Bhubaneswar: In its 6th meeting held Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Agriculture took stock of preparedness for Kharif season, distribution of loans and fertilizer and other agricultural activities in the state.
Farm credit amounting to Rs 9964.47 crore has been disbursed by the financial institutions benefitting 21 lakh farmers, Agriculture Secretary Saurabh Garg said. Similarly, 14.08 lakh farmers have been enrolled for crop insurance, he said.
Garg said 61.61 lakh hectares were set for Kharif crop and at present 55.52 lakh hectares have been covered. The crop and pest situation is being monitored through e-pest surveillance upto gram panchayat (GP) level. This was briefed to the Cabinet, he said. Crop-pest advisories are being issued in weekly intervals by a technical team headed by OUAT through Ama Krushi with helpline number – 155333, he said. The Cabinet has decided to ensure smooth supply of urea and other fertilizers to farmers. For this, Garg said, steps are being taken with support from the Centre and through rigorous monitoring and enforcement.
The secretary said a number of innovative changes have been taken up for better support to farmers, which was also presented before the panel.
The details of progress on implementation of package for Covid-19 announced by the Chief Minister were discussed in details. The livelihood interventions for Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment and Fisheries & Animal Resources Development department are being worked out through which 24.99 lakh farmers would be benefitted with an outlay of Rs 373.95 crore, he said. “Till now, 8.15 lakh farmers have been benefitted,” he added.
The panel also reviewed the status of Kalia and Balaram schemes. The government has in-principle decided that “Every willing farmer to have a farm pond” to supplement the water scarcity during critical junctures and particularly to provide life-saving irrigation during Kharif season. Target was set to dig 5 lakh farm ponds in five years (2019-20 to 2023-24).
Under 5T initiative, the Agriculture department has developed Dakshyata app to recognise and incentivise the efforts of employees towards improvement of agricultural practices and upliftment of farmers, he added.
