National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign, 2015 Topic : Use of ICT in decision support for enhancing Kharif production Presentation by : Department of Agriculture Government of Assam Date :

Scenario of Assam Agriculture  Low yield.  Extension personal per farm family (1:800)  Missing link between lab to land.  Poor economic condition of farmers.  Post harvest losses.  Inconsistent quality  Lack of knowledge about domestic & international markets.

Informational needs of farmers  Pre sowing : Information on inputs like soil testing, weather, seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation, credit.  Pre harvest : Good agricultural practices, pest management, harvesting techniques.  Post harvest : Storage, grading, market information.  Market information : Market channels, market demands, commodity prices.

 Appropriate use of ICT as decision making tools increases productivity, efficiency, effectiveness.  Allowing the users to make optimal choices for technological problems and their parameters for planning and processing.  Interactive ICT tools help decision makers, scientists and farmers.  Appropriate decision support depends on accurate assessment of crop, analysis of facts to provide appropriate strategies based on fact for efficient output and outcome.  However, decision support in agriculture involves a range of opportunities and challenges. ICT’s use as decision support

Challenges  Lack of reliable connectivity in rural areas.  Lack of purchasing power of rural community.  Poor literacy level.  Need to have maximum usage of graphics & voice-overs in content.  Need to have simple technology, which is relevant and easy to understand.  Limited door delivery of information in rural areas.

 Farming in Assam involves risks and uncertainties during Kharif Season from flood, erosion, soil condition, pests etc.  ICT, as decision support, can make a significant contribution towards efficiency, productivity and sustainability of farmers, especially small & marginal farmers.  Key improvements in crop production stem from information about – a. Early weather warning systems. b. New varieties c. New ways to optimize production d. Online guidance to farmers on their soil health condition, fertilizer usage and alternative cropping pattern e. Pest and disease control. f. Regulations for quality control. A. Enhancing production of Kharif crops Role of ICT as decision support

B. Capacity building & empowerment of farmers  ICT enables rural communities to interact with other stake holders, thus reducing social isolation.  Use of GPS, GIS and internet help rural communities to document and communicate their situation.  ICT can helps farmers in spreading knowledge of technologies, crop cycle, suitable use of inputs etc.  Poor literacy barred the farmers from using information documented by different agencies. ICT services can be utilised in documentation of local agricultural practices in local / farmers friendly languages with graphics & voice-overs in content  Use of mobile banking systems will reduce costs and stimulate local trade.

Future trends of importance  Converging of media and tools for communication.  Increased web based storage of agricultural information.  Cheaper and improved connectivity for rural communities.  Increased tailor made quality agricultural information services.  Increased recognition by govt. of the importance of use of ICT in rural development.

Initiatives by State Government NeGP-A is one of the most important approach undertaken to implement IT/ICT application in Agriculture (Rabi / Kharif) throughout the state of Assam. Key objectives of NeGP-A are earmarked as-  Improved access of farmers to timely and relevant information & services throughout crop-cycle  Bringing farmer centricity & service orientation to the programs by providing location specific and up-to-date crop management related information in terms of- Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), Package of Practices (POP) etc.  Increasing effectiveness of government service delivery in certification & license related to marketing & manufacturing through use of ICT, providing easier channels for grievance redressal  Effective Monitoring of the Schemes (timeliness of implementation etc.)  Reducing time required for data consolidation and reporting of schemes at all levels  Enable private sector participation to benefit farmers by providing an integrated platform to promote value added services in Extension services, Marketing etc.

 Data entry operators are supposed to deploy upto block level as per advisory of GoI, a proposal was submitted to APC vide letter no. Agri/NeGP – A/DAO/290/ /7 dated 10th November 2014  In response to the discussion later, RFP had been prepared by SPMU for hiring an agency to deploy manpower as DEOs and submitted to Directorate of Agriculture. Presently it is under vetting by Hon. APC/ Chairman of State Empowered Committee.  District offices have been instructed to start registration process of the farmers community in the mkisan Portal.  Concerned offices in the state have been instructed to provide link of in their respective websites/portalswww.mkisan.gov.in  Farmer’s information is being collected through VLEW / ADO in the district level Selection of data entry operators as per jurisdiction Farmers registration in the “mkisan portal” Parallel Activities and Current Status Legend Initiated or completed

