Bhubaneswar, Apr 18 (UNI) A 28-member team comprising 14 farmers and 14 officials from Odisha embarked on a 7-day agricultural exposure visit to Malaysia on Friday.
The visit, organized under the Odisha Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture (OIIPCRA), was flagged off by Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo.
Singh Deo highlighted Odisha’s growing prominence in fruit and vegetable exports and noted the state’s strong performance in the sector. He also mentioned that Odisha ranks fourth in supplying rice to the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
The Deputy Chief Minister urged the team to learn about scientific agricultural methods and the use of modern machinery, emphasizing the importance of documenting daily experiences and implementing best practices to help double farmers’ incomes.
Principal Secretary Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee underscored the state’s achievements in agriculture, including the record production of 14.3 million tonnes of food grains and 14.48 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables last year.
He also noted the state’s successful export of various agricultural products to countries in the Middle East and Europe.
The team is expected to gain valuable knowledge and skills during the visit, which will contribute to Odisha’s continued agricultural growth and development.
The visit is jointly organized by the Directorate of Horticulture, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment (Odisha), the Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), Lucknow, and NABARD.
Director of Horticulture Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, Agriculture Director Shubham Saxena, and PD OIIPCRA Rashmi Ranjan Nayak were present on the occasion.
UNI DP CS
