Bhubaneswar: Digital crop survey, which began in four districts, on a pilot basis, will be extended to all the districts in the state. This was revealed during a review meeting chaired by Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment (DA&FE) Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, who is also Deputy Chief Minister, at Krushi Bhavan here Tuesday. The minister reviewed PM Kisan, digital crop survey and priorities of the new government regarding the agriculture sector.
Department’s Principal Secretary Arabinda Padhee and directors of DA&FE, along with senior officials, were present at the meeting. On the occasion, the minister unveiled a booklet on ‘Knowledge Sharing for Effective Administration’ (K-SEA). A discussion was held on digital crop surveys with the director emphasising enabling personalised service delivery to farmers. Achievements in digital crop survey in its pilot phase during Kharif-2023 were also discussed. Based on the learnings derived from the pilot project, it will further be conducted in all 30 districts of the state in Kharif 2024, it was said. The development of a mobile application and web portal for digital crop surveys was also discussed. Digital crop survey was launched by the Centre in 12 states, including Odisha, on a pilot basis in 2023. The Odisha government had conducted digital crop surveys in Nuapada, Nayagarh, Deogarh and Bhadrak. The review meeting further progressed with the Deputy CM taking cognisance of the priorities of the new government for the agriculture sector. The Principal Secretary also briefed him about the success stories realised due to the efforts of the department including the Odisha Millets Mission. Sharing his experience of farming in his hometown during Covid-19 pandemic, the minister expressed his pleasure at becoming a part of the Agriculture department.
On learning about Ama Krushi providing knowledge dissemination and advisory to farmers via the helpline number 155333, the minister called the helpline number and spoke with the Ama Krushi representative to understand the services and the solutions offered to farmers. Speaking on agriculture being an important part of the economy, Singh Deo said, “We need to strive to promote and involve each and every household in agriculture. People are moving away from it and we need to enable them to learn and earn their livelihood.”
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP