Bhubaneswar: More than 34.64 lakh farmers in Odisha received over Rs 692.86 crore after Prime Minister Narendra Modi released more than Rs 18,880 crore under the 23rd instalment of the PM-Kisan into the bank accounts of around 9.44 crore farmers across the country, while attending an event at Tarakeswar in Hooghly district of West Bengal, Saturday.
The state-level assistance distribution programme under PM-Kisan, the Centre’s flagship farmer welfare scheme, was organised by the Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Department at Mahtab Bhawan Town Hall in Rairangpur of Mayurbhanj district. Addressing farmers on the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo said Odisha is among the states procuring paddy from farmers at Rs 3,100 per quintal, including during the Rabi season.
Singh Deo, who also holds the Energy portfolio, said that over the past two years, farmers in the state have successfully cultivated and exported fruits and vegetables to overseas markets, earning better incomes and helping realise the vision that “if the farmer smiles, the nation smiles”.
He cautioned that there is a possibility of an El Niño impact this year and advised farmers to cultivate short-duration crop varieties to minimise any adverse effect on production. In line with the Prime Minister’s call for self-reliance, Singh Deo also urged farmers to increase the cultivation of pulses and oilseeds in the state. He assured them that the government would procure these crops at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), which would help Odisha achieve self-reliance in pulses and oilseeds.
Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment department Commissioner-cum-Secretary Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav delivered the welcome address and urged all eligible farmers to register under the PM-Kisan scheme to avail themselves of its benefits. Under PM-Kisan, eligible farmers receive financial assistance of Rs 6,000 annually in three equal instalments, which can be used to purchase seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and other essential agricultural inputs.
To honour the country’s ‘An nadatas’, the day is being celebrated across the nation and the state as ‘Rashtriya Krushak Utsav Divas’. The event was also broadcast across all Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), national agricultural institutions, and Central and state agricultural universities in Odisha.