Bhubaneswar: The State Cabinet on Monday approved a proposal for an amendment to the Odisha Agriculture and Food Production Service (Methods of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2018.
Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said that the implementation of various agricultural activities in the state is largely being undertaken through the Directorate of Agriculture and Food Production of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Odisha.
Apart from agricultural extension and development activities, The Agriculture and Food Production Service Officers under the Directorate of Agriculture & Food Production Odisha, are also engaged in a plethora of developmental activities of other government departments and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) like the Water Resources Department, Odisha State Seed & Organic Products Certification Agency (OSSOPCA), Institute on Management of Agricultural Extension (IMAGE) and Odisha State Seeds Corporation (OSSC) on a deputation basis.
A cadre has been made with the introduction of new posts at the district level, such as the Chief District Agriculture Officer (CDAO), Agriculture District Officer (ADO) and Block Agriculture Officer (BAO) to bring in a paradigm change in delivering the desired services to the farmers in terms of execution of government schemes and activities for the benefit of the farmers of the state and utilisation of Central and state funds to conduct different field activities for transfer of technology, restructuring and strengthening of the Agriculture and Food Production Service.
The entry post to the cadre will be Assistant Agriculture Officer whereas other grades posts up to Additional Director of Agriculture will be promotional posts from among the feeder grade posts.
