Around 80 groundnut farmers from Odisha will be visiting Gujarat soon to gain experience about cultivation and learn methods to increases the yield. The trip has been jointly organised by SOA Deemed-to-be University and Livelihood Alternatives.

The farmers, belonging to Cuttack, Puri, Angul, Dhenkanal and Mayurbhanj districts, attended a special programme held in SOA’s Bhubaneswar campus on Saturday, January 28, where they were addressed by Union Minister for Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan.

Pradhan said that though the soil of Odisha was more fertile than that of Gujarat, farmers in the western state were able to produce 40 lakh tons of groundnut per annum while Odisha could harvest only four lakh tons.

The farmers, who will also visit the Agricultural University in Gujarat, will acquire knowledge about cultivation methods, technology and avenues to market their produce. The groundnut produced in Odisha was of better quality.

Two faculty members of the SOA-run Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IAS) will accompany the farmers. Pradhan praised the efforts being made by SOA to boost agriculture in Odisha.

SOA's Vice-Chancellor Prof Bijay Kumar Sahu, CMD of Livelihood Alternatives Sambit Tripathy and Regional Director of NAFED Bhavya Anand also spoke to the farmers.

SOA's Dean (Students' Welfare) Prof Jyoti Ranjan Das conducted the proceedings. Earlier, the union minister was received on the campus by SOA's Founder President Prof (Dr) Manojranjan Nayak.