BHUBANESWAR: Even though crop loss and loan burden remained major areas of concern leading to farmers' suicide in Odisha, all the three major political parties, BJD, Congress and BJP, on Saturday reiterated their commitment to work for the welfare of the farming community.
Addressing the state level 'Akhi Truteeya' function at Laxminarayanpur in Pipili block of Puri district, chief minister Naveen Patnaik asked the district collectors to give utmost importance to farmers' issues while the Opposition Congress which observed the occasion at Paniora village in Khurda district demanded that a Farmers' Commission should be constituted in Odisha.
"I have always given importance to welfare of the farmers and their empowerment. I have directed district collectors to give priority to farmers' issues," he said.
Stating that the Odisha government has taken several steps for the development agriculture sector and welfare of farmers, the chief minister said the state has made significant progress in terms of production, productivity and income generation of farmers. "We will make further improvement in coming years," he
added.
The chief minister pointed out that the farmers' income in the state has doubled in the past 10 years as per a report of the Union government.
He said the state government has set up two corpus funds of Rs 100 crore each - one for seeds and the other for fertilisers. Besides, Naveen said, the state provides agriculture loan at the rate of one per cent to farmers.
Agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy said that the state government is mulling farm loan waiver and crop insurance of farmers. The chief minister dedicated the new website of the agriculture department to mark the occasion. He also released a magazine for farmers and felicitated several successful farmers.
Addressind a function on the occasion of a seed sowing programme, president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Prasad Harichandan demanded pension of Rs 5000 per month to each farmers'
family setting up of a farmers commission to look after the community.
BJP state president Basant Panda also participated at a function marking celebration of "Akhi Truteeya" in Nuapada district. The day also marked beginning of construction work for chariots of Lord Jagannath's Rath Jatra in Puri.