Odisha govt signs MoUs for agri growth
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday signed MoUs with four corporations for the development of agriculture and support to farmers for the 2025-26 financial year.The MoUs were signed by the State Agriculture department with Odisha Agro-Industrial Corporation (OAIC), Odisha Agriculture Promotion and Capital Investment Corporation Limited (APICOL), Odisha State Seed Corporation Limited (OSSC) and Odisha State Cashew Development Corporation Limited (OSCDCL) in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo.The partnership with OSSC aims to strengthen the seed production and supply chain.
The Agriculture department will further strengthen farmers by ensuring a timely supply of certified seeds, an official said.Under the collaboration, both parties will work together to promote seed replacement and varietal improvement through a coordinated farmer awareness campaign.For this, a turnover target of Rs 56 crore has been set, the official said.
Similarly, OAIC has set a target of purchasing 45,000 tonnes of fertiliser, and pesticides worth Rs 20 crore, 7,000 tractors, 1,000 power tillers and other agricultural machinery,
The corporation will set up 5,200 electric-powered small lift irrigation projects, 4,800 solar-powered water tanks and 1,000 shallow tube well projects.It will also spend Rs 30 crore for construction work for the current financial year, and a total turnover of Rs 1,000 crore has been targeted for the corporation, the official said.
The MoU with APICOL was signed to create 6,500 business enterprises and provide subsidies worth Rs 250 crore, of which Rs 200 crore is meant for Mukhyamantri Krushi Udyog Yojana (MKUY) and Rs 50 crore for a cold storage support scheme, he said.
Accordingly, in the 2025-26 financial year, the Odisha State Cashew Development Corporation will take up 500 hectares of hybrid cashew replanting programme and maintenance of trees over more than 1.336.22 hectares to strengthen the cultivation in Odisha, the official said.
In addition, it has a target to produce 35 lakhs hybrid cashew grafts from its existing 20 nurseries, he said.During the programme, Singh Deo felicitated the managing directors of OAIC and APICOL for their outstanding performance in the last financial year.Presenting the letter of appreciation, he said all the affiliated corporations have shown excellent performance, and the path of progress should continue further.
The Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment department is one of the prominent departments that has spent 94.7 per cent of the approved budget, Singh Deo said.'We are fully committed to the progress and development of farmers,' he added.
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