New Delhi: The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on Monday signed an MoU with Digital Green under the public-private partnership framework to build a national digital extension platform.

“The platform will host a digital library of curated, multi-format, multilingual content, assist extension workers in accessing and delivering curated content to farmers on time, and upskill the vast network of extension workers for agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, livestock, and rural livelihood missions through certified online courses,” the ministry said.

Speaking at the event, Manoj Ahuja, ministry secretary, said by connecting farmers to the robust ecosystem of digital agriculture that the government is creating, the planned national digital platform will help make our extension system more effective and efficient.

“In India, there are more than 200,000 extension personnel working in the agricultural, subsistence and related fields. Through decentralised content generation and targeted distribution, this programme will combine the outreach activities of the departments of agriculture, horticulture, livestock, dairy, fisheries, and rural livelihoods under a single digital platform,” said the ministry.

The platform, which will be live in six months, will include a portal, the ability to service the whole Indian farming community, and the power to inspire Ag-tech companies and other market players with fresher, more compelling value propositions.

“I appreciate the government’s investment in technology to prepare the Indian agricultural system for the future,” Rikin Gandhi, CEO of Digital Green, remarked.

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