 The State Empowered Committee for NeGP –A was formed under the chairpersonship of APC ( with 21 other members)  The 1st SEC meeting was held on 05 th September 2011  For the all 13 clusters(Including information on financial services), nodal officers were identified and the same was notified to circulate the final list vide letter no. Agri/NeGP – A/PMU/229/ /24 dated 12th September  The training program commenced since the first week of September 2014 and was successfully completed at seven (Barpeta, Hailakandi Dhemaji, Diphu, Golaghat, Morigaon & Kokrajhar) training centers.  An exclusive training programm were conducted in Directorate of Agriculture, Assam for Kamrup district with two days schedule Parallel Activities and Current Status Formation of Empowered Committee for the implantation of NeGP-A, Assam Identification & Notification of Nodal Officers for 13 clusters Basic IT training at 7 training centers across Assam & exclusive programme for Kamrup district Legend Initiated or completed

Parallel Activities and Current Status Legend Initiated or completed  For the smooth implementation of NeGP in Assam, a committee was formed which is updated based upon current position of officials from the concerned departments.  The recent notification was circulated vide No. Agri/NeGP – A/SEC/189/ /261 dated 17-Dec-14. Formation of State Project Implementation Committee  An IT helpdesk has been set up at Directorate of Agriculture, Assam. Most of the hardware delivered to the site offices under NeGP-A (Desktop, printer, kiosk, UPS etc.) are lying unutilized at present. District offices may report issues pertaining to IT hardware to the helpdesk directly. IT helpdesk setup

Parallel Activities and Current Status Legend Initiated or completed Information on dealers network available throughout the state in Seed, Pesticide, Fertilizer etc. are to be uploaded in the farmers portal District offices have been provided with a lumsum amount to carry out the data entry in the farmer’s portal against these heads. The work is under progress. Data entry in “Farmers portal” on dealers, distributors for seeds, pesticides, fertilizers etc.  NIC-Assam initiated for building up capacity on e-governance, ICT etc. in the district level during 2012  Recently a training programme on basic IT has been conducted in 7 training centres across Assam( Agri, horti,fishery)  Some more training programmes may be initiated from State’s level including staffs from Agriculture and all allied departments. Training on awareness, e- governance by Assam SRS Review  SPMU has done with the identification of services/ processes and subsequently assessment on GAP with the best practices is presently being carried out.  Based on this study any state level customization requirement of the cluster application shall be brought up to the notice of NIC/Ministry of Agriculture, GOI.

Parallel Activities and Current Status Migration of state portals/websites to data center Delhi  State level websites/portals presently being maintained by AMTRON/NIC/ Other vendors etc. need to be migrated to data center, New Delhi, till SDC Assam becomes operationalised.  Department shall prioritize the selection of alternative locations for hardware deployment and subsequent site preparation  District Agriculture Office may play a vital role in this activity Identification of alternative locations for site preparation where hardware couldn’t be delivered  Although all the site offices shall have SWAN as primary mode of connectivity, but taking into account the criticality of service delivery an alternate mode of connectivity has been proposed. Alternate Connectivity Other precursors drawing attention Legends

Helps required from GoI  Support in correspondence with Ministry of Agriculture regarding software state level customization need, usability and funding issues  No updates on the application development status by NIC. States level activities should be in sync with the activities at central level.  No updates on the application development status by NIC. States level activities should be in sync with the activities at central level.  Clarification on 25% fund for local customization- whether the percentage will be calculated on total fund allotted by the ministry of Agriculture or it is the proportion of some other fund meant for software development at central level.  Assam is one of the pilot state for implementation of NeGP – A, it needs to be clarified whether the fund sanctioned for the state is fixed or it may vary based upon genuine and justified requirements.

Helps required from GoA  Hardware has been deployed long back,which are lying idle in most of the places and warranty is running out. In addition some of the hardware even has gone faulty. Need to identify those and follow up the matter with central ministry for rectification  Presence of SWAN PoP in the districts are to be real data, because this will form the basis of connectivity plan  Allied Directorates may provide due assistance in collecting/disseminating district level information on time  Support from Govt. of Assam in releasing state share of funds on time  Support from the department in collecting information on Farmers across the state( agriculture and allied departments/wherever other organization’s involvement is required, e.g. BSNL etc.)  Timely assistance from the higher authority of Govt. of Assam as per the requirement of execution of the project activities  To instill a mechanism for periodic review on the progress of NeGPA in the state  To involve district committee (chaired by District Commissioner) in the implementation of NeGPA