Chief Minister has always emphasized the promotion of more remunerative crops in the state to enhance farmers’ income. Recently the State Cabinet has approved a new scheme titled, Crop Diversification Programme to promote the non-paddy and other high-value crop cultivation in all 30 districts of the state, especially in the ayacut area of Mega Lift Irrigation Projects. The State Cabinet has already approved the allocation of Rs 2808 Crores for the promotion of millets for 6 yrs till 2026-27. Hon’ble Chief Minister has already directed to scale up millet cultivation in all 30 districts of the state.
In this context, a technical presentation on “Crop diversification: Taking to the next level” was made at the ongoing Senior Officers’ Conference by a team consisting of Dr Arabinda K Padhee, Principal Secretary Agriculture & Farmers Empowerment Department; Ms Anvesha Reddy, Collector Kalahandi and Mr Dattatreya Shinde, Collector Balasore.
The technical session focused on the arc of the development of agriculture policy, its achievements, challenges, and prospects for the future. Though spectacular success was achieved by Green Revolution, it led to negative externalities such as degraded agricultural lands, depletion of groundwater, Loss of soil fertility, Loss of Biodiversity, etc. Overall, all these led to a weakened resilience to climate change. This has been further exacerbated by diminishing natural resources and high levels of malnutrition, leading to intergenerational problems.
Read the complete article at pragativadi.com
