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Minister calls for more focus on agriculture sector

CUTTACK: The Orissa Industries Minister B.B. Harichandan on Wednesday reiterated that industrialisation in the State would not be ushered in at the cost of neglecting agriculture. He acknowledged the fact that agriculture was close to the hearts of people of the State and the government was doing enough to boost the farm productivity.

He was addressing a Farmers’ Fair here at Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) on the occasion of 62nd Foundation Day of the premier institute.

Mr. Harichandan called upon farm scientists to be more pragmatic towards the problems of farmers and make a holistic approach to improve the agricultural scenario.

He said Orissa farmers were emotionally attached to grow paddy, as rice was the staple food of people in this part of the country.

“Therefore, the scientists of CRRI must work with an endeavour to see that the rice growers make adequate profit and face the challenges of nature’s vagaries,” he said.

The Minister said that the Orissa government was attaching a lot of importance to agriculture and steps were being taken to bring more and more farm land under irrigation.

“We are going to ensure that adequate river water is made available for agricultural purposes in the State and there cannot be any compromise on it for industrialisation,” he said.

Over 400 farmers attended the fair and had an interactive session with CRRI scientists.

The scientists answered the queries of the farmers and suggested various scientific methods to tackle the problems of the farmers.

At least eight farmers from different schemes of agriculture were felicitated with ‘Progressive farmer’ award on the occasion.

CRRI Director M.P. Pandey said the institute did a commendable service to the super cyclone affected coastal areas of the State by leading a mega project that involved eight ICAR institutions and OUAT to bring about complete rehabilitation of affected areas.

He said the institution had developed several production technologies for the rice-based farming systems with potential to raise the farm income of small and marginal farmers.

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