Agriculture of Orissa

About 70% of the total population of Orissa lives in villages and about 75 % of the total workforce depends on agriculture. The cropped area is about 87.46 lakh hectares out of which 18.79 lakh hectares are irrigated. Climate and soil play vital role in Orissa’s agricultural economy. The total cultivable land exploited for cropping is about 40% of the total geographical area and the exploitation is comparatively more in the coastal districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttak, Puri and Ganjam.

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. Orissa contributes one tenth of the total rice produced in the country.

Major agricultural crops (in different districts):-

Rice: The crop is largely grown in the districts of Balasore, Cuttack, Mayurbhanj, Puri and Bhadrak.

Pulses: Pulses are cultivated in the districts like Balasore, Bhadrak, Ganjam and Mayurbhanj in large excess.

Maize, ragi, Bajra: The districts like Koraput, Kalahandi and Balangir are the major producer of these crops.

Oil seeds: The crops like, groundnut, mustard, castor and linseed are the main oilseeds grown in Orissa. These are best produced in the districts of Balasore, Kalahandi, Sambalpur, and Dhenkanal.