A Kisan Call Centre, which was opened by state agricultural minister Badal Patralekh on Wednesday, would handle the concerns of over 30 lakh farmers in Jharkhand.
Introducing the facility virtually at Ranchi, Patralekh said the initiative will assist farmers in the most rural parts of the state who had difficulty getting to the blocks to submit their concerns.
"Through the Kisan Call Centre, farmers in Jharkhand will be able to obtain answers to their inquiries and solutions to problems relating to agriculture and schemes in the quickest possible time, with only one free phone call or SMS." The work of the Kisan Call Centre's hotline, survey, and grievance management system will be done in compliance with the department's requirements," Patralekh noted.
Nisha Oraon, the state agriculture director, described it as a one-of-its-kind initiative in the country, in which farmers could not only have their complaints addressed over the phone or via WhatsApp, but also receive all technical information about farming and government schemes such as seed distribution.
The call centre will initially be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. "We may expand the time on a shift basis depending on the reaction." "However, if a complaint is filed after 5 p.m., the number will be recorded and the farmer will be contacted," Oraon explained.
Farmers can report their complaints from home by dialling 1800-123-1136, 0651-7122712, WhatsApp/SMS 8797891222, visiting the website kccjharkhand.in, or sending an email to info@kccjharkhand.in. They may also provide recommendations that will assist other farmers.
Patralekh also introduced a block chain technology to track the seeds that are being distributed at reduced rates to farmers. Real-time seed tracking will be enabled with this new technique, and black-marketing will be avoided.
About Kisan Call Centres
On January 21, 2004, the Ministry of Agriculture announced the "Kisan Call Centres (KCCs)" initiative to harness the potential of ICT in agriculture. The project's main goal is to answer farmers' questions over the phone in their native dialect. These contact centres are located in 14 different sites across all the States and UTs.
