1. How mobile phones are helping
farmers in India

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

9. Can this lead to ‘Mobile Revolution’ in
agriculture?

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

13. Thank You
http://theradiationdoctor.wordpress.com/