OdishaPlus Bureau
Bhubaneswar, 17th January 2020: ‘Krushi Odisha’, the annual flagship five day exhibition cum knowledge sharing event by Dept. of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Govt. of Odisha is to be held from 20-24 January 2020 at Janata Maidan, Bhubaneswar. The mega programme which envisages leading farmers to profitability, involves various aspects like farm income, implements, modern technology in farming, financial assistance to farmers and capacity building.
“Farmers play an important role in shaping the state’s economy. More than 62 percent of the population is dependent on farm income in the state. Keeping in view the importance of farmers, this year, Krushi Odisha is spread across a larger scale with more than 228 stalls being put up with the participation of more than 120 national and international companies”, informs the agriculture minister Dr. Arun Kumar Sahoo in a press briefing here on Friday.
Krushi Odisha 2020 will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik while the valedictory evening shall be graced by the Governor Prof. Ganeshi Lal. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is the industry partner for Krushi Odisha 2020 with the Department of Agriculture and farmers’ Empowerment, Govt. of Odisha.
“Apart from the inaugural and valedictory ceremonies, there are a slew of seminars and workshops slated for farmers on a variety of topics which would help them gain insight into improving their profitability, income and gain better market access for their produce. Krushi Odisha intends to help farmers move from traditional cropping to more profitable cash crops” adds Dr. Sahoo.
There will be a display of achievements of Agriculture and allied departments at Krushi Odisha 2020. The event is an opportune platform which would provide farmers exposure to latest technological developments. The event shall also provide market linkage, value addition and sourcing of products from Odisha. There is ample provision for knowledge dissemination to farmers, students and officers through seminars, farmer-scientist interactions and experience sharing.
Krushi Odisha 2020 shall also accord state level recognition to successful farmers and farmer produce organizations.
The second day of Krushi Odisha 2020 has been marked as ‘Cooperation and Banking Day’. Likewise, day-3 would witness the discussion pertaining to ‘Panchayati Raj Institution’ members and their participation in farming activities. Since Odisha CM has laid ample stress on the role of women and the importance of women empowerment, the penultimate day of Krushi Odisha 2020 has been marked for “Role of SHGs in farming”.
Hemant Kumar Panda, Director, Soil Conservation, Manmath Pani and Mary Lakra, Addl Directors, Agriculture and Dr Prabhat Kumar Roul, Dean Extn. (OUAT) attended the briefing.
Odisha has been a front runner in agriculture and farmers development which has earned it an identity of a progressive state in the country. Five times winner of Krushi Karman award and commendation award in the current year has taken Odisha to newer heights.