Trust, integrity vital for use of Big Data

ICRISAT Campus: Trust and integrity are imperative in the use of big data and the three Vs – volume, velocity and variety – are important in leveraging digital technologies, said Jayesh Ranjan, Industries and IT Secretary. He was speaking at the Big Data in Agriculture Convention 2019 at the International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) at Patancheru on Wednesday.

The IT Secretary informed said that the Government of Telangana was keen on developing crop colonies which would add value to farmers and ensure improved income. Elaborating on the importance of data, Jayesh said the government was using Big Data in transport, healthcare, police department, agriculture and in general welfare of people.

He further added that the Telangana government's flagship programmes Rythtu Bandhu and Rythu Bheema were possible by using data. In future, one can achieve farm productivity and food security by leveraging big data. Data is useful at every stage including soil testing, equipment, marketing, logistics, image processing and weather forecasting.

Stressing the importance of digital technology, the official said that the government has 300 million data base and aims to provide broadband connectivity to 9 million households. Responding to a question on farmers not getting their due for the produce he said, "The biggest challenge in agriculture is to ensure remunerative prices to farmers and the government is keen on crop colonies which would in the future make a huge difference." 

Need for trustworthy digital solutions

The need for trustworthy digital solutions is the key for food security solutions at a time when climate change is a major threat. The optimum and correct use of large datasets are important said coordinator Brian King for Big Data Platform.

The future of food can leverage existing digital technologies and big data helps in better decision making and the information and practice interplay help farmers, said Peter S Carberry, Director-General of ICRISAT. 

Inspire Challenge winners to get $1 million in prizes

Cash prizes up to $ 1 million for winners of Inspire Challenge, who developed projects to improve the quality of life of farmers using Big Data tools. "Ten finalists of the 2019 Inspire Challenge have been selected and will pitch their proposals to a panel of expert judges. Of these 10, five winners will get $ 1,00,000 each in cash prizes.