New Delhi, April 6 (IANS): The Agriculture Ministry and the National Remote Sensing Centre in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here for geo-tagging of agricultural land.

Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told the media here that the move will help bring about transparency in governance due to real-time monitoring and utilisation of agricultural assets.

"To be aware of the realistic status of assets will not only help in monitoring and utilising, but also be extremely useful in formulating schemes for development in the agricultural sector. It will also help in avoiding duplication," Radha Mohan Singh said.

The geo-tagging benefits include monitoring of water levels in ponds, crop yield estimation, pesticide management, soil-health mapping, and storage and market level information.

Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space Development, who was present during the signing of the MoU, said geo-tagging will ensure effective disbursements of money to over one crore intended beneficiaries.