June 26th 2024.
At a review meeting held at the Krushi Bhavan on Tuesday, Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister, shared that the digital crop survey, which was initially launched on a pilot basis in four districts, will now be extended to cover all the districts in the state. Along with the minister, the meeting was attended by the Department’s Principal Secretary Arabinda Padhee, directors of DA&FE, and other senior officials.
During the meeting, the minister unveiled a booklet titled ‘Knowledge Sharing for Effective Administration’ and discussions were held on various topics such as the PM Kisan scheme, digital crop surveys, and the new government's priorities for the agriculture sector. The director of DA&FE highlighted the importance of personalized service delivery to farmers and shared the achievements of the digital crop survey pilot project during Kharif-2023. Based on the learnings from this pilot project, it will now be implemented in all 30 districts of the state in Kharif 2024. The development of a mobile application and web portal for digital crop surveys was also discussed.
It was mentioned that the Centre had launched digital crop surveys in 12 states, including Odisha, on a pilot basis in 2023. In line with this, the Odisha government had successfully conducted digital crop surveys in Nuapada, Nayagarh, Deogarh, and Bhadrak. Moving forward, the review meeting focused on understanding the priorities of the new government for the agriculture sector. The Principal Secretary briefed the Deputy CM about the department's successful initiatives, such as the Odisha Millets Mission, which has had a positive impact on the farming community.
The minister also shared his own experience of farming in his hometown during the Covid-19 pandemic and expressed his happiness at being a part of the Agriculture department. During the meeting, the minister also learned about Ama Krushi, a helpline number (155333) that provides knowledge and advisory services to farmers. He even took the initiative to call the helpline and had a conversation with a representative to better understand the services and solutions available for farmers.
Emphasizing the importance of agriculture in the economy, Singh Deo said, “We need to work towards promoting and involving every household in agriculture. People are slowly moving away from it, and it is our responsibility to educate and empower them to learn and earn their livelihood through farming.”
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