The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Information, communication technologies-enabled growth

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 24, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Information, communication technologies-enabled growth

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, DEC. 23. The State Government today unveiled its plan for information, communication technologies (ICT)-enabled agricultural development.

Making a presentation at a workshop here, Jagmohan Singh Raju, Commissioner of Agriculture, said the objectives were providing farmers extension service of international standards, micro-planning and enhancing the delivery efficiency of the Agriculture Commissionerate.

Databases

A network would be established up to the block level. Databases, knowledge systems and decision support systems would be developed to facilitate the formation of call centres and adopt the agri-clinic approach.

Agriculture online would be set up while ICT diffusion would benefit women engaged in farming.

The Commissionerate and the district-level offices of joint directors of agriculture would be networked during 2005-06. In the next phase (2006-07), the networking would cover all 384-block level offices of assistant directors.

In October, the department launched weekly online web-based reporting. Under this, area coverage, seed availability, stationwise rainfall pattern, water level in reservoirs and tanks, seasonwise average paddy yield and fertilizer requirement were being monitored, Mr Raju said.

Expertise, funds

The Information Technology Secretary, Vivek Harinarain, said his department would support the project, both with technical expertise and funds. The estimated cost of the first phase was Rs. 26 crores and the second phase, Rs. 45 crores.

The project should be designed as a single front-end service. As the ultimate beneficiaries — farmers — would go to local government offices, they should not be put to inconvenience.

As part of networking, horizontal linkages with related agencies, national and international, should be provided.

`Document implementation'

He said the project implementation should be documented so that other departments were benefited from the experience of the Agriculture department.

D. Moni, Deputy Director-General of the National Informatics Centre, said more funds should be earmarked for agriculture in the outlay for IT.

C. Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, wanted its expertise utilised for the project.

D. Jayakumar, IT Minister, said the Rural Access to Services through Internet (RASI), initially implemented in 10 districts, would be extended to others shortly.

K. Pandurangan, Agriculture Minister, wanted the IT infrastructure created in the past optimally utilised.

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