Lok Sabha Question No. 1942 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-11
Subject: Dissemination of Schemes Benefits to Farmers
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Smt. Kriti Devi Debbarman

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

## LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO.1942

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH  March, 2025

## DISSEMINATION OF SCHEMES BENEFITS TO FARMERS

## 1942  SMT. KRITI DEVI DEBBARMAN:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष और ͩकसान कãयाण मंğी be pleased to state:

- (a) The details  of  measures  taken/being taken to  ensure farmers  in  remote  areas  are informed  about  the  Government  scheme's  benefits,  given  the  voluntary  nature  of  the programme;
- (b) The manner in which the increase in Automatic Weather Stations and Rain Gauges specifically  benefit  States  like  Rajasthan  (arid  zones)  and  Kerala  (monsoon-dependent crops);
- (c) Whether  there  are  any  plans  to  extend  the  Yield  Estimation  System  based  on Technology (YES-TECH) and Weather information and Network Data System (WINDS) to include AI-driven analytics or machine learning to predict crop risks more effectively in the long term; and
- (d) If so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण राÏय मंğी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

(a):  The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) is implementing a Central Sector Scheme 'Mass Media Support to Agriculture Extension' through DD Regional Kendra, DD Kisan and All India Radio to create awareness and dissemination of scheme benefits among  the  farming  community  across  the  Country  including  remote  areas.  Under  the scheme, 18 DD Regional Kendras, 97 FM stations of AIR and DD Kisan are being utilized for wider publicity of department schemes, on-going initiatives, policy decisions, advisories etc. In addition, "Audio-Visual spots are being used to broadcast and telecast information about the DA&FW schemes through Doordarshan (DD), All India Radio (AIR), and private TV and radio channels as a part of 'Focused Publicity and Awareness Campaign'. Besides, publicity & awareness is also carried out through Outdoor Publicity as well as through print advertisements in leading newspapers across the country. The social media platforms viz Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, LinkedIn, Whatsapp, Public App etc  are  also  being  used  for  better  outreach  and  wider  publicity  about  details  of  Farmers

Welfare Schemes of the Department.

(b)  to  (d):   Under  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Fasal  Bima  Yojana  (PMFBY),  a  robust  weather monitoring system consisting of granular, standard quality and timely available datasets are necessary  for  strengthening  of  farmer  advisory,  crop  planning,  crop  insurance,  disaster management, crop yield modelling, infrastructure planning etc.  whether it is arid zones or monsoon dependent zones.  Accordingly, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has initiated Weather Information Network and Data System (WINDS) for generation of longterm hyper-local weather data and promote the same for wider application in Agriculture and other sectors.

Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has carried out pilot studies for timely and  transparent  yield  estimation  under  PMFBY  using  technology  by  engaging  various Government  and  private  agencies  through  Mahalanobis  National  Crop  Forecast  Centre (MNCFC).  Five  models  namely,  Semi-physical  Model,  Artificial  Intelligence  (AI)/Machin Learning (ML), Model, Crop Situation Model, Ensemble Models (AI/Crop Simulation/SemiPhysical  etc.)  and  Parametric  index  of  crop  performance  (indirect  approach)  Model  were recommended by these studies. Based on the findings of these pilots and after discussions with stakeholders & technical consultations, YES-TECH (Yield Estimation System Based on Technology) has  been  introduced  for  paddy  and  wheat  crops  from  Kharif  2023  and  for Soyabean  crop  from  Kharif  2024.  Government  has  implemented  technology  based  yield estimation using various models alongside conventional Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) based yield estimation for improving crop loss assessment and achieving timely insurance claims payout for farmers.    Under this initiative,  minimum 30% weightage is mandatorily required to be assigned to YES-TECH derived yield thereby resulting in transparency and efficiency.

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