7 days ago
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.
