Patnaik said the welfare of farmers are among the top priorities of his government and added Odisha has achieved the highest growth rate in the agriculture sector in the entire country since 2002 with a compounded annual growth rate of 8.4 8.

The state has received prestigious Krishi Karman Award for a record number of four times, the Chief Minister said. Patnaik said he is happy to say that Odisha has been a leading State in supplying various farm equipment to the farmers. He hoped that over the next few years thousands of agri-entrepreneurs would be working to provide the necessary services to the farmers.

Many investors would also come forward to take advantage of our attractive MSME and Food Processing Policies. He said he is happy that an MoU has been signed with NABARD to collectively leverage their production and marketing strength.’ My Government has made procurement arrangements to ensure that farmers get Minimum Support Price for their produce’, Patnaik said.

The Chief Minister said he is happy to have released Odisha Organic Farming Policy today and added that his government is targeting to cover over two lakh hectares in the State for organic farming in the next 5 years.