Government of Odisha felicitated the progressive woman farmer during Mandia Dibasa celebrations on November 10 at Odisha Secretariat, Bhubaneswar

Raimati Ghiuria belongs to Bhumia tribe, and hails from Nuaguda village, Kundra block in Koraput district, Odisha. She has been involved in various initiatives with MSSRF since 2002, and has been instrumental in conserving more than 80 landraces of paddy and around 30 landraces of millets.

As a multi-skilled progressive farmer, Raimati manages a field Gene Bank and Seed Bank in her village. The Farm School established in her land with the support from Indian Overseas Bank is well-managed by Raimati and her husband. Raimati has received many national and state awards for her contribution towards women empowerment, conservation efforts and building capacity of farmers. She is also a well-known as an organic farming trainer.

On November 10, Raimati Ghiuria was felicitated by the Government of Odisha as a Custodian Farmer on the occasion of Millets Day Celebration at Odisha Secretariat, Bhubaneswar. She is seen photographed with Mr Ranendra Pratap Swain, Minister of Agriculture, Fishery and ARD, GoO; Mr K. Balakrishna, IAS, Advisor to CM; Dr. Arabinda Padhee, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture & FE and Mrs. Sujatha Karthikeyan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development and Mission Shakti, GoO.

She spoke about her experiences of conserving and cultivating various landraces of millets as a custodian farmer. Later, Dr. Arabinda Padhee, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Food Production interacted with her and Raimati presented him with a memento made of traditional little millet.