A FAO team visited Odisha fromSeptember 4 – 8, 2022 in the context of the GEF 6 Green Ag project. The team included: Dr Sheila Wertz-Kanounnikoff, Senior Forestry Officer and Lead Technical Officer (LTO), Mr. Pierre Ferrand, Agriculture Officer (Agroecology) and alternate LTO for Green-Ag project from FAO’s regional office in Asia-Pacific, along with Mr R.B. Sinha, National Project Director, Green-Ag project and Dr Divya Shah, Natural Resource Management and Biodiversity Specialist, National Project Management Unit (NPMU) for the GEF 6 Green Ag project.

During this visit, the FAO team met various officials at the State and District level and discussed a range of issues relating to the project. The officers with whom discussions were held included: Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment; Mr Hemant Kumar Panda, Director Soil Conservation and Watershed Development; Mr Prasant Kumar Patnaik, Director, Institute of Management & Advance Global Excellence (IMAGE); Mr Vineet Bhardwaj, IAS, Collector and District Magistrate-cum-Chairman, Technical Support Group (TSG), Mayurbhanj; Mr T Ashok Kumar, Similipal Tiger Reserve Field Director; and Mr B.S. Kalo, Project Director Watersheds and district project nodal officer, Green-Ag, Project, Mayurbhanj. The FAO team also held discussions with the Green Landscape Implementation Unit (GLIU) and the State Project Management Unit (SPMU) teams.

The team visited four villages namely, Kadamsule (Block Kaptipada), Nabara (Block Udala), Sansule and Godipokhari (Block Shamakhunta) to understand the landscape and review project implementation progress. Discussions were also held on the issue of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). The team interacted with the local communities to understand their expectations from the project and other relevant issues.