Odisha

Odisha Deputy CM Singh Deo flags off Land Resource Inventory Rath for scientific farming

Land Resource Inventory Rath

This vehicle-based initiative, part of the wider LRI Jatra/Mahotsav campaign, aims to educate farmers on scientific land management.This vehicle-based initiative, part of the wider LRI Jatra/Mahotsav campaign, aims to educate farmers on scientific land management.

Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment and Energy, Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, inaugurated the Land Resource Inventory (LRI) Rath (or van) at Krushi Bhawan. This vehicle-based initiative, part of the wider LRI Jatra/Mahotsav campaign, aims to educate farmers on scientific land management.

According to the Odisha government, through this journey, farmers will gain special awareness of the utility of LRI cards distributed by the Directorate of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management under the Department of Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment.

The LRI Rath will travel through five pilot districts: Deogarh, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur, and Koraput. Its movement will be monitored via a specialized MIS mobile application.

Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo said, “The Land Resource Information Van has been flagged off today, which will go to five districts starting from Deogarh, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur and Koraput. Through this, farmers will be given information on land records and educated about soil health and which crops to cultivate for maximum benefit. This is an initiative launched by the Agriculture Department, the soil conservation department. We want to educate farmers and learn from them, because there are times when farmers have practised a particular farming method in a specific area. They can also teach the government what they have been doing, how they are doing it, and how they are deriving the benefits from it. So, it’s a learning process both ways. For that purpose, we are starting this land resource information van, which has been flagged today ”

The term “Land Resource Inventory (LRI) Van” refers to a vehicle-based initiative in Odisha to raise awareness and collect data on soil health and scientific land management. The initiative is part of a larger awareness campaign called the LRI Jatra or LRI Mahotsav.

The primary goal is to enhance farmers’ awareness of the proper utilisation of land resource data to increase crop productivity, support soil and water conservation, and aid in scientific farm management.

This awareness drive operates under the REWARD (Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development) programme, which is partially supported by the World Bank.

The vans will move through five pilot districts (Deogarh, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur, and Koraput) as part of a significant outreach programme. The movement of the LRI raths is monitored using a specialised MIS mobile application.

Farmers who have benefited from the data provided in LRI Cards (which contain site-specific soil information and recommended agricultural practices)will be felicitated during the programme to encourage others to use this data for better land management.