In its efforts to make farmers’ income double by the year 2022, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ welfare will use digital technology to transform agriculture and modernize the agriculture activities in India.
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply to the upper House said, ‘Digital Technology, like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Blockchain Technology, Internet of Things, etc can play a transformational role in modernizing and organizing how rural India performs its agricultural activities’.
‘The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) has compiled more than 100 mobile apps developed by ICAR, state agricultural universities and ‘Krishi Vigyan Kendra’ and uploaded on its website. These mobile apps developed offer valuable information to the farmers,” he added in a statement.
He also added that the Union Government has also constituted an inter-ministerial committee to strategize and examine the issues and challenges faced by the farmers. This committee is tasked to suggest plans and strategies for achieving the goal of doubling farmers’ income by the year 2022.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee has praised and backed the use of digital technology and further recommended to build a mobile application for providing information to the farmers about farming. It further recommended that useful information can also be spread among farmers through the mobile SMS service.
Among other recommendations, that the committee has extended include, an online portal, giving subsidies, create scientific storage capacity among others.
Narendra Singh Tomar in his reply in the Upper House also said that government has also set-up over 713 ‘Krishi Vigyan Kendra’ and 684 agricultural Technological management agencies at the level of districts to help the farmers.
While in a bid to provide more information to the farmers, many farmers centric campaigns are also organized, Kisan Call centers and Kisan SMS portals have been set up. While many agri-fairs and exhibitions have also been organized to provide information to the farmers.
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