BHUBANESWAR : Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday released Rs 742.58 crore under Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme to over 37.12 lakh small and marginal farmers on the occasion of Nuakhai for rabi crops.
According to the Chief Minister Office (CMO), Rs 2,000 was directly deposited in the accounts of each of the farmers.
With this, the State government has released assistance of Rs 3,200 crore for farmers under the scheme since the first wave of the Covid pandemic one and a half years back.
Stating that problems faced by farmers can never be overlooked, the Chief Minister said he is personally in touch with the Centre to resolve the issue of short supply of fertilisers.
Besides, attention of the Centre has drawn several times to the delay in farmers getting benefit out of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima and a hike of the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy.
The government is always with the farmers, he added.
The Chief Minister said there was deficient rainfall in August. But the situation is likely to improve now as rainfall has increased in the State, he said and added that the government is keeping a close eye on the situation.
Stating that field officials of the Agriculture department have been asked to assess the situation regularly, he requested the farmers to follow the advice of the officials.
Reiterating the commitment of the government towards the farmers, the Chief Minister said Odisha is the only State in the country which has been providing financial assistance to landless farmers.
Lakhs of farmers have received assistance under the KALIA scheme which is a unique initiative launched by the State government, he added.
The Chief Minister also interacted with three farmers over video conference. Praising the KALIA scheme, the farmers said they have stopped taking loan after getting financial assistance.