Lok Sabha Question No. 1351 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-03
Subject: Leveraging the benefits from Agri-tech Sector
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Dr. Amar Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1351

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 3RD DECEMBER, 2024

## LEVERAGING THE BENEFITS FROM AGRI-TECH SECTOR

1351. Dr. Amar Singh :

Will  the  Minister  of  AGRICULTURE  AND  FARMERS  WELFARE क ृ िष और िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether the Government is taking strategic steps and initiatives to ensure that theexponential growth in the Agri-tech sector is appropriately leveraged for the benefit  of  farmersacross  the  country,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  if  not,  the reasons therefor;
- (b)  whether  the  agricultural  sector  is  witnessing  the  emergence  of  unique  themes such as hyperspectral data analysis, photo-analytics, and the retrieval of precise weather parameters through geostationary satellites; and
- (c)  if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष और िकसान कʞाण राǛ मंũी (SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY)

- (a) Yes, the government acknowledges the significant potential of the Agri-Tech industry in driving the transformation of food systems and enhancing the efficiency and profitability  of  small  farms.  Further,  various initiatives  and  policies have  been introduced  to  promote technological  advancements in  agriculture,  recognizing  the role  of  Agri-Tech  in  addressing  challenges  and  fostering  sustainable  agricultural practices.  The  Government  has  approved  the  Digital  Agriculture  Mission,  which envisage  the  creations  of  Digital  Public  Infrastructure  for  Agriculture  such  as Agristack,  Krishi  Decision  Support  System,  Comprehensive  Soil  Fertility  &  Profile Map and other IT initiatives.  Agristack  project  is  one  of  the  major  components of this  Mission,  which  consists  of  three  foundational  registries  or  databases  in  the agriculture sector, i.e., the Farmers' Registry, Geo-referenced village maps and the Crop Sown Registry. This system aims to enhance interoperability and convergence of efforts, fostering the development of applications in the agricultural sector using emerging digital technologies.

Further, a component called 'Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development'  has  been  launched  under  Rashtriya  Krishi  Vikas  Yojana  (RKVYRAFTAAR)  in  2018-19  with  the objective of promoting  innovation and agrientrepreneurship by providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem.  Under  this  programme,  start-ups  are  encouraged  to  use  innovative technologies to resolve challenges faced in agriculture and allied sectors. A total of 1176 start-ups have been selected in various areas of agriculture and allied sectors under  this  programme  for  providing  financial  support  through  Knowledge  Partners and Agri Business Incubators appointed by the Department for implementation of this programme.

The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) has been supporting Agribased startups under the project called National Agriculture Innovation Fund (NAIF) initiated  in  year  2016-2017.  It  has  two  components  viz.  (I)  Innovation  Fund;  (II) Incubation Fund and National Coordinating Unit (NCU):

I. Component  I:  10  Zonal  Technology  Management  Units  and  89  Institute Technology Management Units (ITMUs) established in 99 ICAR institutes provide a single-window mechanism to manage innovations, showcase intellectual assets, and pursue matters related to intellectual property (IP) management and transfer/commercialization of technologies in these institutes.

II. Component II: Agri-business Incubator Centres (ABICs) are set up to speed up the delivery of the new technologies to stake holders. The ABICs are the nodal point  to  provide  the  desired  link  for  Agriculture  Research  &Development  (R&D) Institutions for incubation/ commercialization of the validated technologies. So far, 50 Agri-Business Incubation Centers have been established and are operational in the ICAR network under the NAIF scheme.

(a) & (c): Yes, agriculture sector is witnessing emergence of various technologies viz hyperspectral remote sensing, photoanalytics, retrieval of precise weather parameters  through  geostationary  satellites,  AI/ML  based  analytics  etc.  In  this direction Department has taken various initiatives such as use of Hyperspectral data in agricultural applications i.e crop identification, crop health monitoring, soil organic carbon  estimation  etc.  on  pilot  basis  in  collaboration  with  Start-up  industry  and Weather information and Network Data System (WINDS) to strengthen weather data infrastructure  in  the  country  and  to  provide  good  quality  weather  datasets  from  a single digital platform.

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