NEW DELHI, 4 JUNE 2021: The Ministry of Agriculture has partnered with four private companies to promote digital systems for farmers and the use of technology in agriculture. It also includes Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Biological Research, according to a media report.

Apart from Patanjali, many other domestic companies that the government has joined hands with are the multi-national companies Amazon Web Services, ESRI India Pvt Ltd, and Agri Bazaar India Pvt. The company’s representative signed an agreement with the government in the presence of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. The agreement has been signed for a year. The goal will be to create a farmer database and launch various pilot schemes.

Patanjali has been contracted to work in three districts of the country in the field of agricultural management and farmer services. These include Haridwar in Uttarakhand, Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh, and Muraina district in Madhya Pradesh, the report added.

Amazon has signed an agreement with Web Services to implement digital services and systems in the agricultural market. In this regard, the minister said that the dream of self-reliance and digital India can be realized by bringing the agricultural sector together.

Given the importance of digitalization in agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture has created a single farmer database. Different services are provided through this database. This will create a digital system for the agricultural sector. Farmers across the country can be included in the land record. Arrangements have been made for farmers to be provided with a unique farmer ID.

Also, the project will entail the development and implementation of a digital agriculture platform with solutions in the field of crop identification and estimation using remote sensing technology, advisory services to farmers, post-harvest intelligence, market connect, and providing financial access to the farmers.

Managing Director and co-founder of Agribazaar Amit Mundawala said the project will extend its efforts to ensure that the Indian farming community uses technology to deliver crops with higher and predictable quality, traceability, and consistency. The agri-technology stack and platform will democratize Indian agriculture irrespective of the size of landholdings with actionable insights for every stakeholder.