Bhubaneswar: During the 29th State Cabinet meeting, chaired by Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi today, a proposal for the extension of the Crop Diversification Programme was approved for another three years. The proposal, moved by the Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Department, aims to promote sustainable farming and enhance farmers’ income across the state.

Briefing the media after the State Cabinet meeting, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja said during the next three years, 11.50 lakh hectares of rice fallow land will be brought under pulse cultivation. Additionally, 1.95 lakh hectares of upland and medium land currently used for paddy will be diverted to non-paddy and high-value crops. Around 1.97 lakh hectares of regularly cultivated paddy land will also be diverted to indigenous aromatic paddy varieties with export potential.

Ahuja informed the programme will be implemented from 2025–26 to 2027–28, with a total financial provision of ₹1,523.98 crore. The initiative is expected to improve soil health, enhance microfauna populations, prevent deterioration of soil’s chemical and biological properties, improve water-use efficiency, and boost the production of non-paddy and high-value crops. It will also help strengthen the socio-economic condition, nutritional security, and income of farmers across Odisha, he added.

Key decisions

In another major decision, the Cabinet approved a proposal from the Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Department to include the ‘Small Animal Development’ sub-scheme under the ‘Prani Sampad Samruddhi Yojana (PSSY)’.

The new sub-scheme will be implemented for four years (2025–26 to 2028–29) with a total outlay of ₹294.36 crore. It aims to benefit 23,735 farmers, including women self-help groups (WSHGs), and is expected to generate an additional 12.25 TMT of meat annually.

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Earlier, the Cabinet had approved the ‘Poultry Development’ sub-scheme under PSSY, which will continue till 2028-29. Both sub-schemes, ‘Poultry Development’ and ‘Small Animal Development’, are key components of the state’s livestock development strategy.

In total, the State Cabinet approved five proposals from four departments during today’s meeting.