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Indian government assessing crops digitally, says Agriculture Minister Tomar.
Oct 13, 2022

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday said the digital agriculture mission launched by the government to help farmers plan their selection of crops more judiciously will also be beneficial for all the stakeholders. At the same time, focus should be on raising productivity amid declining farm lands.

Highlighting that the agriculture sector is the backbone of the economy, Tomar said: 'During the Covid pandemic, our agriculture has shown that it can provide strong support to the country even in adverse conditions. It has not only been able to meet the food requirements of our country but met the needs of other friendly countries.'

Avoiding disenchantment

Addressing the concluding session of a conference on 'Enhancing Agricultural Productivity: Integration of Improved Seeds & Agri Inputs', organised by industry body Assocham, he said the government is starting to assess the yield of agriculture in a digital way. 'It usually happens that when the price of any agricultural produce is high in the market, most of the farmers start growing the same agricultural produce in the next crop season. This invariably results in lowering the prices of that produce and leaves farmers feeling disheartened.

'To avoid this situation, the government has emphasised on the Digital Agriculture Mission, so that the farming done in different areas can be assessed through new technology. This way all the information will be collected through satellite and agriculture will be monitored.'

The minister also spoke on the importance of organic farming amid the degradation of soil. He said organically-produced agricultural products are preferred all over the world and such products have been exported from India. But more work to be done he said and asked the industry to work together to ensure that agriculture is linked to the market and sustain the increase in productivity.

Expanding e-NAM

Tomar explained various steps the government has been taking to eliminate middlemen in the agri value chain and ensure better returns for the farmers. He, however, did not refer to the now repealed three farm reform laws that were brought in to connect farmers directly with buyers. The minister said one of the challenges that farmers encounter includes fluctuations in prices and the distance they need to cover to get a better price. The electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) could bring the solution, he said, adding more mandis will be connected with the platform from current 1,000 market yards.

Earlier, Jaidev Shroff, chairman of Assocham’s National Committee on Agriculture and Farming Inputs, said food security is a major challenge for all farmers, industries, and governments, but it also represents a significant opportunity. 'We need to equip our farmers with the tools they need to thrive in any situation, and better technology will help them do so,' said Shroff.

thehindubusinessline.com

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