Shillong, Sept. 22: Rainwater harvesting, diversification of farming practices, skill development of farmers are among a slew of measures which have been recommended for 'smart farming'.

These recommendations were made at the end of a three-day national seminar on Smart Farming for Enhancing Input Use Efficiency, Income and Environmental Security, organised by the Indian Association of Hill Farming in collaboration with ICAR Research Complex for the North Eastern Hill Region at Umiam, about 20km from here.

The seminar saw more than 300 participants from all over the country. At the end of the seminar yesterday, several recommendations were made to achieve better farming productivity.

The suggestions include rainwater harvesting and increasing rainwater use efficiency to double the productivity of crops, diversification of farming practices to minimise loss and enhance return on investment, skill development of rural and tribal farmers for enhanced productivity and branding of organic products for marketing advantage, value addition and value chain management to agricultural produce, especially at farmers' level for meat, underutilised fruits and vegetables, and development of small entrepreneurs for increased economic activity of the farming community.

Moreover, it was recommended that strong marketing channels be developed with buy-back linkage for farmers, strengthening of application of information and communication technologies (ICT) in agriculture in hilly regions, value addition in meat and fish to fortify the medicinal property and others.

Assam Agricultural University vice-chancellor K.M. Bujarbaruah said smart farming, though a new concept, has immense potential in doubling farmers' income. He said technology should be used so that maximum benefit can be derived.

Addressing the gathering, MP Prahlad Singh Patel, who is also a former Union minister, said the next green revolution would begin from the Northeast as the region is rich in biodiversity and a hotspot for medicinal plants.

While stating that hill farming is a challenge, Patel said the distance between the farmers and scientists should be omitted. 'A research on paper is of no use if it is not applied to the farmers' field. The scientific technology should reach the farmers, which is only possible if the scientist act as a median in the process,' he said, while urging the ICAR scientists to remove the gaps between them and the farmers.