India's agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched an upgraded Agri Welfare Portal meant to give farmers access to government schemes, financial help and farm information from their mobile phones, without going from office to office or website to website.
The portal is a single window to major programmes including PM-KISAN, AgriStack and the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana crop insurance scheme. Farmers can check eligibility online, apply directly and receive assistance by Direct Benefit Transfer, which the ministry says will make support more transparent and cut out intermediaries.
It also brings farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, scientists, researchers and startups onto one platform, with information on weather, scientific farming practice, seed and fertiliser availability and market prices for produce.
The portal is designed to be light and mobile-friendly so it works on basic smartphones and in areas with weak internet, and includes screen-reader support and simplified navigation for people with disabilities. Chouhan told officials to keep its language and procedures simple for small and marginal farmers, and to keep the information accurate and up to date, warning that outdated content would undermine trust.
A training campaign will be run through the Krishi Vigyan Kendras, the farm science centres, across the country to help farmers use the portal and other digital tools. The National Informatics Centre and the ministry's Digital Agriculture Division built the platform.
Photo: Kathuriarector (Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bathinda) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Rural Voice
Comments
(0)