The Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a ₹12 crore project for strengthening e-governance in the Agriculture Department.
Although the department had launched the project in 2019, paucity of funds had slowed down its implementation. The money has been sanctioned now under the Rebuild Kerala Initiative.
The highlights of the project include computerisation and e-linking of all offices of the department right from the Krishi Bhavans to the Agricultural Directorate; online migration of all services offered by the department; faster file movement; and prompt payment of benefits to the bank accounts of farmers.
A full-fledged Agricultural Information Management System (AIMS) and a comprehensive online database on farmers in the State are important components of the project. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been entrusted with the implementation of the e-governance project, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar’s office says.
Computerisation of four sections in the directorate has been completed after the project was launched last year. The AIMS portal, which is already online, enables farmers to record crop loss and apply for relief.
A centralised system for seed certification and issuing of licences to pesticide manufacturers and traders will be introduced as part of the e-governance project. It also includes a module for value addition of agricultural produce and their online marketing.
