CUDDALORE: Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister MRK Panneerselvam inaugurated a digital crop area survey initiative covering 24.45 crore hectares in Tamil Nadu on Friday. The initiative aims to streamline the documentation of crop cultivation areas digitally to enhance the accuracy of agricultural data collection.
The event took place at Karunguzhi village, Kurinjipadi taluk, in the presence of Cuddalore Collector Sibi Aditya Senthilkumar and director of horticulture and hill crops P Kumaravel.
During the event, the minister distributed welfare assistance worth Rs 5,30,740 to 35 beneficiaries. These include Rs 2,16,400 for five persons under the agriculture department, Rs 87,500 for 28 under the horticulture department, and Rs 2,26,840 for two under the engineering department.
The minister explained the state has 55 lakh survey numbers with 24.45 crore subdivisions, including 1.67 lakh survey numbers in Cuddalore with 17.12 lakh subdivisions.
The survey, conducted digitally, aims to link farmers’ data, crop details and geographical maps. “Under the Agricultural Layered Programme initiated in 2022-23, land ownership and crop data are regularly updated for seamless information sharing. From 2023-24, crop data at the village level is recorded electronically,” he said, adding a pilot survey was conducted in 48 villages across 24 districts on November 6,” Panneerselvam said.
Sources said a mobile application, Crop Survey, will be used for the survey.
“The overall survey is set for completion by the end of this month,” they added.