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MeitY Secretary S Krishnan, who himself is a registered farmer, on Tuesday called for using artificial intelligence to bridge the information gap in agriculture, saying the old extension network has broken down and the focus has shifted to channelling inputs rather than providing the advisory support farmers actually need. Krishnan, who revealed that he has an agricultural loan in his personal account and that his mother supervises the cultivation on his farm, said timely and reliable advice remains the single most important thing farmers seek -- and the one thing the system has consistently failed to deliver. "As farmers, they always look for advice, which is timely. And many people say that the old extension network has broken down. ...Across many agriculture departments and state governments, the far greater focus is how inputs get channelised. There is less attention to the kind of advice that farmers really want," the secretary in Ministry of Electronics and Information ...