1917iTEAMS, an initiative of the Department of Agriculture, has been conferred with the ‘Digital Transformation in Agriculture’ award at the recently-concluded 4th Digital Transformation Awards 2021 yesterday in recognition for its pioneering efforts and commitment to make India a digital nation in the agricultural space.
The brainchild of former Commissioner and Secretary in the Agriculture Department, Sampath Kumar, the 1917-Integrated Technology Enabled Agri-Management System (1917iTEAMS) is an innovative, farmer centric, market oriented, cloud-based facilitation service available to all the farmers of Meghalaya.
It came into existence in December 2017 with the mandate of connecting farmers to markets through affordable logistics solutions, market connect and agro advisories. With more than 88,000 registered farmers, 600-plus registered buyers, 400-plus farmer groups and 18 agri response vehicles operating throughout the state, 1917iTEAMS provides free of cost services to the primary sector through a toll free number (1917), a comprehensive database, fleet management system, highly trained manpower and a dedicated IVRS system. The main backbone of the organization is a system specially developed and hosted by Digital India Corporation (DIC) of the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
1917iTEAMS has been working to connect farmers with multiple buyers from the state, region, country and abroad, which has led to increasing exports of some of the state’s unique produce to overseas markets.
During 2020, 1917iTEAMS mobilized and increased its vehicle fleet by adding commercial market vehicles to meet the demand for transportation during the Covid lockdowns. 1917iTEAMS was able to quickly transport agricultural produce and help mitigate farmers’ distress at that point of time.
The registered buyers of 1917iTEAMS also played a big part in ensuring that fresh farm produce were made available to retail and wholesale consumers during the lockdown. Through its close association with NARI Fresh, of the East Khasi Hills District Cooperative Milk Union, 1917iTEAMS organized and facilitated the delivery of the Chief Minister’s Quarantine Care Package to 22,375 families under quarantine. Duringthe 2021 lockdowns, 1917iTEAMS facilitated the emergence of home delivery agencies operating on a direct farmgate procurement model.
