Odisha’s flagship millet programme, Shree Anna Abhiyan, has seen its outlay reduced from Rs 600 crore to Rs 415 crore for 2026-27.
The nearly 31% cut has raised concerns among farmer groups, FPOs and civil society organisations, despite the scheme recording 93% fund utilisation in 2025-26.
The reduced allocation has shrunk the millet demonstration area from 150,000 hectares to 100,000 hectares.
Farmers say tribal and DMF blocks, as well as non-ragi millets such as little millet, foxtail millet, barnyard millet and sorghum, need stronger support.
Farmer groups argue Odisha’s shift from paddy to millets, pulses and oilseeds requires assured procurement, market support and institutional strengthening, not reduced public investment.
The financial outlay for Odisha’s flagship millet programme, Shree Anna Abhiyan (SAA), has been reduced from Rs 600 crore last year to Rs 415 crore for the financial year 2026-27, according to official memo No 12885, dated May 7, 2026, of the Directorate of Agriculture and Food Production, Government of Odisha.
The reduction has triggered widespread concern among civil society groups, farmer organisations and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) across the state.
The cut of Rs 185 crore is nearly 31 per cent lower than last year, despite the scheme achieving 93 per cent fund utilisation in 2025-26.
The reduction in financial allocation has also resulted in a decline of 50,000 hectares in the millet demonstration area — down from 150,000 hectares to 100,000 hectares.
Farmers argue that this contraction will disproportionately affect small and marginal farmers who shifted from paddy to climate-resilient millets under assured technical guidance, input support and market linkage.
What is more concerning, they say, is the withdrawal of grassroots support agencies from 13 districts. These agencies played a key role in farmer mobilisation, training, seed distribution and extension services.
There is also no fund allocation this year for tribal-dominated blocks covered under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF), even though these regions were among the primary focus areas of the millet mission because of their rain-fed conditions and high malnutrition levels.
FPO representatives from tribal-dominated districts such as Koraput, Kalahandi and Nuapada have questioned the rationale behind cutting funds for a programme that demonstrated strong utilisation and grassroots impact.
“When a scheme operates at 93 per cent utilisation and still faces a budget cut, and tribal districts receive no funds despite assigned targets, something has gone seriously wrong in planning,” said Bidyut Mahanty, an NGO representative in Koraput.
Another concern is the limited allocation of funds to non-ragi millets such as little millet, foxtail millet, barnyard millet and sorghum.
Of the 100,000 hectare target for 2026-27, only about 17,680 hectares have been earmarked for non-ragi varieties, despite their nutritional value and traditional cultivation base in tribal belts.
Parallel experiences from oilseed and pulse promotion programmes suggest that strategic support — not budget reduction — is what farmers need.
Madanabati Banchhor, of Kotribahal village in Komna block of Nuapada district, cultivated groundnut on one acre during the current Rabi season.
She invested around Rs 5,900 in cash — Rs 3,500 for manure and Rs 2,400 for tractor ploughing — apart from nearly 15 days of work by two members of her family.
The family expects a yield of five quintals, which would earn them around Rs 30,000 if sold at the prevailing trader price of Rs 6,000 per quintal.
However, if the sale is assured at the declared minimum support price, or MSP, for groundnut this season — Rs 7,263 per quintal — the family would earn approximately Rs 6,000 more.
“This is the second crop of the year. We have already got Rs 25,000 from the first crop — cotton,” said Madanabati.
“For a marginal farmer like Madana, an income of Rs 50,000 in eight months means a lot. The family has stopped going to other states in search of work, and their children are regularly pursuing their education in the village school,” said Birendra Dharua of the organisation YAR.
But farmers say procurement remains a major problem.
“The problem is that there is no mandi system for groundnut or sunflower here, so we are forced to sell to traders at prices dictated by them, which are always less than MSP,” said Debarchan and Gajman Chinagun, who regularly cultivate groundnut, sunflower and maize on uplands during both Kharif and Rabi seasons.
“It brings much better income than paddy,” they said.
The NGO YAR has been promoting oilseeds, pulses and millets since 2024 under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, or RKVY, with support from ICRISAT.
According to Haridash Patel, secretary of the organisation, about 500 hectares of uplands have been brought under groundnut and sunflower cultivation this Rabi season in Nuapada district, mostly through intercropping models.
Patel said the shift towards non-paddy crops such as groundnut, sunflower, arhar (also known as toor or pigeon pea) and millets is gradually transforming the region’s recent trend of a mono-crop paddy system into diversified agriculture, improving incomes for small and marginal farmers.
Farmers involved in the programme also report better returns from groundnut, sunflower and maize compared with paddy. However, they say marketing remains the biggest bottleneck.
“In the absence of a procurement system, we cannot access MSP. In 2023-24, although MSP was over Rs 7,000 per quintal, I was forced to sell groundnut at as low as Rs 3,200 per quintal,” recalled Debarchan.
Patel said approximately 400 metric tonnes of surplus groundnut are expected to be available for procurement this Rabi season.
“We have submitted a proposal at the district-level procurement committee meeting held on 13 May to open mandis across the district,” he said.
The district-level procurement committee has reportedly agreed to open procurement centres, but implementation is awaited.
Farmer bodies argue that Odisha’s millet and oilseed transformation requires deeper institutional strengthening rather than reduced outlays.
They say the government should enhance the SAA budget to match expansion goals, strengthen grassroots support agencies in all districts and ensure targeted allocations for tribal and DMF blocks.
Other requirements, they say, include expanding coverage of non-ragi millets and establishing functional procurement systems for oilseeds and millets.
Farmers and FPOs across Koraput, Kalahandi and Nuapada maintain that what the millet and oilseed sectors need today is stronger policy commitment, assured market support and institutional convergence, not a contraction in public investment.