Use of technology for informed decision-making in agriculture emphasised

New Delhi [India], September 10 : Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare on Saturday chaired a meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee on transforming 'Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC) into a Centre of excellence in geospatial technology utilization in the agriculture sector.
Experts from ISRO centres, International Rice Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Studies and senior officials from the Agriculture Ministry participated in the meeting.
Ahuja highlighted the need to scale up the utilization of satellites, drones, smartphones, and artificial intelligence techniques to develop scientific information products and services for informed decision-making by multiple stakeholders in the agriculture sector, an official release said.
It said the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always been emphasizing on the use of technology for the benefit of the Agriculture sector and farmers.
The release said the Central Government has taken several initiatives towards promoting Digital Agriculture. Agriculture Ministry set up a specialized organization 'Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC)' in 2012 as an attached Office of DA&FW, focusing on enhancing satellite remote sensing and GIS technologies in crop estimation.
Considering the recent advancements in geospatial technology, the Agriculture Ministry has recognized the need to scale up the technology solutions in agriculture decision support.
It was the first meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee for strengthening and transforming MNCFC into a Centre of excellence in the field of geospatial technology applications.
Dr Shailesh Naik, Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru and former Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, praised the initiatives of upgrading the MNCFC as a major technology hub and advised to take part in global initiatives on crop surveillance.