Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has announced that the State government will effectively implement the “Rythu Bharosa” and crop insurance schemes using modern technology, including satellite data and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The Minister held a meeting at the Secretariat with representatives from companies specializing in remote sensing data. The discussions focused on using advanced technology to support the “Rythu Bharosa” scheme. This initiative, set to launch during Sankranti, aims to accurately identify and assess cultivated lands.
Minister Nageswara Rao emphasized that the financial support under the Rythu Bharosa scheme will be provided only to farmers actively cultivating the land. Agricultural field officers will regularly record and update data about cultivated lands. To ensure precision, satellite data will be utilized to survey and map cultivated areas, crop types, and acreage at both village and survey number levels.
The government is also planning to adopt advanced technologies for future agricultural initiatives. These include crop insurance, crop health monitoring, early identification of pests and diseases, and assessing crop losses caused by natural disasters such as floods and cyclones.
During the meeting, company representatives showcased previous project results and presented details about cultivation in two sample mandals. They used digital maps to identify areas suitable for farming and demonstrated AI-based models that can detect pest infestations early.
The Minister instructed the representatives to prepare detailed project proposals for review by a technical committee. He added that the findings would be presented to the ministerial sub-committee and then submitted to the Cabinet for final approval.
Agriculture Secretary Raghunandan Rao, Agriculture Department Director Gopi, and representatives from various companies also attended the meeting.