IRRI at State Annual Agri Exhibition ‘Krushi Odisha 2020’: Leading Farmers to Profitability

‘Krushi Odisha 2020’ the state annual agri exhibition highlighting innovations and best practices in Agriculture, Food Processing and allied sectors to enhance farmer incomes and welfare was flagged-off by the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the valedictory evening was graced by the Governor Prof. Ganeshi Lal. Patnaik in his address, hoped for the success of the event and said that farmers and all agencies supporting agriculture in Odisha should use this opportunity to work together. “I would like to see farmers to be happy, flourish, progressive and making more profits in agriculture” he added.

The five-day exhibition cum knowledge-sharing event organized by Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha between 20th and 24th January at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar, and aims at leading farmers to profitability, for better farm incomes, use of modern implements and technology, financial assistance and training.

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is a key partner at the event, where it is showcasing its latest, proven farm and cropping innovations and technology for the benefit of farmers, agriculture department officials, agri-scientists, dealers, seed-producing agencies, and extension service providers. IRRI is also exhibiting its mobile-based agri apps using Information Communication and Technology (ICT) and other modern farming tools and techniques that are helping Odisha farmers get better and consistent results.

Rice Crop Manager - A tool for soil nutrient management; Rice Doctor - A tool to diagnose and advise on crop pest issues; SeedCast - For accurate seed demand and supply projection; Rice-Pulse monitoring tool for land mapping using Remote Satellite Sensing technology; are a few Information Communication and Technology (ICT)-based tools being exhibited at the IRRI stall. For IRRI, this government-supported exhibition will serve as a launchpad for some of these ICT-based tools; an agri-compendium on ICT tools supporting ‘Climate-Smart Agriculture; and IRRI will also felicitate its partners promoting women entrepreneurship in agriculture in Odisha.

Dr. MukundVariar, Project Coordinator for IRRI in Odisha said, “We are grateful that the government organizes such impactful platforms, where multi-stakeholders from the farming community, especially thousands of farmers, come in person and directly experience how a particular technology or ICT tool can help them in improving their knowledge and improving their incomes.” 

In the coming days at ‘Krushi Odisha’, IRRI India Country Director, Dr. Arvind Kumar will present facts and figures on how IRRI is working with the government and partners to bring about “Sustainable Solutions for Agriculture in India”. Other experts at this discussion will be senior representatives from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), and Pradhan (NGO).

An interactive farmer seminar is planned in the coming days on ‘Market-orientated Production for Profitability’ where IRRI and senior representatives from Directorate of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Cell, OUAT and Deputy Director of Directorate of Extension Education (DAE), OUAT will discuss with farmers on seed production and marketing techniques to boost farmer profitability.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is the event partner for Krushi Odisha. The summit is showcasing the rich agri ecosystem of Odisha and encouraging to utilize the untapped potential of the agriculture and food sector. It is providing a platform for networking to the business community, government representatives, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO’s), progressive farmers, Agri entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders.

Author
Ms. Deepti Saksena, Specialist Communications, IRRI (d.saksena@irri.org)

Ms. DebjaniSamantaray, Sr. Specialist Communications-Asia, IRRI (d.samantaray@irri.org)