The Farming Face of Odisha :- Gajapati district making its mark through the innovations .
Bhagabat Padhi,Odishabarta
Ever since the advent of green revolution, India has been trying to ensure food security for its people. And the state of Odisha has always contributed for the greater cause. With new varieties being developed by the state and new schemes being introduced, development has been made at district levels too. The Gajapati district as such has had many innovative schemes in the run, and has catered to the needs of its people. It is one of those few districts that have made effective growth in the agriculture sector in the last 5-10 years, setting an example for others.
As compared to previous years , Remarkable developement has been seen in the procurement process .The target was fixed to procure 56119.402 metric tonnes of paddy & 37600.000 metric tonnes of rice respectively for the year 2021-22 kharif season in the district from 12742 registered farmers .The minimum support price for paddy for common FAQ is 1940 per Qtls & for Grade-A is 1960 per Qtls . The officials urged the farmers , who have got tokens , to immediately bring the paddy to the market after getting their token to avoid crowding .
One innovative change , for the first time in the state i.e Farmer’s canteen has also been facilitated at market yards and where food is prepared by the SHGs and served to the farmers. This provides the farmers with an encouragement, to make the farming sector more lucrative by way of incentivisation .
With the same spirit, when the Odisha Government started Mission Shakti Scheme with a focused objective of uplifting women in the state, where women are encouraged to take up socio-economic activities through the help of Women Self Help Groups or WSHGs , Gajapati district took significant steps to involve them in the paddy procurement process. More than 44 Women SHG groups across 4 blocks of the district are taking part in the activity .The involvement of Women SHGs makes it more community oriented, helping the economy revive organically.
Management of Mandis by WSHGs has been a pathbreaking activity for the movement towards empowerment of women in a profit sharing between the WSHG and GPLF ( Gram Panchayat Level Federation ) in the ratio 40:60 . All the training and hand holding support was provided to the women groups which has resulted in smooth running of Mandis. The women folk now receive the paddy , verify FAQ , coordinate with millers and store the paddy safely in the mandis to the satisfaction of farmers .This is one economic activity which will transform the system by reduction of farmer harassment and improving per capita income of the women in villages .
Many such innovative steps are being taken and are going to pave the way for the Gajapati district to make its mark in the greater niche.
