Bhubaneswar, August 28: The Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Department on Friday signed six memorandums of understanding with the Department of Posts, Odisha Circle, ICRISAT and M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) to strengthen digital agriculture, seed systems, climate resilience, nutrition and farmer livelihoods.

The MoU with the Department of Posts, Odisha Circle will strengthen the last-mile delivery of digital agriculture services, particularly in rural and remote areas. Gramin Dak Sevaks will facilitate Farmer Registry enrolment and Farmer ID generation, CM KISAN registration, PM KISAN e-KYC and NPCI/Aadhaar seeding, besides other farmer-centric digital services in future, as required. The initiative will focus on accurate registration, authentication and convenient access to Government schemes.

The partnership with ICRISAT covers four RKVY-DPR projects focused on strengthening seed systems for pulses and oilseeds, promoting Atmanirbhar Odisha in pulses, chickpea seed production and speed breeding for improved and climate-resilient varieties. The collaboration aims to improve availability of quality seed, promote crop diversification, increase productivity and strengthen farmers’ resilience to climate variability.

The MSSRF partnership will implement a three-year Farming System for Nutrition project in Nayagarh for 3,000 small and marginal farmers. The project will integrate biofortified crops, pulses, vegetables, backyard poultry and aquaculture, along with seed banks, nutrition gardens and community processing units. It aims to improve yields of nutrient-dense crops, farmer incomes, dietary diversity and household nutrition.

Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo, department secretary Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav, Chief Postmaster General (CPMG) Nirmaljeet Singh, Agriculture Director Shubham Saxena and Horticulture Director Kalunge Gorakh Waman were present during the MoU signing event.

Deputy Chief Minister Singh Deo said that these six MoUs will mark a paradigm shift in Odisha's agricultural landscape.