BHUBANESWAR: The programme advisory committee for implementation of Analytics for Decision-making and Agriculture Policy Transformation (ADAPT) project on Tuesday reviewed the progress of various projects and approved the work plan for the next fiscal.
Chairing the meeting of the programme advisory committee of ADAPT, implemented in collaboration with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Arun Sahu emphasised on inclusive growth of farmers. The key areas of focus should be technical assistance, market linkage and farmers awareness.
The meeting attended by senior officers of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment (DAFE) department discussed areas covering digital farmer services, soil information systems, smart farming, building a livestock master plan and creating a network of business support units for smallholders on the lines of krishi vikas kendras (KVKs).
Principal Secretary, Agriculture, Saurabh Garg highlighted the benefits of partnership with BMGF and how it has helped in shaping the livelihood of farmers. He said previous agriculture policy of the State was more input based. However, the new agriculture policy focuses on post-harvest management, farmer-producer organisation (FPOs), value additions, organic farming and utilisation of technology to negate distress.
Agriculture, Asia Head of BMGF, Purvi Mehta said progress on various projects is very much encouraging. She focused on co-designing, co-evaluation and cohesiveness for the growth of agriculture and allied sector. The BMGF team shared its experience on usage of technology, smart farming, soil intelligence in farm sector and explained how to take forward the partnership to double farmer’s income.
BMGF has been assisting the State Government for improving delivery of services to farmers by use of digital methods and data-driven decision support system. The State Government signed an MoU with BMGF on April 21, 2017 under which the overseas organisation had pledged to support ADAPT with an aid of `32 crore.