Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has begun the process of providing free Android smartphones to all registered farmers.
It had made a budget allocation for 2017-18 for the purpose.
In this connection, the Cooperation department has written to the Agriculture department for detailed information.
Through the smartphone, the farmers will get the details about the prevailing market price of their produce.
The smartphone will have voice call and SMS facilities. The farmers can text their message in Odia to the digital mandis.
According to official sources, the Odisha State Agricultural Marketing (OSAM) Board will float a tender to procure these soon. The phones will be provided to the farmers registered by the Regulated Market Committee (RMC) at the district level in a phased manner.
During distribution of the smartphones, priority would be given to the farmers having RuPay Card and Kisan Card.
However, the district administration and the RMC officials will take a final decision in this regard, the sources added.
