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This story is from August 30, 2017

India to set up cloud-based digital platform to provide agriculture solutions to farmers at their doorsteps

India to set up cloud-based digital platform to provide agriculture solutions to farmers at their doorsteps
NEW DELHI: Seeking to provide precise solution of complex farm-related problem to farmers at their doorsteps, the government has planned to set up a cloud-service - called ‘FarmerZone’ - where right kind of agri data will be collated, analysed and then distributed to take care of day-to-day needs of farmers.
Data related to weather prediction, disease and pest surveillance & control, soil nutrition, irrigation needs, seed selection, credit linkages and market access will be used for the developing the cloud-based platform.

The concept is conceived by the department of biotechnology (DBT) of the science ministry, taking lessons from similar digital platform available to farmers in the United States, Israel and European countries.
“The department has collaborated with different national and international stakeholders and industry partners, including Infosys and Microsoft India, to set up the ‘FarmerZone’ using cutting-edge technology”, said an official.
The Research Councils United Kingdom (RCUK) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are also involved with the DBT to build a multi-purpose cloud-based platform for providing solutions to farmers anywhere in the country.
“Solutions will be provided at the farm, similar to that done by e-commerce companies at the doorstep. The farmer can access the service directly or through an intermediate structure such as local co-operatives”, said the science ministry in its concept note of the project.

It said, “The ‘FarmerZone’ will include a ‘MarketZone’ where farmers can directly sell their produce which can be picked up directly from the farm”.
The concept and a roadmap for setting up the cloud-service were discussed in a conference - Smart Agriculture Conclave - here on Wednesday where experts from different countries exchanged their views on how to set up the ‘FarmerZone’.
Data availability for algorithm, cloud computing and drone/phone mapping for creating a viable and usable ‘FarmerZone’ were also discussed during the Conclave whose outcome will provide a definite roadmap for the cloud-based service and resulting digital farming solutions.
“Knowledge gaps at different stages of agriculture need identification. Information technology and big data can help in this direction”, said RameshChand, member of the government’s policy think tank, NITI Aayog, at the Conclave.
The experts noted that the ‘FarmerZone’ is a vision for the future of agriculture whose prerequisite for success is a shared resource framework.
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About the Author
Vishwa Mohan

Vishwa Mohan is Senior Editor at The Times of India. He writes on environment, climate change, agriculture, water resources and clean energy, tracking policy issues and climate diplomacy. He has been covering Parliament since 2003 to see how politics shaped up domestic policy and India’s position at global platform. Before switching over to explore sustainable development issues, Vishwa had covered internal security and investigative agencies for more than a decade.

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