BHUBANESWAR: Odisha’s policies pertaining to food, land and water have the potential to contribute to achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals, said principal secretary of the Agriculture department Arabinda Padhee.
Speaking at a state consultation workshop on ‘Policy coherence in food, land, and water (FLW) systems: A case study of Odisha’, organised by The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) here on Thursday, Padhee said four important state-level policies - Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA), Odisha Millet Mission (OMM), Canal Lining and System Rehabilitation Programme (CLSRP) and Odisha Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture (OIIPCRA) -- ensure rural employment, sustainable watershed development, water use efficiency in agriculture sector, enhancing the potential of fisheries, and horticulture sectors.
“These policies also have the potential to jointly contribute to achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals on poverty reduction, creating livelihoods, and jobs in addition to ensuring water and food security”, he said.
“The state government has invested in an array of initiatives for raising farmer welfare on a sustained and sustainable basis. The food, Land, Water, and Energy nexus system is to be integrated with suitable policy space that will strengthen and sustain the agricultural production system as well as climate resilient with science and evidence-based initiatives, Padhee said.
He added the department is keen to collaborate with research institutes working on this front. Introducing the study at the state consultation, senior programme lead at CEEW Nitin Bassi said food, land and water are intricately linked. The policy process needs integrated planning and implementation with a focus on the outcomes that can lead to income enhancement and sustainable livelihoods.