THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister KN Balagopal has given emphasis on technology-assisted intervention in the farm sector, especially in marketing, production and procurement.
“The state has decided to make use of information technology including cloud computing, blockchain technology and artificial intelligence for agri-marketing and turning Krishi Bhavans smart which is imperative for attracting youngsters and those who have lost jobs to the agriculture sector,” the minister said.
Based on information technology, service networks will be started for marketing agriculture products.
An amount of `10 crore has been earmarked for this. Further, the budget has announced that the farmers will be provided agriculture loans from Kerala Bank at low interest rates. Five agro parks will be set up. To aid the dairy farmers, a milk powder manufacturing factory would be set up for which `10 crore has been set aside.