On the 93rd Foundation Day ceremony of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) on July 16, 2021, Union Agriculture Minister Narendera Singh Tomar launched Kisan Saarathi, an exclusive app for farmers available in Hindi and other regional languages. This app will enable farmers to interact and get personalized advisories on agriculture and related fields directly from scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). The app will also allow officials to keep a tab on daily activities such as live calls, farmer registration, messages, and others.
Know more about the virtual 93rd ICAR Foundation Day & Awards Ceremony.
Kisan Saarathi app benefits
While launching the app, Tomar said that the app will enable farmers to get access to the right information at the right time and in their desired language. Tomar in his speed highlighted the wonderful ability of India’s agricultural sector to meet the food crop targets even during the challenging times of Covid-19 pandemic. He also added that the farm laws hold a promise of bringing revolutionary transformation in the field of agriculture and, at the same time, increasing livelihood options for farmers.
Tomar urged to take a collective approach for technology development to solve problems related to the farming community. He emphasized on the promotion of integrated farming and organic farming.
IT support to farmers
During the launch ceremony, Minister of Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw encouraged scientists to do more research on newer technologies related to crop transportation from farm gate to warehouses, markets, and other places with the least damage to produce. The minister assured that the IT ministry is forever ready to render all necessary support to the ministry of agriculture, fisheries, animal husbandry, and dairy for farmer empowerment.
Similar platform for animal husbandry and diary sector
Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Minister Parshottam Rupala urged ICAR to create a similar app for animal husbandry and fisheries industry based on the model of Kisan Saarathi.
While appreciating the efforts of ICAR in bringing research and technology to farm gate, Rupala asked scientists to create a mechanism to help fish farmers detect the fishing condition in specific ocean blocks. This would be similar to the soil health card that helps farmers detect condition of their soil.
