Bhubaneswar: A day before the agrarian festival of Nuakhai, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Wednesday disbursed Rs 1,041 crore to the bank accounts of over 51 lakh farmers as the third instalment under the CM Kisan Yojana.
Each beneficiary, mostly small and marginal farmers, received Rs 2,000 as financial assistance for the upcoming Rabi crop season.
Under the scheme, eligible farmers across Odisha receive Rs 4,000 per annum in two instalments, one during Akshaya Tritiya and the other during Nuakhai.
This was the third such instalment since Majhi assumed office as chief minister in June 2024.
The money was directly deposited in the bank accounts of farmers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo, who also holds the Agriculture portfolio, was also present on the occasion.
The assistance will help farmers meet expenses for early farming activities during the 2025-26 Rabi season, he said, expressing satisfaction over the record grain production in the state.
Earlier, 46 lakh farmers were being given Rs 4,000 per annum under the KALIA Scheme when the BJD government was in power.
The name of the scheme was changed to CM Kisan after the BJP formed the government in June 2024.
The new government included 5 lakh more farmers under the scheme, an official said.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Majhi said the BJP government was committed to multiplying the income of farmers through different schemes.
“We are committed to multiplying, not just doubling, the income of farmers. The BJP government has been working in that direction,” the chief minister said.
He called upon farmers to diversify their activities to improve their earnings.
“We cannot make a good living only by cultivating paddy. As most of the farmers in Odisha are small or marginal, they should also go for fish farming, poultry and other crops to further enhance their income,” Majhi said, adding that the income of eligible farmers had increased by at least Rs 58,000 in the last 14 months.
He said farmers are getting an additional Rs 800 per quintal of paddy above the MSP of Rs 2,300, which effectively means that they are earning Rs 3,100 per quintal.
“Apart from Rs 10,000 each from CM KISAN and PM KISAN schemes, women farmers also get an additional Rs 10,000 per annum under the Subhadra scheme. Therefore, there has been an estimated increase of Rs 58,000 in the income of farmers under the BJP government,” he pointed out.
On the occasion of Ganesh Puja, the CM inaugurated a ‘Farmers’ Bhawan’ and a ‘Hostel for Trainees’ at the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology here.
PTI
