The mandate of the Directorate is development in agriculture sector through transfer of improved technologies, timely supply of agricultural inputs to the farmers, capacity building of the extension personnel and farmers, increasing agricultural production & productivity and over all development of the economic status of the farmers.

Activities:

• Transmitting improved technologies evolved from the Research Institutes to the farmers.
• Creating awareness among the farmers on different developmental schemes and Implementation thereof.
• Imparting training to the farmers, conducting field demonstrations.
• Organizing district level agricultural exhibitions.
• Organizing exposure visit of farmers within and out side the State.
• Production of quality seeds in the departmental farms as well as in the farmers’ field.
• Supply of quality seeds to the farmers through departmental Sale Centers.
• Monitoring the supply of fertilizer and pesticides to the farmers.
• Popularisation of farm machineries and equipments.
• Creating irrigation potential through private lift irrigation programme.
• Quality control of seeds, fertilizer and pesticides.
• Soil testing, providing soil health cards to farmers and fertilizer recommendation for different crops basing on soil nutrient status.
• Updating knowledge of extension personnel through training.
• Suggesting suitable cropping programme especially for irrigated ayacuts.
• Motivating the farmers to take up Crop Insurance and estimating the yield of Arhar, Niger and Cotton for insurance purpose.
• Providing CRF subsidy to natural calamity affected farmers.
• Transfer of modern technology and promote farm mechanization, seed replacement, plant protection, soil and water management etc. through Agriculture Extension.
• Ensure quality inputs for better production
• Varietal intervention
• Demonstrations
• Farmer’s capacity building
• Cooperation with allied departments/ agencies
• Promotion of Agri-entrepreneurship.
• Provision of incentive/subsidy to farmers
• Formulation of plans programmes & schemes for the agricultural development of the state.
• Increase crop production in a sustainable manner through transfer of modern technology.
• Utilization of various state & central funds.

The Directorate is known as “Directorate of Agriculture & Food Production, Odisha” and is located at HOD building, Bhubaneswar. This Directorate operates in the entire state with its officials at Gram Panchayat, Block, Subdivision, District and State level. The staffs of this Directorate have the privilege of reaching every farm family of the state in a particular time frame which is quite unique compared to any other Department.

Organizational setup
In the state the Directorate is headed by the Director Agriculture & Food Production, Odisha with technical assistance from two Additional Directors & four Joint Director of Agriculture. Officers at various levels whose opinions are sought for in the process of decision making are as follows –

• Additional Director (Extension) for agriculture development & extension system
• Additional Director (Engineering) for farm mechanization, irrigation & other engineering development matter
• FA-cum-CAO for financial matters
• Joint Director (Administration) for administrative matters
• Joint Director Agriculture for technical matters
• Deputy Directors and other Assistant Directors for technical matters

FIELD ADMINSTRATION
Presently there are 30 Agriculture Ranges covering each revenue district of the state. Each Range is headed by one Deputy Director of Agriculture (D.D.A.) with a group of specialists to help & administer various developmental activities of the Range.

Further at sub-district level there are 80 Agricultural Districts headed by a District Agriculture Officer supported by a group of technical officers to monitor and supervise the various activities for overall development of Agriculture Sector.

At the block level, there are Assistant Agricultural Officers (A.A.O.s) with a staffing force of Agriculture Overseer (A.O.) and Village Agricultural Worker (V.A.W.) to monitor the Agricultural Activities in all the 314 blocks of the state. The A.O.s & V.A.W.s are mostly functioning at the level of Gram Panchayat & come across with the day to day issues of the farmers.