Indus Valley Times

By Swagatika Das

Bhubaneswar, Jan.18: Odisha is a predominantly agricultural state and farmers rely on climate-friendly farming. A day-long conclave ‘Odisha Organix-2024’ has been held in Bhubaneswar to promote climate-friendly farming by using organic products. The potential of organic farming in Odisha and some challenges in its use has been discussed and to spread of this in villages is the main objective of this conclave. Now farmers aim for higher yields by using pesticides that lead to soil sterility and lower quality of harvest. In such a face the climatic conditions also affect these pesticides. By using organic products villages may be able to go back to the traditional method of farming.

In this conclave keynote speaker Shri Jagadananda, Co-founder of CYSD, guest of honour Shri P. Chandra Shekara, Director (Agricultural Extension) at National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Shri Sudhansu KK Mishra, CGM NABARD were present. In various sessions, speakers are S. K. Das, Founder of Sabuja Biplav, Thakur Mohanta, Medicinal Herbs experts, Deberaj Behera, Jagdish Pradhan, Mrs Shyama Jha, Founder of Millet Magic Foundation, Dr. B. R Sharma were present.

B2V provides end-to-end services to farmers, right from crop selection to market linkage, through its extension centers – Maatee. More than 10,000 farmers of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are associated with B2V and getting benefits from our services. Being such a huge and unorganized sector, the Agriculture sector has always faced a number of issues. Organic farming is being conducted by B2V on around 50 acres of land at Athmallik in Angul district.

Odisha has great potential for organic farming, as it has low use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, large number of small and marginal farmers, and diverse agro-climatic conditions. Organic farming helps improve soil health, reduce input costs, enhance farm income, and ensure food safety and quality. The state government has formulated the Odisha Organic Farming Policy 2018 and the Odisha Agriculture Policy 2020 to promote organic farming in the state through various schemes and initiatives. The aim is to increase the area under organic farming from 20,800 hectares in 2020 to 2,00,000 hectares in 2025. Back to Village (B2V) was founded in 2016 to promote organic/natural farming among farmers by making organic farming practices easily adaptable.

For Buyers to Connect with farmers and producer organizations (FPOs), understanding market needs, open communication in the market, and Product Showcase are the key points of discussion. Similarly, for sellers to get noticed in the market showcasing products to buyers, networking, market insights, connection with agri-scientists regarding any issue related to production, quality, storage, preservation etc., display their products to attract buyers were the topics of discussion.