- Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare launched “The Eleventh Agricultural Census (2021-22).”
- This computation will bring huge benefits in a vast and agricultural country like India.
- Agriculture Census is conducted every 5 years, which is being undertaken now after delay due to the Covid – 19 Pandemic.
- Entire Census operation is conducted in three phases and operational holding is taken as a statistical unit at micro level for data collection.
- Based on the agriculture census data collected in three phases, the Department brings out three detailed reports analyzing trends on various parameters at All India and States/UTs level.
- District/Tehsil level reports are prepared by the respective States/UTs.
- Agricultural Census is the main source of information on a variety of agricultural parameters at a relatively minute level, such as the number and area of operational holdings, their size, class-wise distribution, land use, tenancy and cropping pattern, etc.
Eleventh Census:
- The field work of the agricultural census will start in August 2022.
- This is the first time that data collection for agricultural census will be conducted on smartphones and tablets, so that data is available in time.
It includes:
- Use of digital land records like land title records and survey reports
- Collection of data through app/software using smartphone/tablet.
- Complete enumeration of all villages in states with non-land records during Phase-I as done in states having land records.
- Real time monitoring of progress and processing.
- Most of the States have digitized their land records and surveys, which will further accelerate the collection of agricultural census data.
- The use of digitized land records and the use of mobile apps for data collection will enable the creation of a database of operational holdings in the country.
Digital Agriculture
- Digital Agriculture is ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and data ecosystems to support the development and delivery of timely, targeted information and services to make farming profitable and sustainable while delivering safe, nutritious and affordable food for all.
- Agricultural biotechnology is a range of tools, including traditional breeding techniques, that alter living organisms, or parts of organisms, to make or modify products, improve plants or animals, or develop microorganisms for specific agricultural uses.
- Precision agriculture (PA) is an approach where inputs are utilised in precise amounts to get increased average yields, compared to traditional cultivation techniques such as agroforestry, intercropping, crop rotation, etc. It is based on using ICTs.
- Digital and wireless technologies for data measurement, Weather monitoring, Robotics/drone technology, etc.
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT