Odisha’s farm economy holds lessons for others

The state’s experience offers valuable lessons to others. It adopted a healthy and sustainable systems approach to understanding and applying knowledge for agricultural transformation. At the basic level, Odisha mainstreamed productivity and profitability. The state’s turnaround story is based on inclusiveness, with a healthy and sustainable food system as the goal.

Odisha’s strategy is based on leveraging markets to level the playing field across crops and activities. Paddy, the primary crop, witnessed significant growth following a focus on deploying technology and digital innovation to engage markets. As a result, Odisha went from being rice deficit to being a poster state for grain production.

This was accompanied by a parallel focus on other crops that risked getting sidelined in the process, such as millet. Even as the state embarked on increasing paddy productivity, the millet mission emerged as a cornerstone of addressing nutrition and sustainability through the entire millet value chain. And, to level the growing field for horticultural crops, Odisha delisted fruits and vegetables from the APMC Act and aggressively enlisted on the e-NAM portal. Similarly, adopting a sustainability, livelihood and health lens, a flagship programme for rice fallow management was implemented in 2022; in the short time since, it has had visibly positive results.

Odisha’s agricultural transformation was predicated on employing and utilising markets and market principles, including addressing information symmetry. Economists know very well that information frictions, particularly information asymmetry, can shut markets and public systems too. Odisha neutralised information asymmetry in policies and programmes for food systems through the creation and utilisation of data system....

Furthering the inclusiveness of the food system — gender, social grouping, and geographical remoteness were considered for risk mitigation and adaptation, given these are the biggest differentiators and bring about the maximum exclusion — has also been a pioneering effort... At the national level, PM Kisan has been in place; topping up with state-specific schemes had a multiplier effect.

Another element was the focus on market access, considering all possible trade links/barriers and associated costs that impede or facilitate such access...The key learning from Odisha’s experience is the use of data-enabled decision-support systems. Real-time, digitised data across areas related to the agri-food system has brought transparency and ensured that benefits are delivered to the right constituencies. The system has been a strong vehicle for advisory services as well. This rapid transformation underscores the importance of what is called systems thinking.

Arabinda Padhee is principal secretary, department of agriculture and farmer’s empowerment, Government of Odisha, Devesh Roy is a senior research fellow, and Mamata Pradhan is research coordinator, International Food Policy Research Institute. The views expressed are personal.