Odisha pushes organic farming to cut urea use, Agrivoltaics Conclave Highlights solar-farming model to double income
New Delhi, June 6
Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo used the Agrivoltaics Conclave in Bhubaneswar to urge farmers to shift away from urea-heavy practices and adopt short-duration crops and natural farming.
"Both the Union Agriculture Minister and the Prime Minister have urged the people of the state to cultivate short-duration crops and to adopt organic or natural farming methods...we have observed that over the past 70 years, the government conditioned people to rely heavily on urea, while the focus was solely on maximizing production, no concern was shown for public health," he said. Citing this year's rainfall data and advisories, the Deputy CM said the PM has appealed to farmers to opt for short-duration crops to avoid losses, and stressed that "the use of urea depletes the soil's productivity. To counter this, the PM has consistently advocated for replacing it with potash and neem-coated urea," he said.
The conclave focused on agrivoltaics -- solar-powered farming -- as a way to boost farmer incomes while addressing land and water stress. Gajanan Kale, CEO of TPCODL, said the objective was to promote the model further in Odisha because "it will double the income of farmers...one is the selling of solar energy, another is the selling of their crops."
He outlined two state tracks: a utility-led aggregation model for poor customers with sanctioned load under 1 kW, and Odisha's rollout under PM Surya Ghar Yojana. TPCODL has installed more than 1 lakh rooftop solar systems in the state and is running transparent competitive bidding to devise tariffs for solar energy sold by farmers.
Srinivas Krishnaswamy, CEO of Vasudha Foundation, highlighted why agrivoltaics matters amid India's water crisis.
"For 1 MW solar panels, we need approximately 2 to 4 acres of land...if farmers' land is taken, then food security will be a problem, and farmers' income will be lost," he noted. Beyond dual income from crops and power, panels help retain soil moisture as groundwater levels fall. "The benefits of agri-photovoltaics are double. It will make money from production and can also generate income from solar generation," he said.
Krishnaswamy added that scaling up needs a clear policy framework, government intent, land-use guarantees, and financial/lease mechanisms so farmers can build projects themselves or bring in developers. With Odisha pushing short-duration, low-input crops on one hand and dual-use solar on the other, the state is positioning agrivoltaics as both a farm-income and climate-resilience tool.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Finally someone in government is talking about the health impacts of chemical farming! My father's generation used urea like it was magic powder, but now we see cancer cases rising in farming communities. Agrivoltaics could be a game-changer for Odisha - double income from same land! Just hope implementation is done properly without middlemen eating up the benefits. 🌱
As someone who's worked in renewable energy in the US, I see huge potential in agrivoltaics for India. The dual income stream is compelling, but the real benefit is water conservation - panels reducing evaporation in drought-prone areas is a massive win. India could leapfrog traditional farming methods just like it did with mobile phones. Hope Odisha's model gets replicated across other states. ☀️
All this sounds good on paper, but who will bear the initial cost of solar panels for small farmers? My cousin has 2 acres in Balangir and can barely afford seeds. Government should provide panels at subsidized rates or through easy bank loans. Otherwise this scheme will only benefit large landholders. Also, neem-coated urea is still urea - real organic farming needs complete mindset change! 🤔
This is exactly what India needs! We grow our vegetables organically in our backyard in Pune and the taste difference is unbelievable. Over 70 years of chemical farming has ruined our soil health. Agrivoltaics sounds like a smart solution for land-constrained Odisha. But government must ensure farmers aren't trapped in long-term contracts with energy companies that exploit them.
Very interesting model. In Australia, we've seen similar solar-sharing setups work well
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.