Coming soon: Integrated e-platform for agricultural sector in Rajasthan

The Rajasthan government is putting stress on increasing the use of information technology (IT) in the agricultural sector to help farmers.

Recently, Chief Minister (CM) Bhajanlal Sharma said his government would prepare an online integrated platform that would put the activities of agriculture, marketing, animal husbandry, dairy, and horticulture in one place.

“If this comes out the way the CM is saying, I feel farmers will benefit a lot as everything related to agriculture would be under one place,” said Ajay Meena, a farmer from Shivdaspura area.

An agriculture department official said the process from application to verification of documents, physical verification, administrative and financial approval, and payment would be done online to expedite work and ensure transparency.

He said the data bank of farmers registered on the Raj Kisan portal would be integrated with the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima platforms, among others.

Besides, it will create a data bank of farmers detailing land ownership, soil health, crop rotation, and grants taken under various schemes. Crop management and advisory systems based on agro-climatic factors will also be developed.

According to the plans, the state plans to develop a Geographic Information System- (GIS-) based crop identification and crop estimation system to evaluate crop area, production, and damage. Artificial intelligence-based chatbot systems will be developed to address farmers' questions.

The official said farmers were now able to easily get information and apply for the schemes run thanks to the Raj Kisan Suvidha portal. He said the application process had been made paperless that is helping farmers save time and money.