On Day-13 of the Pakhwada celebration, ICAR-IIWM conducted an exposure visit programme for the tribal farmers of Jamujhari and Haridamada tribal villages of Khordha District, Odisha. The tribal farmers visited the ‘Odisha State Tribal Museum’ cum ‘Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute’, Bhubaneswar. The programme specifically focused on promoting ‘Tribal Agri-Entrepreneurship’ through exposure visits connecting farmers and agri-start-ups opportunities. This helps to encourage the tribal individuals to develop their ideas into viable agri-businesses. The skilled craftsmanship of the tribes that include handcrafted smoking pipes, combs and purses as well as paintings, paddy and bamboo crafts. It also features hand-woven textiles of tribal communities such as Dharua, Munda, Bonda, Kandha and Santhal. The participating farmers were also briefed about the life history and inspirational story of ‘Bhagwan Birsa Munda’. Later, they watched video shows on various tribes including Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Odisha in a Mini Theatre inside the Museum and experienced rich cultural heritage and traditions of tribal people. At the end, the farmers visited the ‘Bhagwan Birsa Munda Pavilion’ - a special exhibition area dedicated to showcasing the life, struggles, and contributions of ‘Bhagwan Birsa Munda and other eminent tribal leaders and freedom fighters. These most recent pavilions were set up in Odisha and other locations as part of the 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda. A total of 30 tribal farmers were exposed to agri-start-ups for empowering their food security and overall livelihoods, who were guided by Dr. S.K. Mishra, Dr. Om Prakash Verma and Ms. Isha Anindita Sahoo of the Institute. Some of the action and activity photographs of Day-13 (13.11.2025) are presented below.
