Bhubaneswar, 20th February 2023: Governor of Odisha Prof. Ganeshi Lal today said that civilization started off with agriculture, and the super-structure of civilization is based on agriculture. Addressing the valedictory session of ‘Krushi Odisha 2023’, organized by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment, Govt of Odisha, jointly with the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Prof. Lal urged the farmers to benefit from all schemes announced by the state government and help the state to go further and prosper in the area of agriculture

Citing, “ Only a farmer can do the magic in agriculture,” Odisha Governor stressed the need for coordinated efforts from all the stakeholders to help the farming community tide over the challenges they have been facing. Praising the KALIA scheme, Prof Lal added that the scheme has proved to be a game changer for the income security of farmers.

On the session, Mr. Ranendra Pratap Swain, Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment

and Fisheries & ARD said that Agriculture is the only sector that was not at a halt during the pandemic times. He asserted, “Odisha is now self-sufficient in many crops. The state is 4 th largest rice producer of the country. We are near self-sufficient in milk, egg, and fisheries.”

“Our sincere effort will become helpful to bring down the cost of farming. To achieve this goal, we need farm mechanization,” added Mr. Swain while urging the farmers to use new machines and technology in farming.

Ms. Basanti Hembram, Minister, of Women & Child Development and Mission Shakti, Odisha said that “Agriculture is a livelihood for seventy percent of the population. Government is giving primary importance to agriculture and the development of farmers. She said that our other focus areas are Kalia, Balaram scheme, nutritional foods, and commercialization of agriculture.”

Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment said government focuses on farm mechanization, crop diversification, development of the allied sector, and entrepreneurship development.”

Mr. Suresh Kumar Vashishth, Principal Secretary, F & ARD Department said, “We have achieved significant development in animal resources and milk production. We have developed technology and showcased on cage culture, Tilapia fish and bio-floc.”

Mr. T R Kesavan, Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee & Group President, TAFE

Ltd emphasized input cost reduction in farming to make it water use effective. He elaborated on various aspects of water efficiency in farming so that technology-based agriculture
can be sustainable.”

Mr. Smruti Ranjan Pradhan, Director of Fisheries delivered a welcome address.

Mr. Prem Chandra Chaudhary, Director, Agriculture and Dr. Yeddula Vijay, Director of AH & VS,

Mr. Rama Chandra Panda, Advisor to Dept. A & FE, Odisha were also present at the dais. During the session, the Governor also launched India’s first AI Chatbot for the agriculture sector –
Ama KrushAI, which will run under the pilot project with above 10,000 farmers and will be implemented in full fledge in the next two months. Ama KrushAI chatbot will help farmers with the best agronomic practices, government schemes, and loan products from more than 40 commercial and cooperative banks.

Organized with an aim to promote farm mechanization and enhancement in farmers’ income, the 3days Krushi Odisha -2023 witnessed the attendance of more than twenty thousand farmers and agri-entrepreneurs from across the state and focused on emerging technologies in agriculture this year.