Lok Sabha Question No. 3637 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-17
Subject: Technological Solutions to address Agricultural Challenges
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Praveen Khandelwal

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3637

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 17 TH  DECEMBER, 2024

## TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS AGRICULTURAL CHALLENGES

3637. SHRI PRAVEEN KHANDELWAL:

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

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  implemented  or  plans  to  implement  technological solutions aimed at addressing the challenges faced by the agricultural community in the country;
- (b) if so, the details of such initiatives, State-wise; and
- (c) the details of the steps being taken to enhance farmers' digital literacy and capacitybuilding to effectively utilize these technological advancements?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (c):    A component called 'Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development' has been launched under Rashtriya Krishi VikasYojana (RKVY-RAFTAAR) in 2018-19 with  the  objective  of  promoting  innovation  and  agri-entrepreneurship  by  providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem. Under this programme, startups  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 Agri-based 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  AgriBusiness  Incubation  Centers  have  been  established  and  are  operational  in  the ICAR network under the NAIF scheme.

Further, 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.

A Central Sector Scheme for blended Capital Support to finance startups for agriculture and rural enterprise relevant for Farm Produce Value Chain has been approved. Accordingly, administrative approval for Agri SURE has been conveyed to NABARD to operationalize the fund.

Looking into the unique advantages of Drone technologies in agriculture, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has released the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for use of drones in pesticide and nutrient application in public domain in December 2021, which provide concise instructions for effective and safe operations of drones. In order to make this technology affordable to the farmers and other  stakeholders  of  this  sector,  financial  assistance  @  100%  for  purchase  of agricultural  drones  and  its  attachments  (actual  cost  of  expenditure  and  its attachments or Rs. 10.00 lakhs, whichever is lower) together with the contingent expenditure is extended under Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) to the Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and @ 75% to FPO's for its demonstration on the farmer's fields. In order to provide agricultural services through drone application, financial assistance @ 40% of the basic  cost  of  drone  and  its  attachments  or  Rs.  4  lakhs,  whichever  is  less  also provided for drone purchase by existing and new Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs) and also a general category farmers and @ 50% of the basic cost of drone and its attachments or Rs. 5 lakhs for SC/ST/women/small and marginal farmers and the agriculture graduates.

The Government has approved 'Namo Drone Didi' as Central Sector Scheme for providing drones to the Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) with an outlay of Rs. 1261 Crores for the period from 2023-24 to 2025-26. The scheme aims to provide drones to 15000 selected Women SHGs for providing rental services to farmers for agriculture purpose (application of fertilizers and pesticides).

Further,  Government  has  employed  Artificial  Intelligence  (AI)  methods  to address various challenges in the agricultural sector to aid farmers. Some of the initiatives are given below:

- I. 'Kisan e-Mitra' an AI-powered chatbot to assist farmers with queries about the PM Kisan  Samman Nidhi scheme. This solution supports  multiple  languages and is evolving to assist with other government programs.
- II. National Pest Surveillance System for tackling the loss of produce due to climate change.  This  system  utilizes  AI  and  Machine  Learning  to  detect  crop  issues, enabling timely intervention for healthier crops.