The Agricultural Knowledge Management Unit (AKMU) of ICAR–Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, organized a National Workshop on “Creation of Agricultural Advisories using Kisan Sarathi Kosh” on 23rd September 2025. The workshop was conducted under the ICAR project “Kisan Sarathi 2.0: Enhancement, Operation, Maintenance and Support”, jointly funded by ICAR and the Digital India Corporation.

The inaugural session was graced by eminent dignitaries including Dr. Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR–IARI; Dr. Anil Rai, ADG (ICT), ICAR; Dr. Rajender Parsad, Director, ICAR–IASRI; Mr. Anindya Banerjee, Advisor (Digital Agriculture), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and several dignitaries from Digital India Corporation, New Delhi and from Delhi-based ICAR institutes. Around 75 delegates from ICAR institutes and partner organizations participated in the workshop, with a focus on collaboratively generating and validating advisories for Rabi crops using the Kisan Sarathi platform.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR–IARI, highlighted the importance of digital tools in modernizing agricultural extension services. “Kisan Sarathi 2.0 is a transformative platform that empowers farmers by providing them localized, timely, and credible advisories. Its application is a significant step toward ensuring the welfare of farmers by reducing uncertainties, improving decision-making, and enhancing resilience against climate risks. Through such innovations, we are moving closer to the vision of a digitally empowered agricultural ecosystem,” he emphasized.

Dr. Anil Rai highlighted the technical innovations behind the platform. “Kisan Sarathi is not just an advisory platform, but a dynamic bridge between scientists, extension workers, and farmers. The inclusion of Kisan Sarathi Kosh as a centralized knowledge repository ensures that advisories are region-specific, crop-specific, and need-based, enabling faster response to farmers’ queries. This integration of technology with knowledge management will bring precision, speed, and inclusivity in agricultural extension,” he stated.

Dr. Amrender Kumar, Incharge AKMU, ICAR–IARI, informed that Kisan Sarathi 2.0 is an advanced multilingual, multi-channel ICT platform designed to deliver timely and need-based agricultural advisories across crops, horticulture, animal husbandry, and fisheries. The platform ensures that farmers receive accurate information in the right language, location, and time, thereby enabling informed decisions for better productivity and profitability.

The technical sessions included hands-on training on creation and dissemination of advisories, guidance on user management and approval workflows, and an introduction to Kisan Sarathi Kosh, a centralized digital knowledge repository. These practical exercises enabled participants to acquire the skills required for building a more responsive and farmer-centric advisory system. The workshop concluded with a commitment from all participants to leverage digital innovations for ensuring timely, localized, and effective information delivery to farmers, thus contributing to the larger vision of Atmanirbhar Krishi and Digital India.