•Terms it as a major step towards digitisation in seed certification
•Real-time data entry, GPS location & digital signatures to ensure transparency in seed certification process, says Gurmeet Singh Khudian
Chandigarh, February 26:
In a significant move to bring transparency and momentum to the seed certification process, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government has equipped its field staff with modern handheld computers (Tabs) to ensure all work of the SATHI portal is conducted online.
Marking this milestone as a vital step towards complete digitisation, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Thursday handed over 40 Tabs to Seed Certification Officers and Assistants.
The Agriculture Minister emphasised that equipping field officers with these handheld computers will eliminate manual paperwork and enhance accountability, and will ensures real-time data entry directly from the field during inspections.
Furthermore, he said that the exact geographical location of the field can be recorded through GPS to ensure transparency, while instant photography will allow crop conditions to become part of the official report on the spot. The transition to digital input will also avoid errors caused while writing by hand and enable the instant generation of digital reports that can be shared immediately with farmers or higher authorities, he added.
To further secure the process, S. Khudian said that digital signatures of the farmers will be taken directly on the Tab screen. Field mapping will be done using GPS to ensure that the observation pertains to the correct seed field, and as per the form available on the Tab, details including crop type, isolation distance, diseases, and number of off-type plants will be recorded digitally, he said.
The Agriculture Minister emphasised that this digitisation initiative would not only bring transparency to the seed certification process but also ensure that farmers receive quality certified seeds in a timely manner.
Secretary Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Mr. Arshdeep Singh Thind, Director Mr. Gurjit Singh Brar, Director- PSSCA Mr. Narinder Benipal and other senior officers of the department were also present on the occasion.
