Shaji K.V., Chairman, NABARD delivered the prestigious H.H. Sree Visakham Thirunal Endowment Lecture on the topic of ‘Harnessing Digital Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development’ at the ICAR- Central Tuber Crop Research Institute (CTCRI), Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram on 03 June 2024. The event, organized annually by ICAR-CTCRI in association with the Indian Society for Root Crops (ISRC), commemorates the immense contributions of Maharaja Sree Visakham Thirunal, who championed cassava cultivation for food and livelihood security of people in Kerala. Addressing critical challenges in agriculture such as climate change, population growth, resource depletion, and market uncertainties, Shaji K. V. emphasized the transformative role of digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Blockchain technology, remote sensing etc. in empowering the farmers to make informed decisions.
He stressed upon the importance of transitioning from reactive to proactive farming to bolster resilience against environmental and market fluctuations. While acknowledging the challenges in adopting digital technologies such as lack of infrastructure, high initial costs, and data privacy concerns, he emphasized the need for collaborative efforts among various stakeholders, including government bodies, private sector players, academic institutions, and the farming community. He underscored NABARD’s initiatives in digital transformation, supporting Agri-Tech startups and digitizing the agricultural value chain. Chairman NABARD emphasized the need for forward-thinking policies and leveraging of transformative digital technologies in realizing the Prime Minister’s vision for a “Viksit Bharat” by 2047. Prince Adithya Varma of the Travancore royal family and Velmurugan, Asst. Director General, ICAR, New Delhi were guests of honour. G. Byju, director, CTCRI presided, M.S. Sajeev, principal scientist welcomed the gathering and T. Makeshkumar, principal scientist proposed vote of thanks.
Read more: https://www.ctcri.org/events.html#hh
