 "farmers, agriculture")
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday launched the eleventh agricultural census to collect data on various parameters, including operational holdings.
For the first time, the data will be collected through smartphones and tablets.
The fieldwork of the Eleventh Agricultural Census (2021-22) will start in August 2022, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.
"Agriculture Census is conducted every 5 years, which is being undertaken now after a delay due to corona pandemic," it added.
The ministry is implementing an agriculture census scheme from 1970-71. The tenth edition of the census was conducted with the reference year 2015-16.
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The agricultural census is the main source of information on a variety of parameters, such as the number and area of ??operational holdings, their size, class-wise distribution, land use, tenancy and cropping pattern, etc.
The ministry said this is the first time that data collection for the agricultural census will be conducted on smartphones and tablets so that data is available in time.
Most of the states have digitised their land records and surveys, which will further accelerate the collection of agricultural census data.
"The use of digitised land records and the use of mobile apps for data collection will enable the creation of a database of operational holdings in the country," the statement said.
Tomar said that this computation will bring huge benefits in a vast and agricultural country like India.
The minister said that the government is focusing on increasing farmers' income.
"Besides, there is a need to change their standard of living, organise small farmers in order to empower them, attract them towards remunerative crops and ensure the quality of the produce at par with global standards," he said.
Tomar said that the country is rapidly moving towards digital agriculture.
"This is the time to make full use of technology in this computation. He said that Agriculture Census should be thought of in a broader perspective. Agricultural computations can also contribute to the mapping of crops so that the country gets its benefits," he said.
Tomar asked the central departments, state governments and concerned institutions to carry out this census with full dedication.
On the occasion, the minister released the 'Handbook on Operational Guidelines for Census' for the use of states/UTs, and launched the 'Data Collection Portal/App'.
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