Kisan Diwas was celebrated at Central Horticultural Experiment Station (ICAR- Indian Institute of Horticultural Research), Aiginia, Bhubaneswar on 23rd December 2020 under Swachchta Pakhwada. Around 25 farmers from Puri, Berhampur and Khorda districts of Odisha attended the day long programme. Chief Guest of the event was Sri Jahed Mohammed, Joint Director Agriculture, (Information) and guest of honour was Sri Sidhharta Behura, Assistant Director Agriculture (information).
Dr G C Acharya, I/C Head CHES, Bhubaneswar welcomed the gathering and enlightened them on the essence of celebrating Kisan Diwas and on the horticultural activities and technologies of the Station being propagated station for the enhancement of farm income. Dr. P. Srinivas, Principal Scientist and I/C ToT spoke elaborately on the horticultural interventions being taken up in various districts of Odisha under MGMG, TSP, RKVY, MIDH etc. Guest of Honour; Sri Sidhharta Behura deliberated on the importance of sustained efforts for successful commercial horticulture citing several success stories in the state. He also gave the procedures and contact numbers to get technical information being prepared by the Government on various aspects of agriculture. Chief Guest of the occasion Sri Jahed Mohammed appealed to the farmers to adopt new technologies from various sources with full dedication to increase the farm income. He appealed all farmers to get enrolled in the social media groups showcasing useful agricultural technologies.
Two successful farmers were felicitated for their adoption and popularization of ICAR-IIHR technologies. Farmer from Berhampur, Ganjam district, Sri Asish Ranjan Subudhi has successfully adopted Arka Rakshak (tomato), Arka Samrat (tomato)and Arka Harita (chilli), while Sri Chandan Kumar Khuntia, a progressive farmer from Sakhigopal, Puri, has shown commercial success by adopting Arka Neelahcal Gaurav (teasel gourd), Arka Rakshak (tomato), Arka Neelachal Kesari (mango), Arka Neelachal Kunkhi (ivy gourd). He has also planted Siddu Jackfruit variety. Farmers from Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav (MGMGM) adopted villages and villages adopted under commercial seed production interventions attended the event. A field exposure visit of the campus was organized for the benefit of the participating farmers. Vote of thanks was proposed by Sri S. Majhi, Technical Officer, and coordinator of Swachchta Pakhwada activities in the Station. The program was coordinated by Dr. P. Srinivas, Sri S. Majhi, and Sri Manoj K Pattanaik, with active support from other staff of the Station.
