By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, April 21, 2017 : The Odisha government on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve the lives of small farmers and promote inclusive agricultural transformation in the state.

The MoU was signed by Hari Ballav Mishra, Director of Agriculture and Food Production, and Nick Austin, Director of Agricultural Development, at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the presence of chief minister, Naveen Patnaik and other higher officials.

Speaking on the occasion, Patnaik hoped the step would bring improvement in the livelihood of small and marginal farmers.

The MoU will formalize a partnership between the state government and the foundation to accelerate the state’s agriculture programme and improve the lives of small farmers in Odisha.

It will allow the government and the foundation to collaborate on agriculture projects, including a project to improve data management, analysis and use within the agriculture department, said an official.

The first project to be initiated is data management system that supports agriculture in using data to make evidence-based policies.

The project will combine the data from government sources into a single platform to help the agricultural department monitor and improve its work. It will support creation of a technical Support Unit [TSU] within the government to develop the system and train users.