FarmBot

Nilabadi · Bandhugaon · Koraput

Where to get help

Public offices, apps and helplines for crop problems, soil tests, insurance and weather, most useful first. Last checked 31 Oct 2026.

Last checked 31 Oct 2026 on the official pages linked under each entry. Phone numbers and dates can change; check before you rely on them.

Where to get help, most useful first

Public offices and helplines for a paddy farmer in Nilabadi, Bandhugaon. FarmBot's warnings are untested: for anything you will spray or spend money on, ask KVK Koraput first.

1. KVK Koraput: ask about a pest, a disease or a sick patch, or ask for a field visit

  • What it is. Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Koraput is the farm science centre run by the Odisha agriculture university (OUAT) at Sunabeda. Its scientists advise farmers and visit fields: they report 75 visits to farmers' fields reaching 2,850 farmers.
  • How to reach it. Phone +91-7008930482, email kvk.koraput@ouat.ac.in, or go to the office: Post Box No-10, Sunabeda, Koraput 763002. Staff listed on the official page include Ms. Sunita Dandasena (Senior Scientist and Head), Mr. Binod Chandra Behera (Scientist, Agricultural Extension) and Mr. Sabek Kumar Hantal (Soil Science).
  • When it helps. Before any spraying, when FarmBot shows a pest or weak-patch warning, or when you see an insect or disease you don't know. Take a clear photo and a sample of the plant.

Source: KVK Koraput contact page · KVK Koraput staff page · KVK Koraput: field visits (PDF)

2. Soil testing and the Soil Health Card

  • What it is. A lab test of your field's soil. The Soil Health Card shows the soil's nutrients and suggests how much fertiliser to use. The government pays for each sample (the Centre gives ₹190 per sample). KVK Koraput has its own soil lab and reports testing about 500 samples a year; it also handed out Soil Health Cards on 5 Dec 2024.
  • How to reach it. Ask KVK Koraput (phone above) or the Bandhugaon agriculture office whether there is any charge and how to send a sample. To take a sample: after harvest or when no crop is standing, dig a V-shaped cut 15–20 cm deep at the 4 corners and the centre of the field and mix the soil.
  • When it helps. Right after the paddy harvest, before a winter crop or before buying fertiliser for next season.

Source: PIB: Soil Health Card scheme · KVK Koraput: soil lab (PDF) · KVK Koraput: Soil Health Card day (PDF) · Koraput district: agriculture contacts

3. PMFBY crop insurance (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana)

  • What it is. Government crop insurance for crop loss. For a winter crop, the last date to join is usually 31 Dec; check the exact date with your bank or PACS.
  • How to reach it. Join through your bank, the PACS (village cooperative), a Common Service Centre, or the PMFBY website. The name on the form must match your Aadhaar. Helpline 14447 (24×7).
  • When it helps. Before the last date for each season. If an insured crop is damaged, report it within 72 hours on 14447.

Source: PIB: PMFBY enrolment and helpline · PIB: report crop loss within 72 hours (PDF) · PMFBY website

4. Weather advice for farmers: GKMS bulletins and the Meghdoot app

  • What it is. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) publishes district farm-weather advice (Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva, GKMS) twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday. The Odisha bulletin was issued on 30 Oct 2026. The free Meghdoot app shows the same advice on a phone.
  • How to reach it. Install Meghdoot from the app store and choose Koraput, or read the Odisha bulletin and the IMD farm weather site.
  • When it helps. Before spraying, irrigating or harvesting: it says when rain is due.

Source: IMD Bhubaneswar farm weather bulletin (PDF) · Meghdoot app page · IMD agromet

5. riceXpert app (rice institute, Cuttack)

  • What it is. A free phone app from the National Rice Research Institute (ICAR-NRRI), Cuttack, with advice on growing rice.
  • How to reach it. Install it from Google Play.
  • When it helps. To look up rice growing advice on the phone.

Source: riceXpert on Google Play · NRRI: about riceXpert

6. Krushi Samrudhi helpline 155333 (Odisha)

  • What it is. The Odisha government's free farmer helpline. It also calls farmers with advice through the season.
  • How to reach it. Call 155333. The Krushak Odisha portal has the state farmer schemes.
  • When it helps. For questions about Odisha farm schemes, or for advice by phone.

Source: Krushi Samrudhi helpline · Krushak Odisha

7. Kisan Call Centre 1800-180-1551

  • What it is. The national free farmer phone line. In Odisha the calls are answered from Bhubaneswar, in Odia.
  • How to reach it. Call 1800-180-1551, 6 AM to 10 PM, all 7 days.
  • When it helps. For a quick answer on a crop problem when KVK can't be reached.

Source: Kisan Call Centre: about · PIB: Kisan Call Centres

8. KVK trainings and the growing guide

  • What it is. KVK Koraput runs short farmer trainings and publishes a growing guide (package of practices) that covers rice, black gram and mustard/toria. It has also tested a newer rice variety, OUAT Kalinga Rice-1, in Koraput.
  • How to reach it. Ask KVK Koraput (phone above) for the next training dates, or open the guide below.
  • When it helps. Before choosing a winter crop or a new rice variety.

Source: KVK Koraput: growing guide (PDF) · KVK Koraput: training calendar, Dec 2025 (PDF) · KVK Koraput: Kalinga Rice-1 test (PDF)