E-Agriculture is a new area of knowledge emerging out of convergence of IT and farming techniques. It enhances the agricultural value chain through the application of the Internet and related technologies. Technology has provided Soil Management, Water Management, Seed Management, Fertilizer Management, Pest Management, Harvest Management and Post-Harvest Management. It uses a host of technologies like Remote Sensing, Computer Simulation, Assessment of speed and direction of Wind, Soil quality assays, Crop Yield predictions and Marketing using IT. 

The E-Agriculture is part of Mission Mode Project (MMP), which has been included in NeGP (under National E-governance Plan) in an effort to consolidate the various learnings from the past, integrate all the diverse and disparate efforts currently underway, and upscale them to cover the entire country.

E-Agriculture can help in improving skills and productive capacities of farmers while ensuring cost effectiveness, viability and sustainability of the farming practices. It can facilitate linkages with academia, industry and government agencies

The MMP aims to provide services, such as:

  1. Information to farmers on seeds, fertilizers, pesticides
  2. Information to farmers on Govt. Schemes
  3. Information to farmers on Soil recommendations
  4. Information on crop management
  5. Information on weather and marketing of agriculture produce
  6. Agro-finance and management of farm agri-business 

The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC) has formulated information technology vision 2020. This vision states that: 

  • Information relating to the agriculture sector would be available to the ultimate users–the farmers for optimizing their productivity and income. 
  • Extension and advisory services making use of information technology would be available to the farmers on round the clock basis. 
  • The tools for information technology will provide networking of agriculture sector not only in the country but also globally and the Union and State Government Departments will have reservoirs of database.

RECENT “e” INITIATIVES TAKEN FOR FARMERS: 

National mission on agriculture extension and Technology

Aim - To restructure and strengthen agricultural extension to enable delivery of appropriate technology and improved agronomic practices to farmers. 

This is envisaged to be achieved by a judicious mix of extensive physical outreach and interactive methods of information dissemination, use of ICT, popularisation of modern and appropriate technologies, capacity building and institution strengthening to promote mechanisation, availability of quality seeds, plant protection etc. and encourage farmers to form Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).

Kisan credit card: It uses the ICT to provide affordable credit for farmers in India. It was started by the Government of India, RBI, and NABARD in 1998-99 to help farmers access timely and adequate credit.

Agrisnet: It is a comprehensive web portal to broadcast relevant information to farmers, which was initiated and funded by the Ministry of Agriculture. 

The AGRISNET serves the farming community by disseminating information and providing services through use of ICT. 

It has the goals of Providing information to the farmers on quality of the inputs and its availability, disseminating information of various government schemes and recommending fertilizers after soil testing, Providing information on latest technologies for increasing productivity in agriculture.

e-NAM: In 2016, the government launched ‘eNAM’ (National Agriculture Market), an online platform for helping farmers bid for the best prices across markets by Integrating agricultural markets online Allowing farmers and traders alike to view all Agriculture Produce Market Committee-Related information and services Commodity arrivals and prices, and buy and sell trade offers.

IFFCO iMandi:

Artificial Intelligence in farming:

The technology can help in increasing crop yield by providing real-time advisory, prediction of crop prices, and early detection of pest attacks, precision farming, and others. For example- CROPTIX to diagnose crop diseases in the field and alert rural farmers in Kenya and PEAT, a machine vision for diagnosing pests/soil defects.

In 2018,  the International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) received a Microsoft Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Earth grant to support the continued development of Artificial Intelligence solutions, focusing on sustainable agriculture in developing parts across the globe.

In India, this pilot project is implemented in the state of Andhra Pradesh where farmers have always relied on their guesswork to decide when to plant and a combination of ancient traditions.

Meghdoot: This app will help farmers by providing forecasts relating to temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction, and how to take care of the crops and livestock. (No market etc. price here)

KisanSuvidha and PusaKrishi Mobile App: The application provides information related to market prices, seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, weather and agricultural machinery, etc.

Plantix:  By the Karnataka government, it can smartly detect pests, plant diseases, and nutrient deficiencies.


SIGNIFICANCE OF ADOPTING TECHNOLOGY:

Remedial therapy: In India, where water crisis, desertification, crop pests, diseases and a persistent lack of infrastructure continue to threaten the agricultural sector, technological advancement is providing a much-needed lifeline to remedy the problematic situation.

Development of efficient methods: With significant advancements in the fields of robotics and sensing technologies, e-technology has led to the development of more sophisticated, effective and efficient practices and methods of undertaking agricultural practices.

Decision support system: Farmers with all relevant information in their hand, can make a better and informed decision for their agricultural activities, for grains, communication channels, distribution, and other needs.

Disintermediation: In the technological era, the farmer can adopt innovative technology in order to gain control of the changing dynamics and leverage market insight without relying on traders. Thus helping in widening market access.

New techniques are disseminated to farmers through use of Information technology to ensure inclusiveness and to avoid digital divide.

Major challenges faced by the farmers:

  • Lack of infrastructure: The lack of information on farm inputs, unorganized credit, and absence of market linkages are the major hurdles faced by farmers in adopting new technologies.
  • Right inputs and advisory: Farmers lack enough knowledge regarding various resources available related to farming and the right advice on the way to use them.
  • Poor reach: In rural areas, the reach of e-technology is really poor, even the distribution of technology is uneven throughout the country.
  • Insufficiency & Illiteracy: In rural areas, insufficient connectivity, along with lack of basic computer knowledge, high costs for services and literacy hinder rapid development of electronic-agriculture.
  • Adoption issues: Despite the visible benefits of the new agricultural technologies, farmers either do not adopt them or it takes a long time for them to adopt.
  • Financial constraints: Rich farmers are adopting the technology and utilizing their services but the small and marginal farmers are unable to afford the new technologies and they remain left out.

NEED OF THE HOUR:

All of the above challenges call for bottom-up, complementary investments in physical, human, and institutional capital, and farmer-friendly e-platforms and the following measures:

  • Digital literacy: Spreading digital literacy, by teaching farmers how to choose and use apps, which are, or soon to be, available in regional languages.
  • Outreach activities: There is a need to tap the vast network of Panchayats and local governments to undertake awareness and outreach activities to achieve productivity, nutritional value, and enormous health benefits.
  • Proper monitoring: The government needs to monitor the actual use and impact of interventions on farmer’s lives by understanding adoption and adaptation processes.
  • Revolutionary reforms: The agricultural sector requires top-down policy and institutional reforms, where progress is real and constraints holding back greater success can be understood at every level.
  • Informative content: Also, for productive, knowledge-intensive agriculture, there is a need for generating reliable, up-to-date, location-specific message content.

 Entrepreneurship in agriculture -

Many start-ups “dairypreneurs” have come in promising a farm-to-home experience of milk. Country Delight is one such company that delivers fresh milk at the consumer’s doorstep and gives quality testing kits at home. Stellapps Technologies is working towards digitising the dairy supply chain in India by enabling traceability across the milk supply chain for dairy companies. They have digitised cattle health, milk production, milk procurement, milk testing, and cold chain management through the Internet of Things (IoT) and sensor-based SmartMoo cloud. 

The Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute — Vision 2050 estimates that India will have a green fodder deficit of about 30 per cent by 2030. “Hydrogreens”, an agri-tech startup provides solutions to the green fodder deficit through their “Kambala”, a hydroponic green fodder unit. It allows farmers to grow fresh green fodder year-round without soil in a controlled environment and with limited water resources. More than 130 units have been installed across the country to overcome the green fodder deficit in a cost-effective way.