On 6–7 February 2025, Ms. Ine Sofia Kristiansen, Counsellor at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi, and Dr. Udaya Sekhar Nagothu, Project Coordinator from NIBIO, visited UPSCALE project sites in Odisha. Prof. Prasanjit Mishra (OUAT), Dr. R. Rajkumar (MSSRF), and Prof. Amaresh Khuntia (OUAT) accompanied the team.

The visit began with a progress review meeting at KVK, Puri, followed by field visits to the project locations:

• Mushroom Spawn Production Unit, Suhagpur: Run by Mr. Laxman Kumar Bastia, this unit engages 15 women and 8 youth in sustainable mushroom farming.
• Climate-Resilient Mushroom Cultivation: Off-season production of paddy straw and oyster mushrooms was showcased alongside rice-fish farming.
• Community-Based Initiatives, Jatipur: Included vermicomposting, fish ponds, beekeeping, and banana farming on renovated bunds.
• Sun-Dried Oyster Mushrooms & Marketing: Farmers demonstrated value addition through sun-drying and shared successful marketing strategies supported by KVK, Puri.
• Mulching Demonstration, Pandaswar: Highlighted the use of biodegradable materials in pointed gourd cultivation.
• Innovative Pest Management: Farmers displayed eco-friendly methods like light traps, sticky traps, pheromone traps, and bucket traps across crops.
• Trellis Farming: A single-line trellis system for bitter gourd was demonstrated during an interactive farmer session.
• KVK, Puri Demonstration Units: Various research-led farming practices were showcased on campus.

After the field visit, the team interacted with 40 men and women farmers. They expressed strong support for the project due to its benefits in reducing input costs and increasing yield and income.

On the second day, visited the Village Knowledge Centre in Cuttack and demonstration plots at the CRRI campus, facilitated by Dr. Rahul Tripathi (NRRI). They also interacted with local scientists and farmers at KVK.

The team appreciated the UPSCALE project’s interventions in the field and emphasized the importance of sustained collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure upscaling for the benefit of large number of farmers.