Bhubaneswar, 03 October (H.S.): The Odisha government on Saturday launched the expanded ‘Krushi Unnata Sahayogi’ internship programme to strengthen field-level agricultural extension services and provide practical exposure to agriculture and horticulture students.

Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture, Farmers’ Empowerment and Energy Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo inaugurated the programme at the Krushi Shiksha Sadan Conference Hall of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT).

Originally introduced in 2023, the expanded programme will be implemented from October to December across all 314 blocks in 30 districts during the Kharif season. As many as 964 final-year undergraduate students of Agriculture and Horticulture from state agricultural universities have been selected as ‘Sahayogis’, with around two to three students deployed in each block.

The interns will work from Monday to Friday, from 10 am to 5 pm, alongside Gram Panchayat-level extension personnel. Their responsibilities will include crop and pest disease surveillance through digital platforms such as e-Pest and the National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS).

Each student will survey 100 farmers and conduct five semi-physical Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) to assess crop yields. They will also visit input dealers, one Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO), two Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and two Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) or Large-sized Adivasi Multipurpose Societies (LAMPS).

The interns will create awareness about government schemes and mobile applications while documenting farmers’ challenges, success stories and feedback. Their activities will be tracked through the KUS App and monitored through the ADAPT Dashboard, with weekly reviews by Block Agriculture Officers and Assistant Agriculture Officers.

On successful completion of the three-month internship, each student will receive a ₹21,000 stipend and a completion certificate from the respective Chief District Agriculture Officer.

Speaking at the launch, Singh Deo said the initiative would help build a stronger agricultural extension network while providing students with valuable field experience. He added that five top-performing students would subsequently share their field experiences and insights publicly.

Commissioner-cum-Secretary Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav, OUAT Vice-Chancellor Prof. Prabhat Kumar Roul, Director of Agriculture Subham Saxena, Director of Horticulture Kalunge Gorakh Waman, SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda and the Deputy Chief Minister’s Private Secretary Dr Ganeswar Jena were among those present at the programme.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda