KALIA centres in all districts of Odisha soon

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government has decided to set up a KALIA centre in every district of the state for the convenience of farmers.

The centres will be equipped with adequate technical manpower to resolve different issues of farmers pertaining to agricultural programmes and activities under Mukhyamantri Krushi Udyag Yojana (MKUY), Simplified Application for Agricultural Loans (SAFAL), GO SUGAM, single window platform for farmers and agri-preneurs, Krushak Odisha and Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA), said Agriculture Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain here on Saturday.

A nodal officer from the office of the chief district agriculture officer (CDAO) will monitor the day-to-day functioning of the KALIA centres in districts. The centres will open from 10 am to 5.30 pm on all government working days. In this context, a letter has been issued by principal secretary of the department Arabinda Kumar Padhee to all collectors to arrange suitable buildings for the centres in and around district headquarters.

KALIA was launched in 2018 to provide financial support to small and marginal farmers for undertaking farm activities and livelihood support for landless agricultural households for taking non-farm activities. This is perhaps the first universal basic income (UBI) scheme of the country which received global acclaim not only for its conceptualisation but also with respect to its implementation.

A unique aspect of the scheme has been the inclusion of landless agricultural households and sharecroppers. Since the launch of the KALIA scheme, 43,04,876 small and marginal farmers and sharecroppers and 17,71,756 landless agricultural households (LAH) have been disbursed financial assistance of more than Rs 11,600 crore.