Hold agri hackathons to boost economy: PM

NEWDELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday directed the agriculture ministry to hold agricultural hackathons twice a year to solve problems in the farm economy by harnessing information technology solutions, an official statement said.

At a review via videoconferencing of agricultural research activities, Modi asked these hackathons to be organised for efficient solutions to on-ground problems faced by farmers, farm management, farm tool designs, and crop protection, said an official, requesting anonymity. Hackathons are events wherein software developers, domain experts, and programmers collaborate to develop problem-solving software. Modi also held discussions with senior officials of the department of agricultural research and extension and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. “The Prime Minister

directed that start-ups and agri-entrepreneurs need to be promoted to ensure innovation and use of technology in agriculture and allied sectors. He highlighted the need to leverage information technology to provide information on demand to the farmers,” the statement said. Such hackathons should “meet design needs for tools and equipment that can reduce drudgery, as a large number of farmworkers are women”, the statement quoted Modi as saying.

Scientists, who took part in the review, made presentations on India’s preparedness for climatecrisis-induced agricultural impacts. The country has seen a rise in agricultural startups. “Agritech startups are helping farmers monitor crop and soil conditions using Internet of Things sensors. Many are using Artificial Intelligence and realtime weather inputs to forecast sowing time ,” said Avi Anand, the director of Agritex Ecosystems,abengaluru-basedstartup.