It was held at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Pusa, in the national capital.
File Photo: ANI
To mark the second National Space Day on Saturday, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan emphasised the importance of technology and science in agriculture.
“Through space science, we are bringing change in India and the world. We all know how important technology and science are in agriculture — and we must take it further”, the minister said in his virtual address to a programme themed –‘Research and Development in Space Technology for Agricultural Transformation’.
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It was held at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Pusa, in the national capital.
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Terming scientists the “modern sages”, he said new developments in the field have transformed the lives of the farmers.
“We have ensured food security for the people. We have achieved record food grain production, and space science has made an incomparable contribution. Space applications are now central to agriculture – from crop yield estimation, cropping systems, wheat, rice, mustard, cotton, sugarcane production, acreage assessments, to weather information – space technology plays a key role,” the minister was quoted as saying in an official release.
Chouhan said that earlier, weather forecasts relied on folklore and assumptions, but today ISRO’s GeoPortal provides nearly accurate information on rainfall, drought, and weather.
“Farmers now plan their farming based on this. The portal also gives information on soil moisture, integrates crop health data, and provides precise information,” the minister added.
Chouhan also noted that technologies have been developed to detect pests from photos uploaded by farmers, and for real-time wheat monitoring, sowing, and harvesting area estimation.
He also emphasised that space science aids in timely warnings during rising temperatures, storms, or droughts, helping in disaster management and crop protection.
Information must reach farmers directly, and awareness-building is vital, he observed.
The ‘Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan’ was launched precisely to bring scientific achievements in agriculture directly to farmers.
“Our current challenge is to provide farmers with real-time information, so they can benefit in their farming decisions. I have complete faith in our scientists’ capabilities,” he said.
Farmers, during the campaign, raised several practical demands, including a request for devices to detect fake fertilisers and pesticides, and to identify their contents. “This is a serious issue as farmers are suffering losses. In soybean fields, pesticide use has burned crops. I urge scientists to work with urgency on this,” he added.
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