Technology has made life very simple! And this has extended even to agriculture. Know how cell-phones are acting as Indian farmers best friend these days. Explore this deck to know more.
2. Farmers Say...
Atul Bharve, a farmer from Marathwada
said...
"When the rains didn't arrive in early
June, I panicked. But that crucial SMS
from Nokia was a lifeline of sorts for
my family."
3. Kapil Mehta, a traditional paddy farmer from
Sabakantha district in northern Gujarat –
- Took up sorghum cultivation, which requires less
water
- This was in line with a voice message advisory from
Iffco Kisan Sanchar, a joint venture between mobile
carrier Bharti Airtel and fertiliser firm Iffco.
4. When population is huge, and the agricultural space
for feeding the population is very less, every farmer
is concerned about:
Monsoons
Weather report
Type of seeds
Type of soil
Land irrigation methods
Time of plantation and many more attributes
5. The reason for the concern might be:
The information inequality among the mass of the
farmers that lead to an asymmetric information and
hence devious results in farming.
6. Hence to overcome the problems of communication
barriers & information unavailability– Government
deviced the best solution for farmers.
The solution is one of the best contemporary
medium of all times:
‘Mobile Phone for Every Farmer’
7. How it helps???
Through mobile technology farmers can now readily
avail information like the weather forecast, cropping
patterns, etc. which are critical to a good harvest
The farmers receive messages and information in
their vernacular language via handset
Leads to better informed decisions
Benchmarking in norms, calls and practices in
farming
Added benefits leading to crop rotation, and better
yield
8. How it helps???
Lead to better farming methods, as attained through
symmetric information on the attributes mentioned
above
Farmers are not dependent on the weather or
monsoon prediction
There is a reduction of time, and wastage of the field
usage
There is a benefit to the microfinance companies, as
they would bundle calls, promotions, seed
information through voice short messaging services
or text messages
10. If some authentic sources are to be believed –
Agriculture is already witnessing ‘Mobile Revolution’
Government policies have made proliferation of
#cell-phones & eventually technology
Outlook Business in its special issue of Oct 2008
stated that --
“Indian agriculture is ready for a makeover. Fourteen
stories from the fields that show the way ahead”
11. Some Initiatives
Governmet & private service providers have facilitated
many of the ‘agri-advisory’ services that aid farmers
iKisan Kisan Mitra e-Choupal
Nokia Life Tools
12. Technology has made life very simple!
And this has extended even to agriculture
Its a known fact that agriculture in India is
vulnerable to natural as well as man-made factors,
technology acts as a shield against such unavoidable
situations
Considering the same, GOI has ensured that every
farmer in the counrty is equipped with handsets,
which is also essential to bridge a Urban-Rural
digital divide