Latest news with #APAIMS
Hans India
01-08-2025
- Business
- Hans India
FPOs must harness tech to boost farm income: Collector
Tirupati: District Collector Dr S Venkateswar urged Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to embrace modern technology to maximise income and transform agriculture into a profitable venture. Speaking at a review meeting at the Collectorate on Thursday, he said the administration was actively working to support FPOs by facilitating access to bank loans and subsidies to procure advanced agricultural machinery. The Collector said that FPOs should fully utilise government schemes and policies to drive their growth. 'We will take appropriate measures based on a clear understanding of FPO operations and their needs,' he assured. Calling for coordinated action from all departments, he stressed the goal of making farming a viable livelihood for farmers. A key highlight of the meeting was the emphasis on the use of drones and other smart technologies to enhance agricultural productivity. Dr Venkateswar noted the need to diversify cropping patterns, encouraging farmers to cultivate millets in addition to traditional crops. He noted that horticulture crops were currently generating higher returns than traditional agriculture, and instructed officials to ensure both sectors are equally remunerative. As part of a broader push towards tech-driven farming, the Collector announced workshops for agriculture and allied department officials on emerging tools like Agri Stack and Artificial Intelligence (AI). He explained that Agri Stack was a unified digital repository that integrates key datasets such as farmer registries, geo-referenced village maps, and crop sown data. These datasets, unified through the Unified Farmer Service Interface, can be securely accessed by banks, insurance companies, agri-tech firms and government agencies. 'AI, when integrated with these datasets, has the power to radically transform farming practices,' he said, citing applications like multilingual chatbots, precision farming tools, real-time analytics, and image-based pest and disease diagnostics. He also unveiled a new mobile interface named APAIMS, designed to serve as a one-stop digital platform for farmers. This interface provides a host of services, including pest alerts through crop photo mapping and relevant spray recommendations. Joint Collector Shubham Bansal, District Agriculture Officer S Prasad Rao, District Horticulture Officer B Dasharatha Rami Reddy, Animal Husbandry Officer A Ravi Kumar and other senior officials attended the meeting.
Hans India
28-07-2025
- Business
- Hans India
State-level farm machinery inventory survey soon
Vijayawada: Director of agriculture S Dilli Rao announced on Sunday that the village farm machinery inventory survey will be launched shortly across the state, with a target completion date of August 31. This comprehensive survey, to be carried out by agricultural assistants at Rythu Seva Kendras (RSKs), will cover machinery held by individual farmers, institutions, FPOs, PACS, and private service providers, regardless of whether it was acquired through subsidies or personal funds. Speaking to the media, Dilli Rao explained that the survey aims to assess machinery availability based on crop area and season, and identify gaps at the village level. This approach will help develop village-specific, need-based budget plans and ensure a targeted supply of equipment. The survey will collect data on the ownership, usage, model, manufactured date, and condition of machinery, which will then be fed into the Farm Management Information System (FMIS) in the APAIMS 2.0 version developed by Vassar Labs. This digital integration is expected to enhance planning, monitoring, and budget allocation for farm mechanisation. Dilli Rao further explained the key objectives of the survey, which include creating a digital inventory of machinery at individual, institutional, and RBK levels, assessing the availability versus requirement of equipment by crop season and agro-climatic zone, providing data-driven support for Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs), identifying idle or underutilised equipment for redistribution or shared use, and supporting policy formulation on farm machinery subsidies and deployment. He described the initiative as a strategic digital move that lays the foundation for future-ready, technology-driven agriculture. Dilli Rao called it a vital step toward equitable access to modern tools, efficient resource use, and inclusive mechanization, particularly for small and marginal farmers. District agricultural officers have been instructed to take personal responsibility to ensure the survey is completed through RSK assistants by the August 31 deadline.
