 "Odisha to bring agri resource allocation plan this fiscal")
The agricultural directorate will prepare a resource allocation plan by end of March 2015, after consulting Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) and district planning committees.
The aim of the plan will be to identify needs to develop farm products yield in each district such as planning to invest in soil preparation, crop diversification or irrigation requirement etc. The directorate will first create a template which will be forwarded to the districts to mentioned their needs.
"The districts will be asked to reply within two months identifying priority areas for distribution of resources in the templates. After that we will formulate a comprehensive agricultural action plan to avoid overlapping of fundings from central and state government schemes," said R S Gopalan,Director of Agriculture & Food Production department with state government.
The plan, which will be prepared for a period of five years, will act as a guide to spend budgetary allocations and grants from Centre in a effective way, he added.
Currently the state is getting funds under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY), Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGRIE) and National Horticulture Mission (NHM), sponsored by Central government. Similarly, the state government is also providing funds to improve irrigation facilities in rain-fed areas.
The primary aim of the action plan will be to encourage crop diversification, especially persuading farmers to switch to cultivation of pulses, oilseeds or vegetables by abandoning low-yielding rice crops in some areas.
The state has been producing around 8 million tonne (mt) rice every year and roughly 60 per cent of it is processed at domestic mills, while rest are transported to other states, either for onward shipment to other countries or for consumption there.
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Paddy cultivation dominates agricultural production in the state as the crop is grown in more than 65 per cent of total six million hectare area.
Better production of the crop variety year after year means more allocation of resources for procurement of the crop. For current fiscal, the state has estimated nearly Rs 6,210 crore to be spent for procurement of rice.