Farmers to Get Android Smart Phones in Odisha

In order to make farmers to access market information to have updated information on prices of agricultural commodities available in different markets. The accessibility to the smart phones was made available to them by the Government.  A step towards the Smart Agriculture.

Odisha Government has decided to provide Android Smart phones to farmers, informed Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare and Co-operation Minister Surjya Narayan Patro.

As many as 2,000 farmers of each district will get the smart phones for which Rs 3 crore will be spent, the minister told media.

A high level committee comprising of technical officials has been formed to work on the project, he added.

Earlier, the State Government had provided free mobile phones to farmers under the scheme ‘Providing free mobile phone to farmers to access market information’ to enable them to have updated information on prices of agricultural commodity prevailing in the different market.

However, the latest move to distribute Android phones among farmers could be seen as another master stroke by the Naveen-led BJD Government to woo the farmers ahead of the 2019 general elections.

 Odisha government has decided to provide Android smartphones to farmers, informed Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare and Co-operation Minister Surjya Narayan Patro.

Patro said while 18,000 mobile phones were distributed among farmers in 2013-14, in all 41,282 mobile phones were provided to women farmers holding Kisan Credit Cards in 2016-17. About 15,000 farmers of the total farmers who received cell phones, now receive messages in Odia language on the market price of different agricultural produce, he said.

The mobile phones have been distributed under the scheme 'Providing free mobile phone to farmers to access market information', to enable them to get up-to-date information on prices of agricultural commodities prevailing in different markets.

The market price of agriculture produce is given under the Digitalmandi for Indian Kisan scheme, and farmers can take advantage of these messages to know about the market price for their produce, the minister said. According to the Agricultural Census 2010-11, Odisha has 46.67 lakh farmers.