Draft Agri Policy 2019: Focus On Income Augmentation; KALIA a Priority

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government today came out with the draft Agriculture Policy 2019, which aims at increasing the income of the farmers and provides for continuation of the KALIA scheme for the next five years. This Draft Bill comes just before the government is going to come up with its own new Agriculture Policy.

According to the Draft Odisha Agricultural Policy 2019, the focus is on farmers’ well-being and is formulated to build on the inherent strengths of its agriculture and allied sectors, to address the constraints it faces and to make optimal use of resources and opportunities emerging on account of advancement in technology, and the emergence of accelerated economic growth in the state and the country. This policy aims to give further thrust to the success delivered through concerted efforts directed under the previous agricultural policies of the state.

The aim is to actualise the vast untapped potential of Odisha agriculture, strengthen the economic and social well-being of its farmers, sharecroppers and landless labourers while ensuring the growth process is environmentally, economically and technologically inclusive, scalable and sustainable.

The Draft Bill envisions harnessing the potential of Odisha’s agricultural sector in a sustainable manner, aimed at continuously raising farmers’ incomes and welfare while ensuring nutritional security.

The Objective of the Agriculture Policy will be farmers’ wellbeing with continuous growth in farmer incomes, making the growth process inclusive of small and marginal farmers and ensuring sustainable, stable and scalable agricultural growth.