Odisha agriculture officials asked to visit cropland to gauge challenges of agrarian activity from grassroots

Bhubaneswar, Aug 20 (UNI) In a people-centric initiative, the State Government has directed the officials of agriculture department to visit the croplands to gauge the challenges of agrarian activity
at the grassroots for ensuring the effective implementation of various agricultural schemes and programs.

Secretary Agriculture and Farmer’s Empowerment Arabinda Kumar Padhee has issued a notification in this regard for effective and foolproof implementation of all farmer welfare schemes launched by the Centre and State.

The challenges faced by the farmers and people working on the front lines in the agriculture sector can be resolved by interacting with farmers, and assessment of the actual situation at the grassroots level.

As per the instructions, all senior officers of the department including the Director, Additional Director, Joint Director, Deputy Director and various scheme officers will regularly visit the fields of various districts and blocks to observe the actual situation, the department officials said on Wednesday.

During these visits, the officers will review the implementation of the scheme and submit a brief report of each of the visits to the Secretary within a week, the notification said adding that the Heads of Directorates are instructed to prepare a monthly tour calendar covering different districts, ensuring adequate coverage of aspirational blocks and Vulnerable areas during the visits.

Such a step will go a long way to ensure smooth coordination between farmers and officials in the people’s government in order to strengthen farmer-centric delivery of schemes and programs, concluded the department officials.