- Places final-year agriculture and horticulture students in block-level agriculture offices for hands-on field training.
- Pays a stipend on successful completion, along with an official completion certificate.
- Strengthens the state’s farm extension network by putting trained students alongside Gram Panchayat-level officers.
- Uses a dedicated mobile app for GPS-marked attendance, farmer surveys and pest surveillance in the field.
- Odisha Agriculture Department Contact Details
- Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) Phone Number:
- 0674- 2397970
- 0674-2397818
- OUAT Email Helpdesk: registrar@ouat.ac.in
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Summary of the Scheme
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|---|---|
| Name of Scheme | Odisha Krushi Unnat Sahayogi (KUS) Internship Programme |
| Launch Year | 2018-19 |
| Benefits |
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| Beneficiary | Selected final-year Agriculture and Horticulture students. |
| Nodal Agency | Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment, Odisha |
| Subscription | Subscribe here to get Update Regarding Scheme |
| Mode of Apply | Through the concerned educational institution/selection process. |
Odisha Krushi Unnat Sahayogi Internship Programme: Final-Year Agriculture Students Take to the Field
Agriculture students spend years learning about crops, soil and pests in classrooms and labs. The Krushi Unnat Sahayogi (KUS) Internship Programme, run by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha, sends them into the fields to see how farming and extension services work at the village level.
What the programme is
Under KUS, selected final-year Agriculture and Horticulture students work as Sahayogis at the block level. They are posted in block agriculture offices and work alongside the Department’s extension personnel at the Gram Panchayat level. The programme has been implemented since 2019 by the Directorate of Agriculture and Food Production, which previously called the students Agriculture Development Associates.
The 2026-27 edition was flagged off on 3 October 2026 by Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo at the Krushi Shiksha Sadan Conference Hall of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar.
This year’s scale
This is the largest edition so far. A total of 964 final-year students are deployed across all 314 blocks in Odisha’s 30 districts, with around two to three Sahayogis per block. It is the first edition to cover every block in the state. The internship runs for three months, from October to December 2026, during the Kharif season.
What students receive
Students who complete the internship successfully receive a stipend, expected to be ₹21,000, and a completion certificate issued by the Chief District Agriculture Officer of their district. Beyond that, they gain hands-on exposure to extension work, learn to use digital field tools, understand farmers’ problems, and see how government schemes reach villages. The experience can also support a future career in agriculture.
What Sahayogis actually do
Sahayogis work Monday to Friday, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, alongside Gram Panchayat-level extension staff. Each one has defined targets for the three months:
They monitor crop pests and diseases using the e-Pest Surveillance platform and the National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS). They carry out a qualitative survey of 100 farmers each and record farmer feedback. They conduct five semi-physical Crop Cutting Experiments to assess yields. They visit agricultural input dealers in their area, and they visit one Farmer Producer Organisation, two Self-Help Groups, and two Primary Agricultural Credit Societies or Large-sized Adivasi Multipurpose Societies. They also tell farmers about government agricultural schemes and the Department’s digital and mobile applications, and they document on-ground challenges and success stories.
Taken together, the 964 Sahayogis are expected to reach around 96,000 farmers through surveys and complete nearly 5,000 Crop Cutting Experiments. That gives the Department a large body of ground-level information during an important farming season.
The KUS mobile app
Each Sahayogi uses the dedicated Krushi Unnat Sahayogi mobile app, available on Google Play. It records attendance with GPS at the allotted Gram Panchayat, supports field surveys, and collects information on the availability of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, as well as problems farmers face. Note that the app is for carrying out the internship, not for applying to it.
How the work is monitored
Supervision is digital. The KUS app tracks each intern’s activities and performance, and supervisors follow progress through the Department’s ADAPT Dashboard. Block Agriculture Officers and Assistant Agriculture Officers review the interns’ work every week, and attendance is verified through GPS location.
Who can take part
The programme is for final-year undergraduate students of Agriculture or Horticulture at eligible agricultural universities or institutions participating in KUS. Students must be selected through the prescribed institutional or departmental process, and they must be willing to do field work at the assigned Block and Gram Panchayat and complete the prescribed activities.
The available information does not mention any age limit, family income limit, caste condition or separate domicile requirement. Those conditions should not be assumed unless an official notice states them.
How students get in
This is where KUS differs from many government schemes. It is not a public application scheme, and there is no general online registration form or student-facing portal. Participation is arranged through participating agricultural universities and colleges, which coordinate nomination and deployment with the Department. The Department has not published a formal selection notification, application form or cut-off.
In practice, the path looks like this. A student enrols in an Agriculture or Horticulture undergraduate degree at a participating institution and reaches the final year after completing the theory component. The institution announces the KUS cycle and nominates students. Selected students attend an orientation and counselling session, receive their Block and Gram Panchayat allotment, and report to the Block Agriculture Office. They then log in to the KUS app with the credentials issued to them, complete the field targets and weekly reviews, and receive the stipend and certificate on successful completion.
Documents
No official document checklist has been published for the 2026-27 programme. Students should expect to provide identity and academic details, and proof of final-year status where the institution asks for it. The exact requirements will come from your university, college or Agriculture Department authority.
Questions the source does not answer
The information available does not say whether students from private universities can join. If you study at a private institution, ask your college whether it participates in KUS.
Where to ask for help
You can contact the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology at 0674-2397970 or 0674-2397818, or write to registrar@ouat.ac.in. Your own college’s administration is the best first contact for selection announcements.