services.
2. Administrative
and Bureaucratic Delays: Due to multiple players of
administrative approvals documents and coordination between departments cause slow
implementation of scheme. Some time funds get delayed, leading to late delivery
of benefits to the beneficiaries.
3. Inadequate
Infrastructure:
Lack of proper road, irrigation facilities,cold storage, processing units and market
yards limit the effectiveness of the scheme. In some cases even when subsidies or
tools are provided, farmer often don’t have the infrastructure to make full use of
them.
4. Limited Technical knowledge and training: The modern farming
methods(i.g. drip irrigation, drone uses, organic Cultivation) requires training,
due to lack of knowledge for implementing to modern machineries many farmers
are still dependent on traditional methods and also facing difficulties in
adopting new technologies without support.
5. Financial
constraints:
There is always some financial constraints are faced by farmers and local
government. Most of the time farmers not able to afford their share of investment
even with subsidies. And also state government are facing budget constraint or
delays in receiving central funds.
6. Fragmented
land holdings:
Still now also a large number of farmers are small or marginalized land size it
makes difficult to implement large scale mechanization, irrigation or
infrastructure project effectively.
7. Leakage
of corruption:
At various administrative level funds or benefits may be diverted or misused. Due
to lack of transparency and accountability can reduce trust among farmers and
affect the scheme outcomes.
8. Climate
and natural calamities: In the states like Odisha, due to frequent outcome of
the cyclones,floods and droughts many a times disrupts farming activities and
delay scheme execution and also infrastructural damages and crop loss increases
the cost and complicity in implementation of the scheme.
9. Coordination
Gap between Departments: In the government department like
agriculture, irrigation, electricity, transport, rural development and finance
department often needs to work together to proper implementation of any scheme,
but due to poor co-ordination among these bodies leads to delay or failure in
the proper implementation of the scheme.
10. Socio-Economic
barriers:
In some section of the society still we live in the social barrier (Gender in-equality,
caste division) and local politics, leading to make marginalized groups sometimes
struggle to claim their rightful share of the scheme or take benefits of schemes
advantage.
Conclusion:
Government initiatives in the
agriculture sector have the potential to bring a significant transformation in
rural livelihood. By introducing financial support schemes, promoting modern
technologies, improving infrastructure and encouraging sustainable farming
practices, the government aims to make Agriculture more productive, profitable
and resilient. These initiatives not only support farmers in increasing their
income but also our state Odisha can
build a resilient and farmer friendly agricultural system that ensure
prosperity for future generation.
