Project being implemented to meet yield enhancement targets
By Fakhar Alam

ISLAMABAD—A project is being implemented to meet yield enhancement challenge by providing better agricultural data management through a continuous analysis of dynamic agricultural scenarios. The project, costing Rs.39.9 million is expected to be completed this year. According to information available with newsmen here Thursday, such data driven decision support system will help in decision making at multiple levels such as for, agricultural policy makers, extension workers, and most importantly the farmers.
The data driven decision making requires firstly, acquiring historical agricultural data from multiple sources like pest-scouting, yield, farmer demographics and social set-up surveys, agro-meteorological data collection and other related areas. Secondly, integrating these data sets using modern information management techniques such as data warehousing, data mining and Online Analytical Processing.
Thirdly, developing the efficient tools for analytical exploration of this multi-variant data and lastly ensuring timely dissemination of extracted information through appropriate means.
Meanwhile, when contacted the official sources highlighted the key benefits of the project and said it would help different provincial and district governments to use the data warehouse to propose and evaluate the agricultural policies and develop programs to protect and promote agriculture in Pakistan.
The sources said by using this system, seed and fertilizer producers can compare yields and other information to help the stakeholders. Similarly, the other benefits are that different agriculture departments can more effectively target such locations where their services are most needed by using tehsil and district statistics, resulting in economic benefit for farmers. Banks and Financial institutions can use the available data and intricate relationships to identify their potential customers for opening new branches and extending credit facilities to farmers, they added.
It is mentioned here that Pakistan is an agricultural country, as large number of its exports rely on the agricultural projects. Every year significant agricultural yield loss occurs due to many reasons like pest attacks on cash crops, hostile weather conditions and most importantly poor on-the-farm and off-the-farm management practices.
Keeping in view to meeting the yield enhancement challenge, this project was launched by National ICT Research & Development Fund which has been established to transform country’s economy into a knowledge based by promoting efficient, sustainable and effective ICT initiatives through synergic development of industrial and academic resources.