By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:Mandia Day-2026 was celebrated on Tuesday in Gopalprasad village under Tangi tehsil of Khurda district with the joint support of the Department of Field Science of the Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IAS), World Life Service Association and the Office of the Chief District Agriculture Officer.
On this occasion, discussions were held on the nutritional value of Mandya, its health benefits, scientific farming and its economic and commercial importance. The guests also visited the agricultural fields while an exhibition on Mandya and light crops was inaugurated.
Professor Pradeep Kumar Nanda, Vice Chancellor, SOA, was the chief guest at the event and said that Mandya has a positive impact on nutritional value, farming practices, economic benefits and human health. Not only is it beneficial for health, but its demand is now increasing at a rapid pace.
He urged the farmers to pay special attention to how to cultivate Mandya and what problems they are facing in harvesting, and discussed the main objective of this day.
On this occasion, Dean of IAS, Professor Santosh Kumar Raut, presided over the function as the guest of honour and delivered a speech about the purpose of the day.
Similarly, Shri Vijay Kumar Sahu, Retired Director of Agriculture, Kandhamal, Shri Vinod Mishra, Principal District Agriculture Officer, Khurda District, Shri Vaidyanath Baral, General Secretary, Odisha World Life Service Association, and Shri Priyambada Behera, Sarpanch of Gopalprasad village, Tangi, also participated and shared their views on the nutritional value of Mandya, its benefits for human health, how it can be used as a good farming system, and its role in increasing farmers’ income and market potential.
The event included an awareness play performed by IAS students. A book titled ‘Small Crop Farming through Scientific Method’ was released, while progressive farmers were encouraged and discussions and farmers’ views were exchanged on various scientific aspects of Mandia farming.
On this occasion, Professor Basudev Behera, Head of the Department of Crop Science, delivered the welcome speech and spoke about the main objective of the day and its importance, while Associate Professor (Dr.) Subhaprad Dash, Associate Professor of the Department of Crop Science, proposed the vote of thanks.
