Orissa constitutes Farmers' Commission

The Orissa government today announced the constitution of a State Farmers’ Commission (SFC) under the chairmanship of S M Patnaik, the former chief secretary of Orissa.

Niranjan Panda, the renowned soil scientist and the chairman of the Western Orissa Development Council (WODC), economist and the president of the State Finance Commission Dr Sudhakar Panda and D P Ray, vice-chancellor, OUAT have been taken as members in the Commission.

SFC is empowered to add members by inducting experts from within the state and outside, said agriculture, co-operation and fisheries minister Damodar Rout.

Talking to the newsmen here, Rout said, the Commission would review the status of the state’s agriculture, performance, strength and weakness, assess the condition of different categories of farmers in various agro-climatic zones. It will work out a comprehensive strategy for achieving sustainable and equitable agriculture development of the state.

Rout said, the Commission has been mandated to analyse factors responsible for low farm income and suggest measures to enhance income of the farmers, crop diversification, improved marketing, value addition and agro-processing.

Stating that the state’s agriculture is passing through a critical stage, the minister said, the sector has been impacted due to the climate change, soil erosion, dryness and acidity of soil and falling ground water level.

These factors taken together have ruined the economic conditions of the farmers. Though the state’s position in paddy production is comfortable, the production of oilseeds and other commercial crops is not very encouraging.

According to the notification issued by the state agriculture department in this regard, the Commission would examine land tenure and land ownership system and other agrarian problems pertaining to increasing productivity and rural income.

Importantly, it would analyze the reasons for rural indebtedness which is often cited as the reason for the recent spate of suicides by the farmers in the state.

On the other hand, the Commission would recommend measures for stepping up investment in agriculture and allied sectors and promotion of public-private-partnerships (PPP). Simultaneously, efforts would be made for harnessing information technology in agriculture. The Commission would submit its report to the government within six months.