JAMMU: Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar on Sunday directed departments and stakeholders to identify practical and technology-driven applications of AgriStack data to improve agricultural services and benefit farmers across the region.
Chairing a meeting of the Divisional Level Committee, Kumar reviewed the formulation of an action plan for developing innovative, farmer-centric use cases for effective utilisation of AgriStack and Farmer Registry data.
During the meeting, Director Agriculture Jammu, who is also the Member Secretary of the committee, gave a presentation on the potential use of AgriStack data for monitoring crop production, assessing shortages and surpluses, and improving planning and delivery of services to farmers.
The Divisional Commissioner asked departments to move beyond data collection and focus on developing high-impact applications capable of delivering measurable benefits to farmers. He said each proposed use case should clearly define the problem being addressed, data requirements, stakeholders involved, implementation mechanism and expected outcomes.
Kumar called for exploring the use of AgriStack data in areas such as agricultural extension services, crop insurance, banking and credit, marketing and mandi linkages, and artificial intelligence-based advisories related to weather, rainfall, crop diseases, temperature and farm operations.
He directed the departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Sheep Husbandry, Fisheries and Cooperatives, along with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), lead banks, National Informatics Centre (NIC), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and other stakeholders, to identify sector-specific applications.
The Divisional Commissioner emphasised that proposed use cases should reflect the varying topography, agro-climatic conditions and agricultural practices across districts of Jammu division.
Deputy Commissioners were asked to convene district-level meetings with stakeholders and prepare district-specific proposals. Director Agriculture Jammu was directed to coordinate the exercise and compile inputs from all districts.
Officials said the committee would first identify concrete use cases and subsequently refine them into implementable proposals in line with government guidelines and the committee’s terms of reference. Departments have been asked to submit their proposals and presentations within 10 days, after which the recommendations will be compiled and analysed at the divisional level for submission to the Union Territory administration.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioners of Jammu division, Director Agriculture Jammu, Director Horticulture Jammu, Director Animal Husbandry Jammu, Director Fisheries Jammu, Additional Deputy Commissioners, representatives of the Cooperative Department, SKUAST-Jammu, NIC and other stakeholders, both in person and through virtual mode.
