Agriculture of Odisha

Odisha is primarily an agrarian economy having nearly 30% contribution to the Net State Domestic product with 73 percent of the work force engaged in this sector. The cropped area is about 87.46 lakh hectares out of which 18.79 lakh hectares are irrigated. Climate and soil play a vital role in Odisha's agriculture economy. The total cultivable land exploited for cropping is about 40% of the total geographical area and the exploitation is comparatively more in the coastal districts of Odisha i.e. Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Ganjam, Jajpur, Jagatasinghpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Nayagarh, Puri etc.

Facts and Figures Related to Agriculture in Odisha

1. At the time of independence food grain production of Odisha was 2393 MTs.
2. 1995-1996 Odisha produced 7923 MTs of food grains.
3. Per hectare production of rice today is 1.4 MTs as against 1.8 MTs for the country as a whole.
4. The yield per hectare has been 1080 kg in comparison to the national average of 1620 kg.
5. In 1998 the cropping area utilized for food grain production was 89.4 % of the total cultivable land.
6. Extent of rain-fed cultivable land: 62%
7. Fertilizer consumption: 290.56%
   

Covered by Area of Total Gross Crops

Crops	Area Covered
1. Paddy	77.7%
2. Pulses	10.9%
3. Oil seeds	4.9%
4. Fibre crop	1.3%
5. Other cash crops	2.1%
6. Food crops	289.66 thousand .ha
7. Vegetables	621.98 thousand .ha
8. Total production	7604.36 MT
9. Oil seeds (2002-2003)	1.15 lakh MT
10. Rice (2002-2003)	32.44 lakh MT
11. Total cereal (2002-2003)	33.50 lakh MT
12. Pulses	2.05lakh MT
13. Total area of Degraded land	61.21 lakh ha
14. Watershed project in operation	1860 nos
15. No of KVKs ( Krishi Vigyana Kendra) in OUAT	11
16. No of Agro Climatic Zones	10
17. Classification of land	25.6% (Low ) 33.6 %( Medium) 40.8 %( Upper)

 

Land under Horticulture

Plantation	Area Covered
1. Mango plantation: (2006-2007)	14,045 hact
2. Cashew plantation: (2006-2007)	4703 hact
3. Banana cultivation: (2006-2007)	1340 hact
4. Land under commercial floriculture	1865 hact
5. Land under cultivation of spices	520 hact
6. Cultivation of organic ginger and turmeric	100 hact

Types of Crops

The weather of Odisha favours a lot of crops for cultivation, among these crops rice, pulses, oil seeds, jute, roselle, sugarcane, coconut and turmeric are important crops. There are also cash crops like tea, cotton and rubber. The sate contributes one- tenth of the rice production in India. Apart from irrigation, floods, droughts, low yield per hectare and division and fragmentation of holidays are the most important agriculture problem of the state. Jute, gram sesame ragi, mustard, and maize are second- ranking crops in different districts. District- wise, Cuttack and Balasore rank second in jute production, Puri and Phulbani ranks high for gram and Mayurbhanja for maize product.

Food Grains

Food grains include cereals, millets and pulses. Among cereals the most important crop is rice. It is followed by ragi, maize, wheat, small millets and bajra. All these, except wheat are coarse cereals and belong to hardier crops which are mostly cultivated in the middle mountainous, rolling uplands and plateaus of Odisha. Where as rice is confined to the coastal plains, the river valleys and Hirakud command areas where alluvial soil is found. Coarse cereals are of major importance in Odisha both in production and productivity. Among the cereals, rice is the most dominant crop. It is concentrated in the areas of Cuttack Sambalpur, Puri, Ganjam, Balasore, Koraput, Keonjhar and Kalahandi. Rice cultivation is mostly confined to the alluvial coastal plains and river valleys below the 305 meter contour line because of ideal topographical and soil conditions.

Pulses

The most important pulses grown in Odisha are gram, tuar, arhar. According to the classification the pulses of Odisha can be broadly divided in to Kharif and Rabi crops. The Mahanadi delta, the Rushikulya plains and the Hirakud and Badimula regions are favourable to the cultivation of pulses. Production of pulses is basically concentrated in districts like Cuttack, Puri, Kalahandi, Dhenkanal, Bolangir and Sambalpur.

Oil Seeds

Sesame, groundnut, mustard, castor and linseed are the principal oilseeds grown in Odisha. Oilseeds are categorized as Kharif and Rabi crops. Rabi oilseeds grown as a second crop after the cereals are harvested. Among the oilseeds, groundnut and castor are the hardier crops and are grown in marginal and sub- marginal lands.

Oilseed cultivation is concentrated in districts like Cuttack, Koraput, Kalahandi, Bolangir, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal and Ganjam. All these are located in a less hospitable terrain.

Coconut is highly cultivated in Odisha especially in the coastal districts. In the coastal district of Odisha like Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam a large number of coconut trees are seen. Dhenkanal is the leading til producing district, Balasore leads in mustard and Cuttack in groundnut production.

Cash Crops

Among cash crops, fibre crops are especially important. Jute accounts for the maximum areas. Odisha is the fourth largest producer of jute after west Bengal, Bihar and Assam. Rice and jute, compete with each other as they require almost similar soil and climatic conditions. Cultivation of jute is primarily confined to the coastal plains of Cuttack, Balasore and Puri districts. A considerable amount of Roselle is also cultivated in Odisha. It dominates in the districts of Cuttack, Ganjam, Bolangir and Koraput districts. Sugarcane is the second most important cash crop in Odisha in area as well as production. It is grown in irrigated areas. Odisha stands eight in sugarcane production in India. A considerable amount of sugarcane is cultivated in Cuttack, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Kalahandi and Puri districts. Odisha also produces a small quantity of tobacco. In cash crop production, Cuttack district tops the list.

New Cash Crops

Among the new cash crops, the most important is cashew, which has been planted extensively in the low level latiritic plateaus at the foothills of the Eastern Ghats. The Cashew Plantation Board is responsible for the development of cashew cultivation in the state. Cashew is also being planted on the sand-dunes on the entire coastal belt. This is because of the suitable edaphic and climatic conditions in these areas. On the degraded and deforested hills of the Eastern Ghats, cashew is planted to check soil erosion. As a result, Odisha is earning a lot of foreign exchange by exporting cashew through Paradeep.

Rubber Plantations

To protect the degraded hill slopes of Eastern Ghats, rubber plantation have been taken up by Rubber Board. Bright prospect for the growth and development of natural Rubber exists in the northern Odisha Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Balasore due to favourable agro-climatic conditions. Odisha is a non traditional area for rubber plantations. Inland hill areas of Cuttack, Puri Ganjam and Dhenkanal districts have agro-climatic conditions suitable for rubber cultivation.

Cotton

Cotton cultivation has been taken up extensively in Koraput, Bolangir and Kalahandi districts where suitable soil and climate conditions are found. Sea Island cotton can be grown in the Ballipal region of Balasore district.

Tea

It is concentrated in the areas of Eastern Ghats, Keonjhar mountainous region of Phulbani and Koraput.

Coffee

It is concentrated in forest lands of Eastern Ghats, Koraput, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Rayagada, G. Udayagiri and Balliguda areas of Kandhamal district.