Advisor, Imkong L Imchen, commissioned a Command and Control Centre at the Directorate of Soil & Water Conservation, Kohima on October 13. (DIPR Photo)
Kohima, October 13 (MExN): Advisor for IPR and Soil & Water Conservation, Imkong L Imchen, commissioned a Command and Control Centre (CCC) at the Directorate of Soil & Water Conservation, Kohima on October 13 aimed at providing real-time agricultural advisories to farmers.
Funded by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and the Nagaland government under the Soil Health and Fertility component of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), the tech-based hub will centralize and analyze data to enable direct interaction between farmers and officials, stated a DIPR report.
“It is necessary to establish such kind of centre to ease the burden of the field staffs, particularly the farmers to help decision making, identify, and address challenges related to soils and crops,” Imchen said after the inauguration.
He emphasized the need to bridge the gap between experts and farmers and urged field officers and farmers to build mutual trust for better adoption of innovative technologies. He urged the field officers and the farmers to foster trust from within, which will reflect the Department’s progress and commitment to adopting innovative technologies for sustainable soil and water management.
The Advisor also expressed concern over the department’s low yearly budget allocation from the state government, stating that the department has qualified officers, potentials and expertise to work in projects but due to the lack of resources the department has been facing difficulties to progress.
Inside Nagaland’s new agri command centre
Director, Soil & Water Conservation, L Chubaonen highlighted on the technical report on the CCC and stated that it was conceptualized and developed as a centralized digital hub to strengthen data-driven decision-making, real-time monitoring, dissemination and effective implementation of various activities under the Soil Health and Fertility programme.
The primary objectives of the CCC are to improve coordination between district offices, laboratories, and the Directorate for better programme delivery using VC facilities, to serve as a knowledge and communication hub (giving farmer advisories) for soil health management initiatives across the state, to integrate and monitor field-level activities related to soil health card generation, fertilizer recommendations, and fertility mapping, to facilitate real-time data collection, analysis, and visualization through ICT tools and GIS platforms.
He stressed that the Centre is equipped with a dedicated server system for centralized data storage and management, Integrated GIS software for spatial mapping of soil health indicators and fertility trends. Video conferencing and communication facilities enabling coordination with Ministry, district units and field officers and Workstations with Wi-Fi connectivity designed to receive and make calls related to Soil Management, data analysis, report generation, and monitoring of field-level progress under RKVY and other schemes.
With the operationalization of this Centre, the Department aims to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and accountability in programme implementation. Establish a state-wide digital soil health repository for evidence-based agricultural planning, Facilitate timely dissemination of information to farmers and stakeholders, he added.
Farmers across Nagaland can contact the toll-free number +917965192504 for queries related to soil health and fertility.
Later, the Advisor virtually launched Bio Fertilizer Production Units at Rotomi and Seyochung.
