Agriculture ministry launches national app to collect info on pest attacks in crops

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Agriculture has launched a mobile app, National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS), to collect information on pest attacks in crops.

Launching the app, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that farmers can download this app and take the photos of their field, if infested by pests or insects and upload the photos.

He said the app will help the government to get faster information about the pest attacks on crops and take action accordingly. This mobile application will help to identify the location of pest infestation and its scale very quickly. This will also help the officials to know whether the pest attacks locally or on a large scale at district or state level, he said.

Pointing out that timely action on pest control would help to save the crops, the Minister said that the app will also provide farmers accurate advice and also suggest about pesticides to be used to control the menace.

"Farmers often lack information, leading to misuse of pesticides. We must address this," Chouhan said, emphasizing the need for rapid transfer of scientific benefits to farmers.

The Minister also said that the government will soon launch 'Kisan Ki Baat', a monthly radio programme aimed at bringing scientific knowledge to farmers. This program will be on radio and will feature agricultural scientists, department officials, and the minister himself, providing crucial information on best practices and scientific advancements.

He also said that, "There is a need to connect the Krishi Vijyan Kendra completely with the farmers. The work will be done to immediately deliver scientific benefits to the farmers. Now soon there will be discussions with scientists and discussions among farmers, so that we can do the miracle of becoming a food basket through agriculture."