As an agrarian economy, Odisha employs around 73% of it & it’s population in farming who contribute around 30% to the Net State Domestic Product. Of the total land area, around 40% that translates to roughly around 87.46 lakh hectares are brought to agriculture every year and about 18.79 lakh hectare of this cropped area is irrigated. Thus a major portion of the farm land depends on rain for water feeding the crop. Also the area under agriculture is comparatively more in the coastal districts of Odisha i.e. Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Ganjam, Jajpur, Jagatasinghpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Nayagarh, Puri etc. Incidentally these are also the regions of the state which fare better in the literacy rate index.
The major crops are rice, pulses, oil seeds, jute, coconut and turmeric. The crops like tea, cotton, groundnut and rubber are of great economic importance in other parts. Odisha contributes one tenth of the total rice produced in the country. Other important food grains include pulses like gram, tur and arhar and Oilseeds like groundnut, mustard and castor oil. Apart from food grains various cash crops are also cultivated in the state. These include Jute, mesta, sugarcane, tobacco, rubber, tea, coffee and turmeric. These are cultivated across different geographical areas of Odisha. Odisha stands fourth in the production of jute in the country 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.
Total land area covered by different crops
Presented below is a list of the total land area being covered by different crops in Odisha.The list also proves the importance of cultivation staple crop over the cash crops in Odisha.
Horticulture in Odisha
Horticulture also plays an important role in the agrarian life of the people of Odisha.Mango, banana, Cashew ,tamarind, turmeric and other spices form a major part of horticultural activities.
Land under Horticulture
Plantation Area Covered
Foodgrains Rice Cuttack, Sambalpur, Puri, Ganjam, Baleshwar, Koraput, Kendujhar and Kalahandi. Pulses Cuttack, Puri, Kalahandi, Koraput, Dhenkanal, Balangir and Sambalpur. Oilseed(Sesameum, groundnut, mustard, castor and linseed) Cuttack, Koraput, Kalahandi, Bolangir, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal and Ganjam Cash Crops Jute Plains of Cuttack, Balasore and Puri districts. Mesta Cuttack, Ganjam, Balangir and Koraput Sugarcane Cuttack, Sambalpur, Balangir, Kalahandi and Puri districts Tobacco Koraput Cashew Cuttack,Puri & Ganjam District Rubber Plantations Slopes of Eastern Ghats, Mayurbhanj, Keonjar and Baleshwar.Inland hill areas of Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam and Dhenkanal Cotton Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi Tea Eastern Ghats, Kendujhar, mountainous region of Phulbani and Koraput. Coffee Forest lands of Eastern Ghats, Koraput, Kalhandi, Malkangiri, Rayagada, G.Udayagiri and Balliguda areas of Kandhamal district.
Source: Odisha Economic Survey, 2013-14, Page 40 & 52.During the 12th Plan, Agriculture sector including agriculture, horticulture animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry and other related activities has been emphasized to achieve 4 percent sustainable growth. One of the basic requirements for growth in agriculture (crop husbandry) is increase in area under cultivation. Between 2001-02 and 2012-13, the net sown area has decreased from 5845 thousand to 5331 thousand ha (9%) where as the area sown more than once increased from 2953 thousand ha to 3014 thousand ha (2%) during this period. Thus, the drop in grow cropped area needs to be increased by increasing irrigation facilities, soil moisture Conservation and rain water infrastructures for extension support like Soil Testing Centre, supply of farm machineries, Dev elopement of Market Yard, etc. need to be augmented.
| Growth of Agriculture vis-à-vis GSDP in 1st 2 years of 12th Plan | ||
| Annual Growth % | ||
| Year | GSDP | Agriculture |
| 2012-13* | 19.05 | 35.35 |
| 2013-14@ | 12.90 | 12.35 |
| * 1st Revised Estimate,@ Advance Estimate at current prices. | ||
| Source: Odisha Economic Survey, 2013-14, Page 40 & 52. | ||
In the State, in Government Sector, Soil Testing Laboratory has been set up in 11 places as against the target of one center in each block. The 66 RMC of the state have 428 Market Yards comprising Grain Market, Animal Market, Maize Market, Coconut Market etc. which cater to the Marketing need of the farmers. There are 118 blocks which have no market yard so far. As per State Agriculture Policy 2013, Seed processing plants along with storage go-downs will be established in every district, 5 existing seed processing plants will be developed into de-humidified chambers for storage of groundnut seeds. There are 3 Seed Testing Laboratory in the State and it is proposed to establish one Seed testing laboratory and certification office for in each district. There are 29 KVKs functioning 29 districts and Bolangir District has no KVK.
