Finance
The Odisha government has inaugurated the extended ‘Krushi Unnata Sahayogi’ (KUS) internship program to link academic agricultural education with field-level extension activities, deploying 964 final-year Agriculture and Horticulture students across the state’s 314 blocks.
Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, launched the program at a special ceremony at the Krushi Shiksha Sadan Conference Hall of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) here.
Originally established in 2023, the enlarged three-month initiative will be executed from October to December in all 30 districts, with two to three student associates deployed in each block.
The selected students will work with Gram Panchayat-level extension professionals from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Their responsibilities will include monitoring crop pests and diseases using digital platforms such as e-Pest and the National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS).
Each student will conduct a qualitative survey of 100 farmers and carry out five semi-physical Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) to measure crop yields. They will also go to local agricultural input merchants, one Farmer Producer Organization (FPO), two Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and two Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) or Large-sized Adivasi Multipurpose Societies (LAMPS).
The students will raise awareness about government programs and mobile applications while also documenting farmers’ issues, success stories, and feedback to assist boost grassroots agricultural extension services.
Their actions and performance will be tracked digitally via the KUS App and monitored via the ADAPT Dashboard. Block Agriculture Officers and Assistant Agriculture Officers will conduct weekly evaluations of the interns’ performance.
Upon successful completion of the three-month internship, each student will receive a ₹21,000 stipend and a completion certificate from their respective Chief District Agriculture Officer.
Singh Deo stated that the program would contribute to the development of a strong agricultural extension network while also providing students with vital hands-on experience with farm-level concerns. According to the department, five top-performing students will then share their field experience and ideas with the public.
The inauguration was attended by Commissioner-cum-Secretary Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav, OUAT Vice-Chancellor Prof Prabhat Kumar Roul, Director of Agriculture Subham Saxena, Director of Horticulture Kalunge Gorakh Waman, SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof Pradipta Kumar Nanda, and Private Secretary to the Deputy Chief Minister Ganeswar Jena, among others.
