UP's Agri Sector Set to Reap Benefit from Digital Public Infrastructure

According to officials from the state agriculture department, the implementation of digital infrastructure will aid in the advancement of farmer-centric schemes in a more transparent and efficient manner.

"There is certainly much scope to digitalize agri-infrastructure and boost productivity and farmer income," as per RK Singh, joint director of the Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Bureau.

According to the economic survey 2022-23, India's digital public infrastructure can add between 0.6 and 1 percentage point to the country's potential GDP growth rate, and there is a lot of reason to be optimistic about it.

The digital infrastructure is seen as enabling inclusive farmer-centric solutions by providing relevant information services for planning and health, improved access to farm inputs, credit and insurance assistance for crop estimation, market intelligence, and support for the growth of the agri-tech industry and startups.

Budget 2023-24 includes funding for an Agriculture Accelerator Fund. The Fund's goal will be to provide farmers with innovative and affordable solutions to their problems. It will also introduce cutting-edge technologies to transform agricultural practises and boost productivity and profitability.

In addition, an investment of Rs 2516 crore will be made in the computerization of 63,000 primary agricultural credit societies.

The budget's emphasis on artificial intelligence is also relevant to the agricultural sector. According to the budget, three artificial intelligence centres of excellence will be established, where big tech companies will collaborate with the government to embed artificial intelligence in agriculture and the health sector.

Over the next three years, the government will assist one crore farmers in adopting natural farming. 10,000 Bio- Input Resource Centres will be established for this purpose, resulting in a national-level distributed micro- fertiliser and pesticide manufacturing network.