Bhubaneswar: In a bid to double farmers’ income and improve the standard of livelihood, the State Government has decided to promote farm mechanisation in a big way and popularise technology and innovation among farmers.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik informed this at the inaugural ceremony of the four-day Krushi Odisha Exhibition of farm equipment and machineries at the Biju Pattnaik Ground here on Wednesday.
“Farming is not only the fulcrum of the economy of Odisha, but is also the chief source of livelihood for a vast multitude of its people. And that explains why our Government is so serious about agriculture,” said Patnaik on the occasion. He also said the State Government has decided to invest more in irrigation and aggressively promote allied sectors such as horticulture, pisciculture, animal husbandry, food processing, etc.
The State Government has achieved significant success in agriculture in recent years, he added.
The agri budget in Odisha has doubled in the past few years and the State Government has won several awards too, he said.
“I am confident that in a few years, Odisha will be the leader in the agri space,” Patnaik hoped.
Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Pradeep Maharathy, State Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Chandra Panda, Member of Parliament Prasanna Kumar Patasani, MLAs Bijaya Kumar Mohanty and Priyadarshi Mishra, senior Government officials, Principal Secreatry, Department of Agriculture Dr Saurabh Garg, Agriculuture Production Commissioner Gagan Kumar Dhal and Agriculture and Food Production Director Dr M Muthukumar, senior officials from corporations, PSUs, representatives from the State Government and consultants were also present in the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
The exhibition is spread over 250,000 square feet at the ground where about 170 leading farm equipment makers and companies engaged in agriculture and allied sectors such as the Mahindras, Tata Agrico, Paradeep Phosphates, Kirloskar Brothers, and also Government agencies like IFFCO, APICOL, APEDA, etc. They will demonstrate and explain why the new-generation farmers in Odisha need to use latest post-harvest technologies and integrated farming methods to boost productivity.
The Krushi Odisha will also highlight B2B and B2G meetings, and Krushak Pathshala, an interactive tutorial for farmers on the modern methods of farming. About 10,000 farmers from 30 districts of Odisha will be trained by experts from various agricultural domains in latest farm technologies and modern agricultural practices, and provided hands-on training in how they can enhance cropping intensity and improve high-yielding varieties of seeds.
The exhibition is being jointly organised by the Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment and the CII.
