The coastal State has attained self-sufficiency in food production and earned the distinction of being the third-largest contributor to the nation’s Public Distribution System (PDS), Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday claimed.

Speaking on the state’s policy framework for various sectors at the Odisha Agri Conclave 2021 on virtual platform, he said “we have introduced a separate Agriculture budget for the state and have a robust State Agriculture Policy”.

The State is one of the leading producers of cereals including millets, vegetables, fruits, spices, fishes, and seafood and poultry products.

Some of the key products that are available for value addition are Seafood, Cashew-nut, Organic millets, Turmeric, Coffee, Black pepper, Mango, Jackfruit, Sweet Potato, Tamarind, Honey etc. Today, Kandhamal Turmeric, Similipal Honey, Koraput Coffee have created their own brand values across the globe for their exceptional qualities, he said while highlighting Odisha’s advantage in agriculture.

Emphasizing the government’s intent to enhance the farmers’ income, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday said ‘the linking farmers directly to market and removing intermediaries’ lies on the focus to improve the income of farmers”.

“The emphasis of the state government is to enhance the income of farmers. So we must respond to the dynamics of the market. We need to streamline their connectivity to the aggregators and processors to play the role as producers. We need to remove intermediaries who don’t add value to the supply chain”, he said.

Stating that the State has a conducive policy environment, he stressed “we aspire to become the investment destination of choice by continuously creating and delivering outstanding opportunities for business growth, fostering all-round socio-economic development for the state and its people. Agri & allied sectors of the state are now open to National & Global players”.

The Agri Conclave 2021 has been organized to link farmers of Odisha to the organized national market, he noted while inviting the top agri-business leaders to be partners in scripting the growth story of Agribusiness in Odisha.

The farmers lay the foundation of the nation’s economy. It is on this foundation, we build the pillars of a vibrant economy. Development of agriculture and empowerment of farmers is his priority, he said, expressing satisfaction over the presence of Leading Private Sector Players in Agribusiness Sector from across India in this Conclave 2021.

Our farmer-focused approach backed by various schemes and programmes have started to yield results. There is considerable evidence of local surplus of agriculture and horticulture produce. We can work with agri players to work in tandem so that appropriate pre-harvest and post-harvest protocols are followed by the farming community, he advised while underscoring the need for the farmers of the state to get used to advanced technology.

Citing challenges of frequent natural calamities including droughts, cyclones and floods, he said that his Government has worked out all possible measures to ensure uninterrupted growth of Agriculture and Economy of the state. It is now evident that the Agri-sector is a silver lining in the current Covid-19 pandemic situation.

Adani-Wilmar ltd, Tata Agri, Parley, Amul, Coffee Board of India, Big Basket and many other top national and global players participated in the conclave.