Kerala govt. plans to introduce marketing, business development division in Agriculture department: Minister Siddique
Discussions are under way on ways to help farmers in Kerala meet international standards and obtain certifications, and start a marketing and business development division
Discussions are under way on ways to help farmers in Kerala meet international standards and obtain certifications, and start a marketing and business development division in the Agriculture department, Minister for Agriculture T. Siddique has said. Directions have been given to map all government and privately owned barren land in the State. Once the mapping is done, the next target is to achieve self-sufficiency in food production.
Cold chain blocks too would be introduced, the Minister said. Siddique said that steps to map 300 women farmer groups, initially as part of the Krishi Sakhi initiative, were under way. Krishi Sakhi aims at boosting women’s presence in the farm sector and promoting women-led agri enterprises and farm collectives. The government plans to implement Krishi Sakhi across five years, and an amount of ₹3.5 crore has been earmarked for the scheme in the 2026-27 year.
The Minister said the Agriculture department was considering use of AI (artificial intelligence), drones, and IoT in the sector, including in the cultivation of pepper, in the wake of results shown by use of
AI in agriculture in Andhra Pradesh. Siddique said traditional methods of farming and organic farming that does not use pesticides were critical; in this regard, schemes such as ‘Kathir’ are being planned in educational institutions.
The BriefWire