Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has sanctioned 39 new projects estimated to be Rs 365 crore in agriculture and allied sector for implementation in different parts of the state. The projects will focus on post-harvesting, value addition and marketing support to farmers so that they can get more price for their products.
The State Level Sanctioning Committee meeting held under the chairmanship of chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi on Monday cleared the projects proposed by the agriculture & farmers empowerment principal secretary, Sourav Garg.
Garg said, The 39 new projects which would entail an investment of Rs 365 crore would be completed within 1 to 3 years. The projects will be funded both by the Central and state government on 60:40 sharing basis under Rashtriya Kurishi Vikash Yojana ( RKVY). The major sanctioned projects include holistic development of Sakhigopal coconut farm, formation and operationalization of Farmers’ Producer Groups in Ganjam district, developing model livestock farm for promotion of entrepreneurship and capacity building, development of ICT based forwarding system for major insect and pests diseases, establishment of farmers’ counseling center at Panchayat level, enhancing food & nutrition security of small and marginal farmers in Koraput district, enhancing fish production in water reservoirs of the state, online payment system to milk producers, modern diary parlor through e-cat, construction of 10 multipurpose agricultural godwns, construction of drying yards, expansion of sweet potato cultivation, expansion of betel vine in Jagatsinghpur district, compost production from urban waste, establishment of center of excellence on organic farming, establishment of incubation center for micro-entrepreneurs, mobile based customized advisory to the farmers, promotion of sustainable livelihood for tribal households in OTELP plus programme, reclamation of problematic soil etc.
Available data show that so far 646 major projects have been implemented in the sate under RKVY. Out of these 414 projects have been completed and 232 projects are under implementation. The projects are being implemented through 26 departments and agencies.
Development commissioner R. Balakrishnan, agriculture production commissioner Gagan Kumar Dhal along with Principal Secretaries, Secretaries and senior officers of the concerned departments participated in the discussions.
