Shillong, August 1: In five years time, farmers in Meghalaya will be reaping the benefits of convergence of Information Technology (IT) with agriculture as result of the Agriculture Information Systems Network (Agrisnet) and Agrisnet services provided by the Meghalaya agriculture department.
The two IT enabled services-Agrisnet and Agrisnet services- will redefine the way the farmers nurse the soil and market their products. Middlemen who all along have been exploiting the farmers by offering them rates far below the market price will be extinct as a dodo.
The Agrisnet aimed at providing advisory and extension services to the farmers using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by providing all the relevant information to the farmers’ that will help in improving the quality of soil, the farming activities they must undertake and early crop weather situation.
The Agrisnet services provide online soil sample submission, soil sample test, its result and recommendations. It also keeps the farmers updated of the current market prices through the new media like website.
Agriculture Development Officer (Info& IT) Canning S Shabong told Oh ! Meghalaya, “The daily update of the market prices of agricultural goods will help farmers make decision. The prices are being displayed in the notice boards in all the centers up to the block levels.” There are 225 common services centers throughout the State.”
Shabong said as the farmers will be getting accurate information about agricultural goods price daily, the middlemen who were exploiting the farmers by providing misleading information will soon disappear. He felt this will not only benefit the farmers but the consumers as well.
As of now the information are provided in English and Khasi language, but soon it will also be given in the Garo language.
To make the farmers conversant with the ICT tools, the agricultural department has been organizing workshops all over the State.
By Our Reporters
thank you for publishing the story in the first edition of your online website, ohmeghalaya. In fact what has been written is just the tip of the iceberg. We at the department of agriculture meghalaya have deliberately embarked on a journey of empowering farmers with need based and timely information about 10 years ago, with the vision of creating agriculture online and improving the agriculture service delivery. To this end, a number of initiatives have been taken to utliise the power of IT in speading IT literacy and to bridge the rural digital divide. Soon we would be launching G2G and G2C services which will usher in transparency, better and universal access, FIFO and empower the farmers to access the delivery net of the State Government. Looking forward to your coverage of these coming launches in the near future. For more information on these services, please log in to our website at http://www.megagrisnet.nic.in
You are welcome, we will certainly look forward to closely work with you and keep track of all the good-work you and your department are doing. We might also keep you informed through our website of the difficulties they face. Do write to us if there are any new initiative undertaken for the benefits of your farmers. Do log in to our website and also recommend it to your frens. We know we have to really work hard to improve the quality, this is just a beginning. Do feel free to suggest upgradation. Thanks
i use to visit the site http://www.megagrisnet.nic.in/
its a totally useless website. what information can you get from it?. Zilch. it has been months since it was launched. but those links below the SERVICES are COMING SOON.