Harvest the Odisha story to ensure food security

Harvest the Odisha story to ensure food security

Context: In this editorial we will discuss about Odisha’s successful agricultural transformation model.

Need for Agricultural transformation:
• Unmitigated climate change is expected to exacerbate hunger and malnutrition by 20%.
• The climate crisis is increasing the frequency of natural disasters, likely to increase to 560 per year, or about 1.5 disasters per day.
• Global warming may lead to 21% decline in Global food productivity.

Odisha’s success in Agricultural transformation:
• Odisha, that used to face food scarcity, is now a major paddy producer, contributing 9% of India’s rice and 4.22% of its total food grain production.
• In 2022, Odisha was ranked as the top state in India for implementing the National Food Security Act, reflecting its effective food security strategies.
• The World Food Programme (WFP) has appreciated the transformational progress made by Odisha in food security and sustainable livelihoods, especially for marginalized communities and women. WFP plans to present Odisha’s success as a model for other countries.

Steps taken by Odisha government:
• Three-Pronged Strategy: The State government adopted a three-pronged strategy to ensure agricultural growth and multiply farmers’ income. The focus is on small and marginal farmers to encourage them to diversify and go for high-value and climate-resilient crops.
• Crop Diversification: Farmers are being motivated for crop diversification and integrated farming while promoting farm ponds so that they can take up pisciculture along with horticulture.
• Implementing the KALIA Scheme: The Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) program was introduced to provide financial, livelihood, and agricultural support to farmers.
• Bottom-Up Approach for Climate Resilience: The state adopted a grassroots strategy, with the Crop Weather Watch Group conducting weekly meetings and field visits, enabling timely responses to adverse weather conditions.
• New Bill for Agriculture and Livestock Marketing: Steps have been taken to pass a bill to regulate the agri and livestock marketing and also the functioning of the Odisha State Agricultural Marketing (OSAM) Board and Regulated Market Committees (RMCs) in the State.

Conclusion
• These initiatives have not only been effective in the State but have also been scaled up nationally. This shows how Odisha is moving consistently towards sustainable development goals (SDGs) and inclusive development.