The second of the Odisha Knowledge Hub (OKH) lecture series here on Monday focused on getting agriculture back on track in the growth agenda of the nation and the State. Eminent agriculturist Padmashri Dr Ashok Gulati spoke on the topic.
The Ministers, the Chief Secretary along with Principal Secretaries, Secretaries and senior officers of the State participated in the deliberations.
Dr Gulati elaborated the link between agriculture growth and poverty reduction in national and international contexts. He opined that higher growth rate in agriculture leads to faster rate of poverty reduction.
Comparing nation’s economy with a pyramid, Dr Gulati suggested putting agriculture sector at the base, manufacturing at the middle and service sector at the top the pyramid. Such an approach, he maintained, would lead to sustainable development.
He suggested that though agriculture is a State subject, yet the Central Government needs to trigger and engineer the reform agenda in agriculture sector.
Dr Gulati cited the example of the impact of centrally engineered Green and White Revolutions on Indian economy and strongly advocated for centrally sponsored active agenda for reform in this basic sector of the economy that caters to the food and nutrition security.
He opined that the Indian agriculture has the potential to grow at 5 per cent per annum in the present context against which the present growth rate varied from 3.6 per cent to 4 per cent per annum in real terms.
Coming to the Odisha context, Dr Gulati pointed to frequent natural calamities and erratic rains as main factors responsible for slow agricultural growth rate in the State. He suggested focusing on infrastructural development like irrigation, rural roads, more power to agriculture sector and establishment of value chain for cereal and fruit-products in the State for achieving higher growth rate in agriculture.
Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan introduced Dr Gulati in the lecture series and gave a key note address on the objectives of the OKH. While replying to a media quarry after the meeting, he said that this lecture series has been launched to update the State functionaries with the newly emerging ideas and best practices at the national and international levels in the matters of public policy and developmental administration.
Finance Minister Pradip Amat, Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy, Panchayati Raj Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo, IT and Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Das, Planning and Convergence Minister Usha Devi, ST and SC Development Minister lal Bihari Himirika, Chief Secretary AP Padhi , Principal Secretaries and Secretaries of various departments along with agriculture experts from RBI, NABARD, State Bank of India, NCIRD participated.
Keeping in view the growing popularity of the programme, arrangements were made to extend the programme to all districts.