New Delhi, July 8 (IANS). Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technology and science-based agri-startups can give a new direction to India’s agricultural economy. He said that this will increase the productivity of farming, improve the income of farmers and create employment opportunities on a large scale in rural areas. He said that promoting technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector will be very important to achieve the goal of ‘Developed India 2047’.
The Minister said that promoting technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector will be very important to achieve the goal of ‘Developed India 2047’.
Addressing an event, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that India’s startup ecosystem has developed rapidly in the last decade. While in the year 2015 there were around 350 registered startups in the country, today their number has increased to more than 2.3 lakh. With this, India has become the third largest startup ecosystem in the world.
However, he said that now the next phase of the startup revolution should be related to the agriculture sector. Through innovation in agriculture, farmers’ income can be directly increased and new employment opportunities can also be created for rural youth.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that there is a need to change the perception that startups are limited only to the Information Technology (IT) sector or big cities. According to him, agriculture is one of the biggest opportunities for entrepreneurship in the country today.
He said that sometimes practical knowledge, innovative thinking and willingness to learn are more important than formal academic qualifications. He said that with the support of the government, scientific institutions and digital learning platforms, modern technologies are now rapidly reaching rural areas also.
Emphasizing on the growing role of AI in agriculture, the Minister said that Artificial Intelligence is now becoming an important tool for forecast-based management of crops, precision irrigation, weather-based advisories and better utilization of agricultural resources. Citing estimates, he said that AI-based better management alone can save each farmer up to Rs 5,000 every year, which can add additional value of about Rs 70,000 crore to the country’s agricultural economy.
The Minister further said that scientific advancements like satellite technology, weather forecasting systems, drone-based surveys, mapping of resources and real-time advice are helping farmers take better decisions related to sowing, irrigation and crop management. Better weather forecasting allows farmers to select the right crop according to the changing monsoon, thereby reducing losses caused by climate change.
Terming climate change as one of the biggest challenges facing global agriculture, Dr Singh said that the Ministry of Science and Technology is supporting extensive research in areas such as climate-resilient crops, genomics, crop improvement, pest-resistant varieties, precision farming and better utilization of resources. He says that these efforts will make Indian agriculture more sustainable, stronger and productive.
–IANS
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