Agriculture Ministry signs MoU with Microsoft to raise farmers income in 100 villages

Union Agriculture Ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft for a pilot project in 100 villages of six states. This project will carry out various tasks for the betterment of farmers in the selected villages, which will enhance their income. This will also reduce the input costs for farmers and make farming easy.

These states are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Microsoft will develop a farmer interface for smart and well-organized agriculture, including post-harvest management and distribution.

PIB Meghalaya in a tweet said, "Union Ministry of Agriculture signs MoU with Microsoft for a pilot project in 100 villages of 6 states. Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi's idea of digital agriculture is taking shape: Shri @nstomar."

Speaking on the occasion, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's idea of digital agriculture is now taking shape.

He said, since taking over as the Prime Minister in 2014, Mr Modi has laid great emphasis on the use of modern technologies in the farming sector to enhance farmers income. He said, the agricultural economy is the backbone of the country and any loss to agriculture is a loss for the country.

Mr Tomar said that as per the government's idea of transparency, the money of various schemes including Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM Kisan) is being deposited directly in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. Similarly, MNREGA also is on the priority list of the Prime Minister. Though progress used to happen under MGNREGA earlier, it was difficult to explain the scenario properly when asked.

Mr Tomar said, the agriculture sector has contributed positively to the country's economy even in adverse conditions like the Corona epidemic.