‘India’s use of digital tools to support farmers interests the Netherlands’

Silvio Erkens | Photo Credit: TH

“The way smartphones, software and artificial intelligence are being used in India to help farmers improve productivity is something the Netherlands can learn from,” Silvio Erkens, the Netherlands Minister for Food Security, Fisheries and Horticulture, said on Thursday.

Mr. Erkens said India’s experience of using digital tools to support its large number of smallholder farmers was interesting to the Netherlands. “It’s something Netherlands is also looking at, something we can maybe learn from you (India),” he said in an interaction with The Hindu.

Mr. Erkens was in Bengaluru with a delegation of 18 Dutch businesses and organisations to explore opportunities for collaboration in horticulture, seed technology, water management and sustainable food production.

The Minister said India and the Netherlands were “natural partners” in agriculture, with the two countries bringing different strengths to the sector. “While the Netherlands is a small country with a population of 18 million, it is the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural goods after the United States,” he said, noting that India, on the other hand, produces agricultural goods on a much larger scale and is looking to innovate.