Transport is a crucial component of infrastructure. It plays pivotal role in improving efficiency and productivity of various economic activities, social sector development, human settlement and overall performance of economic growth. In absence of adequate rail network in Odisha, roads are crucial in providing connectivity to all habitations. The state has total road length of 2, 50, 836 km by the end of 2012-13. Odisha fares better than the all-India average with respect to road density. The road length per 100 sq.km and per One lakh population in Odisha was 161.1 km and 587.4 Km in 2012-13 as against 142.7 km and 387.5 km at All India level in 2010-11. However the quality and maintenance of Road will determine the efficiency and contribution for economic growth. So far only 62 percent village have all weather connectivity as compared to the national average of 60%.Duyring the 12th Plan period, the State Plans to construct 16575.36 km of road (rural as well as CC),929 bridges and improve road length of 5587 km.
| Types of Road | Length(km) |
| National Highway | 3594.162 |
| Express Highway | 38.400 |
| State High way | 3616.728 |
| Urban Road | 18590.689 |
| Rural Roads | 28158.737 |
| Major District Road | 4260.046 |
| Other District Road | 7116.19 |
| PanchayatSamiti Road | 25702.51 |
| Gram Panchayat Road | 145367.77 |
| Forest Road | 7518.128 |
| Irrigation Roads | 6277.000 |
| GRIDCO Roads | 88.000 |
| Total | Source-Economic Survey 2013-14) |
| Source-Economic Survey 2013-14) |
Power is the one of the critical infrastructure for road based inclusive growth of the economy. Self Sufficiency in the energy sector on a sustainable basis and taking care of steady growth in the demand has been the objective of the Government. Considerable importance is being attached by the State Government to tap non- conventional energy sources.
| Comparative chart of installed capacity, Demand and availability(unit in MW) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source-Economic Survey 2013-14) |
By the end of March, 2013, out of 47,529 inhavited villages, 88% villages were electrified against the All India average
of 94.4% electrified villages.Out of total 46.51 lakh consumers,32.73 lakh(70.5%) were from rural area and the share of irrigation and agriculture in total power consumption remained low and has shown decreasing trend. The installed capacity of the state has doubled from 2005—06 to 2011-12(5073 MW to 10114 MW) whereas, the availability of power has not increased proportionately. Meanwhile, rural electrification has remained a challenge.
| Power Consumption by different sectors( % of total consumption) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source-Economic Survey 2013-14) |
The strength of the fisheries sector in Odisha lies in the large under/unutilized freshwater and brackish water resources. The State has six percent of the coast line and 24000 sq.kms, 4.7 percent of the continental shelf area of the country. Among six coastal districts, Puri has the longest 155 km and Bhadrak the shortest, 50 km. According to Fishery Survey in India the fishery potential of Odisha is 513.667 TMT. The fish production in 2012-13 in the State was 410.14 TMT which includes the production of marine fisheries of about 118.31 MT,. Fresh Water resources of the State are estimated to be 7.5 lakh ha comprising of 1.24 lakh ha of tanks/ponds, 2.0 lakh ha of reservoirs, 1.80 ha of lake, swamps; and 1.71 lakh ha of rivers and canals.
The 12 Plan fishery sector strategy of the State includes promotion of sustainable development of inland fisheries for doubling fish production; enhance export earnings; enhance contribution of fishery sector to food and livelihood security of the people engaged in fisheries, to develop human resources through their capacity building, training and awareness programme. Under the plan, it is proposed to develop water area if 6000 ha. There is potential for development of under waterlogged areas in Coastal Districts as well as in other districts including Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sambalpur and Sundargarh which needs scientific intervention.
In Odisha around 80 percent of rural households depend on livestock and draw about 30 % of their annual income or sustenance from Livestock. About 85 percent of livestock are owned by the landless, marginal and small land holding families. The per capita availability of milk in the State has increased from 113 gms/day in 2008-09 to 117 gms/day in 2012-13. However, it is still far behind the all India per capita availability of milk 290 gms/day in 2011-12. At present OMFED has 11 dairy plants with 5.45 lakh liters capacity per day, 11 milk chilling centers with 2.02 lakh liters capacity per day, 311 bulk coolers with 3.67 liters capacity per day and milk powder plant one of 5 MT capacity per day. The Frozen Semen Bank (FSB) , located at Cuttack and is the only semen producing station in the state. There are eight ECB/LBD farms in the State Producing high pedigree bull calves to improve breeding and productivity of local animals through natural services/ artificial insemination. The present demand for green fodder is about 312.40 lakh MT and for dry fodder is 138.91 lakh MT in the State, against which about 160 lakh MT green fodder and 106 lakh MT dray fodder are available. There are eight departmental fodder seed development farms in the State which supply fodder seeds to the farmers at subsidized rates.
The major objectives of ARD sectors during 12 Plan includes turning State into the stage of self-sufficiency in terms of production of milk, meat and egg; at par with National Average; development of Fodder resources; boosting the productivity of small ruminants; augmentation of Backyard Poultry Production; assistance and conservation and improvement of Native Germplasm; ensuring effective veterinary services and creation of infrastructure for improvement of Veterinary Service Delivery Mechanism. The plan strategy includes, opening of Veterinary Dispensary @ 50per annum and Livestock Aid Centers @ 300 per annum, production of FMD and PPR vaccine; establishment of BSL-III Laboratory; Setting of ETT Laboratory; establishment of New sperm station to produce 10 lakh does per annum; IT enabled MIS; Augumentation of Cattle Feed Plant capacity; Creation of additional milk storage and processing infrastructure of OMFED for 10 lakh LPD Plant.