Baliguda: IAS officer and State Mission Shakti Director Monika Priyadarshini visited Daringbadi, where she arrived at the PWD Guest House. Upon her arrival, she was welcomed by BDO Preetiranjan Rath.
During her visit, she inspected several Mission Shakti initiatives, including the coffee plantations, Coffee Café, Hill View Park, the turmeric processing center managed by Mission Shakti women in Dandimatha, and another turmeric unit at Sulumaha.
She observed that Mission Shakti women in the block are engaged in strawberry cultivation, which is proving profitable in a short period. However, she noted that if processing facilities were available, strawberries could generate year-round income through products like jam and squash. She said she would take steps to establish such processing units either through government or private initiatives, to expand strawberry cultivation and boost profits.
Speaking about the world-famous Kandhamal turmeric, Monika emphasized the importance of processing, GI tagging, branding, and market linkage, and assured that necessary steps would be taken in that regard.
Regarding Daringbadi’s organic coffee, she mentioned that currently it is collected by TDCCS and sent to Koraput for processing and branding. She stated that the state government will take steps to set up coffee processing facilities in Daringbadi itself and ensure expansion of coffee cultivation to more areas.
Monika Priyadarshini also had lunch at the Mission Shakti café in Daringbadi and interacted with women members before concluding her visit.
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