Agriculture sector cannot remain untouched by digitalization: Secretary Sharma

Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, has made it clear that the agricultural sector cannot remain untouched by digitalization at the present time.


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In the ‘Agritech’ meeting jointly organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Secretary Sharma said that Nepal’s agricultural sector cannot remain untouched in the context of global digital expansion.

He said that the digital policy that the government has been using in various sectors has also been implemented in the agricultural sector and is expanding. About ten lakh farmers have been registered in digital agriculture. The ministry is trying to reach the small farmers by coordinating between the three levels.’

He said that since 73 percent of farmers use smart phones, it is a golden opportunity for the promotion of the agricultural sector, and productivity can be increased by implementing it effectively.

He said that the problems of farmers such as pricing, sowing, fertilisers, subsidies and environmental risks can be minimized with digitization. He said that cooperation and coordination between the three levels is necessary for its effective implementation.

Krishna Bahadur Raut, Secretary of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, said that the need of the day is to increase the productivity of the farmers by expanding their access to the Internet.

He said, ‘Digitalization will provide significant support in removing the despair of not being able to be self-sufficient in agricultural production. It is the need of the day to increase the reach of farmers and expand it.

He said that digitalization will help in reducing the risk of food security. Savanam Sivakoti, joint secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, while presenting the current situation of digitization in Nepal, informed that the ministry is trying to expand the indexation of farmers.

He said that since the main problem of the farmers is the pricing of the products, the Ministry is taking steps to get rid of the problem by getting the right information by connecting them to the technology.

Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Ken Simizu, said that the participation of youth in the agricultural sector is necessary.

He says that the youth will be of great help in making agriculture globally technology-friendly. The Ministry held discussions among various stakeholders to make the implementation of ‘Agriculture Framework’ effective.

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Rabins Sharma Lamichhane

Rabins Sharma Lamichhane is senior ICT professional who talks about #it, #cloud, #servers, #software, and #innovation. Rabins is also the first initiator of Digital Nepal. Facebook: rabinsxp Instagram: rabinsxp

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