Rama Rao said access to timely information would be a great leveler and help millions of farmers in TS to improve their yields
Minister for IT and Panchayati Raj K.T. Rama Rao (left), minister for agriculture Pocharam Srinivas Reddy(centre) and Icrisat director general Dr David Bergvinson (right) at the tripartite MoU signing in Hyderabad on Tuesday. (Photo: DC)
Hyderabad: The Telangana government and ICRISAT have joined hands to implement Information and Communication Technology-based knowledge sharing platforms and other agricultural innovation initiatives to improve productivity and profitability of small farmers in the state.
The partnership will explore areas of collaboration in the area of Digital Agriculture along the agriculture value chain and explore the possibilities of Icrisat playing an active role in the T-Hub. The partnership will help launch innovative digital platforms that aim to revitalise information dissemination in rural areas, expert systems for providing real time advisories and better access to market information with small land holdings. The MoU was signed by secretary and Agriculture Production commissioner C. Parthasarathi, secretary of IT, Electronics and Communications Jayesh Ranjan and Icrisat director general Dr David Bergvinson in the presence of agriculture minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and panchayat raj and IT minister K.T. Rama Rao.
Mr Pocharam Srinivas Reddy said it was very appropriate to launch the Digital Agriculture activities at a time when use of digital gadgets was on the rise in rural areas. “The outcome of the collaboration will enable the government to create new economic opportunities for rural populations through digital agriculture and enable consumers to create direct linkages with farmers, thus leading to cost saving and quality,” he added.
Mr Rama Rao said access to timely information would be a great leveler and help millions of farmers in TS to improve their yields, incomes and resilience since they could now make informed choices.
“The Digital Agriculture initiative will allow information to be precisely targeted to individual farmers. This will help farmers to access agricultural related information and keep themselves up-to-date with market related information, which gives them an opportunity to sell their produce at fair prices, thus putting them on the path to prosperity,” said Dr David Bergvinson, Icrisat director general.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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