Norwegian Embassy officials visited to the Resilience project upscaling villages

The Norwegian Embassy delegation, comprising of Beate Langest, Counsellor, Mr. Suresh Mathavan, Advisor at the Norway Embassy, Dr. Udaya Sekhar Nagothu, Project Coordinator at NIBIO, and Katrine, Communication Officer at NIBIO, visited the Resilience project sites in Cuttack region on their second day of the visit. The project partners, including the National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Odisha University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT), M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), and International Water Management Institute (IWMI), accompanied with them.

The NRRI Senior scientists, Dr. Rahul Tripathi and Dr. Sangita Mohanty, facilitated the visit and explained the project interventions in the upscaling villages in Kendrapara District. The team seen the pre-germinated seeds sown by a drum seeder in saturated soils after proper land leveling, and the agroecological resource intensification through a rice-based cropping system (Rice-Greengram) practiced by a group of farmers with 25 beneficiaries in 20 acres of area. The team also saw that the rice varieties Lalat, Mahalaxmi & CR Dhan 203 were demonstrated in a 20-acre area with 45 beneficiary farmers. The NRRI scientists also demonstrated various Agriculture implements provided through the project and the support of the line departments as well.

During the debriefing session, Dr. Amaresh Kumar Nayak, Director ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, explained the project interventions and the upscaling initiatives in convergence with the line departments and the stakeholders. The team appreciated the intervention and insisted on developing a detailed plan for upscaling in coordination with the project partners, line departments, and relevant stakeholders.