Assam’s government is prepared to implement a one-district, one-product strategy

Guwahati, 17 October, 2022: The State Government is prepared to put the ODOP (One District One Product) model into practise in order to benefit from scale in terms of input procurement, utilisation of shared services, and product marketing.

In September and October of this year, ministers and senior officials met at Kaziranga National Park to brainstorm (chintan baithak) the departments’ five-year plans for developing the state by 2026. The session covered ODOP in depth, including its implementation, among other topics.

A perishable agricultural produce, a cereal-based product, or a food item that is widely produced in a district and its related industries can all be considered ODOP products. Mango, potato, litchi, tomato, tapioca, kinnu, bhujia, pitha, papad, pickle, millet-based products, fishery, poultry, meat, and animal feed are just a few examples of these products. The programme may provide financial assistance for some conventional and cutting-edge products, including waste-to-wealth products.

According to the State Government’s adoption of ODOP, the following products and districts are included: honey in Baksa, milk products in Barpeta, potatoes in Biswanath Chariali, turmeric in Bongaigaon, pine apples in Cachar, rice-based products in Charaideo, lemons in Chirang district, mustard products in Darrang and Dhemaji, chillies in Dhubri, mustard products in Dibrugarh, ginger in Dima Hasao, bananas in Goalpara, Sivasagar produces red rice-based goods, Sonitpur produces jackfruit, South Salmara produces cashewnut processing, Tinsukia produces citrus goods, Udalguri produces potatoes, and West Karbi Anglong produces ginger.

Support for agricultural products will reportedly be provided for storage, marketing, and processing in order to minimise waste.

Under the Agriculture Export Policy, the Department of Commerce is concentrating on agricultural crops using a cluster model for exports. In areas with comparative advantage, the Ministry of Agriculture is also concentrating on a cluster approach for particular agricultural goods. The scheme’s ODOP model would make it easier to provide shared facilities and other support services.