Agri Min inks pact with Microsoft for a pilot project to boost farmers' income
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that modern technology will help in making the agriculture sector profitable and also attracting youth towards farming.
The Union Agriculture Ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with Microsoft to run a pilot programme for 100 villages in six states to help farmers in reducing input cost and boost income.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar was present at the signing ceremony, an official statement said.
The minister said modern technology will help in making the agriculture sector profitable and also attracting youth towards farming.
Tomar highlighted that the Centre is transferring Rs 6,000 per year to farmers under the PM-KISAN in a transparent manner.
He also said the agriculture sector has performed well and made a positive contribution even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Microsoft has entered into this memorandum of understanding (MoU) along with its associate Crop Data Technologies.
Under the pilot project, which will run for a year, many activities will be carried out to boost farmers' income through the reduction in input cost and better post-harvest management, the statement said.
Earlier this month, he also launched a portal for online registration to achieve traceability system in sourcing of honey and other beehive products, as part of the government''s effort to ensure quality and check adulteration.
The minister launched the online platform ''Madhukrantiportal'', which is an initiative of the National Bee Board (NBB) under the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM), a statement said.
"This portal is being developed for online registration to achieve traceability source of honey and other beehive products on a digital platform," the statement said.
The technical and banking partner for development of this digital platform is Indian Bank. An MoU between NBB and Indian Bank was signed for this project.
Addressing the launching ceremony, Tomar said honey mission will lead to increase in income of farmers, employment generation and boost exports.
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)
Edited by Megha Reddy
