Agriculture Minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy said the establishment of a seed production unit in collaboration with the Iowa State University was a significant venture of the State government towards improving the quality of seeds.
Participating as the chief guest at the valedictory session of the National Conference on Digital and Engineering Technologies for Precision Agriculture and Value Addition at the College of Agricultural Engineering (CAE) in Bapatla, Mr. Reddy said the usage of satellites in soil mapping and assessing the moisture content and nutrient deficiency in consultation with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation would give a fillip to the ‘digitisation of agriculture.’
Mobile app
He recalled the introduction of mobile app Plantis that helps in diagnosing plant pest and diseases, in consultation with ICRISAT, and insisted that the State was doing its best to augment the farmers’ incomes thereby alleviate their plight.
Minister for Civil Supplies Prathipati Pulla Rao said the mapping of soil fertility for conserving the soil health and toll-free agricultural advisory were some of the major steps taken by the Agriculture Department when he was holding that portfolio.
Prof. C.R. Mehta of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research delivered the keynote address on different aspects of farm mechanisation ranging from the adaptation of small tools to using drones in the farm sector.
Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor V. Damodara Naidu and CAE Associate Dean A. Mani were among those present.
