Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has entered into six partnerships with the Department of Posts, Odisha Circle, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics and the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF).
The partnerships aim to strengthen digital agriculture, seed systems, climate resilience, nutrition and farmer livelihoods across the state.
The MoUs were signed by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo.
Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Agriculture Sachin Ramchandra Jadha, Chief Postmaster General Nirmaljeet Singh, Director of Agriculture Shubham Saxena and Director of Horticulture Kalunge Gorakh Waman were also present.
Singh Deo said the six MoUs mark a major step in transforming Odisha’s agricultural sector. He highlighted the role of Gramin Dak Sevaks in expanding access to digital agricultural services.
Under the partnership with the Department of Posts, Odisha Circle, Gramin Dak Sevaks will support Farmer Registry enrolment and Farmer ID generation. They will also assist with CM KISAN registration, PM KISAN e-KYC and NPCI/Aadhaar seeding.
The initiative will improve farmer registration and authentication while making government schemes more accessible in rural and remote areas.
The four RKVY-DPR projects with ICRISAT will focus on strengthening seed systems for pulses and oilseeds. The projects will also support chickpea seed production, speed breeding and the development of improved and climate-resilient varieties.
The collaboration aims to improve the availability of quality seeds, promote crop diversification and increase farm productivity. It will also help farmers cope with climate variability.
The partnership with MSSRF will implement a three-year Farming System for Nutrition project in Nayagarh. The project will cover 3,000 small and marginal farmers.
It will integrate biofortified crops, pulses, vegetables, backyard poultry and aquaculture. The project will also promote seed banks, nutrition gardens and community processing units.
The initiative aims to improve the production of nutrient-rich crops, increase farmer incomes, promote dietary diversity and strengthen household nutrition.
The Odisha government said the partnerships represent three key areas of agricultural transformation: digital access, productivity and climate resilience, and nutrition and livelihood security.
The government emphasised that the success of these initiatives will ultimately be measured by tangible improvements in farmer incomes and livelihoods.
