‘Farmers should use govt apps for updates’

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday appeal farmers to seek help from government apps for supply of genuine seeds and timely updates on weather and other agriculture related information.

Fadnavis, who addressed a press conference after a Kharif preparedness review meeting, said steps are being taken to ensure that genuine seeds, fertilisers and crop loans are made available to farmers. He also said that the state is expected to have a good monsoon this year and the government has set the Kharif crop production target at 204 lakh metric tonnes.“The state will have more than average monsoon (this year). We have set the target of 204 lakh metric tonnes compared to 187 lakh tonnes last year. There will be no shortage of seeds and fertilisers,” he said.

The CM also urged farmers to purchase seeds from the central government’s SAATHI (Seed Traceability, Authentication and Holistic Inventory) portal.

“70,000 quintal seeds are traceable at present. Bogus seeds can be identified,” he said.Fadnavis said suppliers will be booked under the Essential Commodities Act if they coerce farmers to purchase fertilisers when they buy seeds, even if they don’t need them.Fadnavis also said that the agriculture department of the state government has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered app named ‘Mahavistar’ to share weather and other agriculture related updates with farmers. Digital workshops will be organised at the taluka level to apprise farmers about the latest technological developments in the sector and efforts are being made to add a Marathi Chatbot in the app so that the farmers will be able to receive all the information in the language they are familiar with, he added.

The CM said district collectors were asked during the review to convene meetings of lead banks in their respective areas and ensure that farmers’ credit (CIBIL) scores are not insisted upon before loan disbursals.

Fadnavis said his government aims to increase investment in the Agriculture sector with Rs 5,000 crore every year and an early warning mechanism concerning climate change so that farmers can plan their crops better.

The CM also released the list of farmers eligible for benefits under MahaDBT scheme, which promises subsidies, help and other benefits on first come first served basis. For the year 2025-26 the state government has found 1,51,352 eligible farmers to receive benefits under the scheme for which Rs 839.55 crore have been allocated.