Kukudakhandi corn cluster located at Ganjam district was set up in the year 2020 under the flagship SFURTI scheme of MoMSME, GoI under the technical guidance of KIIT-TBI (Technical Agency) and support from IEDO (Nodal Agency) with an aim to create different value-added products from corn such as; corn flakes, corn chips, corn flour, corn syrup and extruded snacks etc. Since, the cluster is now at the advanced stage of its implementation, a series of soft intervention training programme are being undertaken by Kalinga Youth Association – the Implementing Agency for the cluster beneficiaries. As a part of ongoing SI training, on 20th Sept 2024, Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) was conducted at the cluster premises. The program witnessed participation of about 100 plus beneficiaries with a majority of women from nearby vicinity. Key figures from Nodal Agency – Sh. Gagan Nayak, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) – SFURTI, Mr. Sibabrata Rath, Executive, SFURTI Cell and Mr. Jyotirmaya Parija, Accounts Executive and Dr. Barada Prasanna Sahoo – Manager, Mr. Suramya Mishra – Manager and Ms. Subhasmita Sahoo – Young Professional from Technical Agency graced the occasion by their valuable feedback and speech.
The officials were warmly welcomed by Mr. B Arun Subudhi – cluster head, Sh. B.K.S Subudhi – Trustee cum Chairperson of SPV – Amrut Foundation and Ms. Shiny K – Cluster Manager. The programme kicked off with the welcome speech by Mr. Arun followed by a motivating address by Sh. Nayak on rural entrepreneurship. Afterwards, Ms. Subhasmita, Mr. Sibabrata, Dr. Barada and Mr. Suramya shared their thoughts on the cluster and agri entrepreneurship concepts. The beneficiaries also shared their experiences and expectations from the project. They expressed their interest to learn better agricultural practices of corn cultivation at their farms which would help them in improving yield, quality produce and fetching higher price in the market.
The session ended with the vote of thanks by Sh. B.K.S Subudhi. Post the EDP session, Mr. Arun gave the officials a tour of the Common Facility Center (CFC) and the officials expressed their satisfaction with the progress of the cluster. Mr. Arun ensured to make the cluster functional by the month of November. By reaping the economies of scale, it will not only benefit the cluster beneficiaries but will also help in the overall socio-economic development of the region.
Glimpses
