The whole world is becoming digital and along with the world, India is also slowly becoming digital. Many sectors in India like banking, education, shopping, ticketing and will payments etc have become digital to a great extent. In this series, gradually the agricultural sector is also spreading its feet. While the government is making its contribution to digitize the agriculture sector, many companies from private sectors are also coming forward for this. An example of this is a company like Gramophone which is trying to connect with the farmers and is also achieving success in this.

Generally, the agriculture that is done in India is done in the same old traditional way which has been going on for centuries. Although technology has brought revolutionary changes in the agriculture sector in the last few decades and this change has also benefited some farmers, this change was not able to benefit the farmers on a large scale. The main reason behind this is the lack of awareness among farmers living in remote rural areas about these techniques. Digitization of agriculture can be an important step to overcome this lack of awareness.

India is the second largest internet user country in the world

India is currently the second largest internet user country in the world after China. According to statistics, 56 crore consumers use the Internet in India. This figure is increasing every day and there is a possibility that it will increase to 60 crores by the year 2021. However, let us tell you that at present, out of 56 crore Indian Internet users, a large figure is from the consumers of the urban area, a large section of the rural area is also slowly becoming digital by connecting to the Internet. Most of the farmers come from these rural populations and the above figures show that now the farmer is also connecting to the internet. Internet connectivity of farmers can prove to be very beneficial in making Indian traditional agriculture digital and technology-oriented.

What is digitization of agriculture?

The purpose of digitalization or digitization of any system is to determine that paper is not used in any process and everything reaches the consumers electronically. However, if we talk about digitization of agriculture, then you will say that where is paper used in agriculture anyway? However you are right! Digitization not only develops paperless systems but also makes other services easily accessible to the consumers. Here, among other services related to the agriculture sector, farmers are provided with all types of agriculture related information at one click, as well as advanced types of agricultural related materials such as fertilizers, seeds and medicines etc. are provided in remote rural areas.

Why ‘Digitalization of Agriculture’ is necessary in India

India has always been an agricultural country, but when it comes to the pace of technological development in the agriculture sector, it has been very slow compared to other big countries of the world, so we are not able to become a big agricultural power in the world. We know that India is also the world’s second largest population and in such a situation it is a very difficult task to reach every farmer and make them aware of technology. We can overcome this difficulty through ‘digitization of agriculture’. Today almost every second Indian has a smartphone through which he can get all kinds of information instantly. Farmers will also get the same facility through digitalization of agriculture and they will continue to be aware of global technologies.

Helpful digital medium for agriculture

With the digitalization of agriculture, farmers can now get rid of all kinds of problems related to agriculture, learn new agricultural related processes and be aware of the experiments related to agriculture in different parts of the world through social media sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and through many other mediums. Not only these social media sites but now specially keeping in mind agriculture and farmers, mobile apps are also being made which are directly helping in improving agriculture. The use of all digital mediums like agricultural portals, websites, mobile apps, digital instruments, TV channels for agricultural work is increasing.

Benefits to farmers by going digital in agriculture

1. To easily reach the information of new technologies related to planting or sowing of crops etc. to the farmers.
2. To convey important information related to agro-climatic i.e. favorable weather for agriculture to the farmers.
3. To give information about the demand and supply related to all types of crops. With the help of this information, farmers can put more emphasis on production of crops with high demand and less supply.
4. To provide accurate information about every phase of crops from sowing to harvesting such as soil treatment, seed treatment, fertilizer management etc. to the farmers.
5. After harvesting, farmers also get accurate information about the rate at which market the crops should be sold.
6. Apart from this, many such farmers who do not know how to read well, can also take advantage of these mediums by watching and listening to videos in which all the above mentioned information related to farming is shared.

Helpful Apps for Digital Farming

Many mobile apps have also been created to help farmers to digitize Indian agriculture, with the help of which all types of information related to agriculture can be found at a single click. Know about some such mobile apps.

Kisan Suvidha App

As the name suggests, ‘Kisan Suvidha App’ has been launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India with the aim of increasing the convenience of the farmers. With the help of this, all kinds of information related to agriculture keeps reaching the farmers. In this, information related to the weather forecast for the current and next five days is given, as well as information about the market price of agricultural related items like fertilizers, seeds, machinery, crops etc. in the nearest city.

Fasal Beema App

Fasal Beema App helps farmers in the correct calculation of insurance premium of notified crops under the Prime Minister’s Fasal Bima Yojana of the Central Government. This app also gives information related to general insurance amount and extended sum insured as well as premium details and subsidy of notified crops falling under notified area.

IFFCO kisan app

IFFCO kisan app proves to be very helpful for farmers by giving important information related to agriculture such as weather forecast, current market conditions, new agricultural advice, accurate information related to market prices, advice and solutions of agriculture experts and crop production related information. Apart from all this, this app also encourages interaction among farmers through phone conversations and agricultural news through this.

Gramophone App

Gramophone App is becoming very famous among the farmers within just 5 years of its launch for quick solution to the problems of the farmers. This app provides quick relief from all kinds of problems faced by the farmers during the crop cycle and at the same time also provides the opinion of agriculture experts to the farmers.

Oil Seed at a Glance App

Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research has created a special ‘Oil Seed at a Glance App’ and as you must be aware from its name, through this app, information related to all types of oilseed crops and its improved varieties is revealed.

Agri-Market App

This app was mainly launched by the central government with the objective that farmers should get a fair price for the crops grown by them. This app informs the farmers about the market price of the crops. This app gives complete information about the market price of food grains to farmers within 50 km radius of the farmer’s location.

Pusa Krishi App

Indian Agricultural Research Institute started this mobile app in the year 2016 and since then it keeps farmers informed about various types of agriculture related information. Through this mobile application, the improved varieties are developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and share technical information related to better production of these varieties with the farmers.

So in this way, with the help of digital technology, farmers are being helped and with this help farmers are also able to increase the production of their crops. With the help of these modern technologies, farmers are making their farming efficient and profitable as well as they are also able to increase their income up to double. By the way, all this is just the beginning, and as the farmers living in the rural areas become completely digital, the country will emerge as a major global power in the agriculture sector.