The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ‘Space tech can bridge rural-urban divide’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 02, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

‘Space tech can bridge rural-urban divide’

Staff Reporter

Sangareddy: Telangana Regional Development Board chairman Uppunutala Purushothama Reddy addressing a workshop on ‘Space Technology for Rural Development’ here on Monday pointed out that technology could bridge the rural and urban economic divide.

Enlisting the advantages of remote sensing and satellite imagery the chairman said that farmers could also learn about optimum use of their land.

He wanted farmers of the backward regions to take up allied activities like animal husbandry for financial gains.

District Collector B. Venkatesam said that our country which had put 10 satellites into orbit had been assisting farmers by forecasting weather, cautioning on floods, estimating forest cover and furnishing details of arable land.

Helping farmers

The Collector opined that the knowledge available from satellite images coupled with the futures market and hedging could turn the fortunes of farmers.

He said that farmers who have been losing almost 30 per cent of their produce due to various reasons could save that loss with the help of technology.

Andhra Pradesh State Remote Sensing Agency director Mrityunjaya Reddy said the APSRAC had completed satellite-based development work in Nalgonda and would also take up work in other drought-prone districts soon.

Technical advisor of Federation of Farmers Associations O. S. Reddy also spoke.

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