Project aims to reduce input costs for farmers
Global technology giant Microsoft has started a pilot project in 100 selected villages in 10 districts of 6 states (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh) to develop farmer interface for smart and well-organized agriculture, including post-harvest management and distribution.
Microsoft has joined in with its local partner, CropData, for the one-year project to carry out various tasks for the betterment of farmers and enhance their income. This project will reduce the input costs for farmers and make farming easy.
CropData provides an ecosystem with a cluster of services for the agriculture supply chain, aggregating aggregators, with primary focus on the first-mile interface.
It is proposed to undertake similar pilot projects with other public and private players to create a vibrant digital agro-ecosystem in the country, said the Agriculture Ministry in a release on 14 April 2021.
The government has launched a number of new initiatives including the creation of Agri-Funds based on the National Farmers Database. The government is preparing a farmer database by linking the land records of farmers across the country.
The data related to PM Kisan, Soil Health Card and Pradhan Mantri Crop Insurance Scheme, available with the government, have been integrated and the process of inclusion of other data is going on. The Ministry has also issued directives for Geo tagging of all the assets that will be created by the virtue of all schemes of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Ministry of Agriculture and Microsoft India have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the pilot project which aims to help farmers benefit from modern technology.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar pointed out that the agricultural economy is the backbone of our country as the sector contributed positively to the country’s economy even in adverse conditions like Corona epidemic. #technology #agriculture #economy #investment #projects /fiinews.com
