For approximately 58 per cent of India’s population, agriculture is the primary source of income. It accounts for more than 20 per cent of India’s GDP, making it the backbone of the country’s economy. Over the last two decades, India’s rapid adoption of mobile phones has aided in closing the agricultural productivity gap and facilitating technology adoption. In terms of overcoming supply chain challenges and increasing yield, income, and sustainability, technology has proven to be a great enabler. Technology in agriculture aids farmers in gaining access to markets, inputs, data, advice, credit, and insurance, allowing them to make more profitable agricultural decisions.
As lockdown and covid posed challenges, farmers started adopting technology on a greater scale. COVID-19 paved the way for the advancement of digital technology in all sectors and farming was no exception, accelerating growth by ensuring higher crop yields and improving sustainability by reducing water consumption and promoting the judicious use of agrochemicals.
Farmers have started to now realise the importance of adopting new technologies to increase their yield and reduce the input cost. Tech-savvy farmers are now earning more than they used to. As a result, after the initial hiccups caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s agri technology sector has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sectors in India.
Leveraging technology to help farmers
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital agriculture tools have enabled farmers to continue receiving advisory, obtain much-needed financing, receive farm inputs, and identify new markets for their products. Agritech companies are helping farmers to stay connected and thrive. The companies can remove the middlemen, allowing farmers to sell their produce directly to consumers online. Agritech start-ups in the country received $300 million in investments in 2020, and the industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 32 per cent from FY20 to FY25. Using technology in agriculture accelerates the process and ensures a positive impact on the environment as well as a long-term, profitable future that meets the demand for food.
Rise of the digital era in farming
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), remote sensing, Big Data, Blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are transforming agricultural value chains and modernising operations. While several countries, including the Netherlands, the US, Australia, and Israel have successfully adopted and exploited digital solutions to revolutionize agriculture, India is still in its early stages. The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model will foster the adoption of digital agriculture in India.
For example, a project led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and supported by the Digital Credit Observatory (DCO) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), used satellite images and smartphone pictures collected from farmers to generate credit scores that could be used to extend loans to farmers without an on-site visit.
During the pandemic, many agritech providers adapted digital agriculture solutions to include e-commerce realising that finding markets for their products had become a pressing concern for farmers. In some cases, these e-commerce capabilities are as simple as connecting buyers and sellers via messaging or social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, or Twitter. Agri companies have enhanced their digital initiatives by providing help through apps and call centres.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s app Kisan Rath came in handy in response to transportation restrictions and mandi (market) closures that impacted farmers across India. The app, which runs on Android, is similar to Uber in that it connects farmers and traders with transportation companies. Farmers upload information about the crop’s volume and destination. Owners of trucks can then agree to transport that volume to the correct location. Despite some early glitches, the app registered over 80,000 farmers and 70,000 traders in the first week of operation, indicating that there is a demand for this type of service.
The National Agriculture Market (eNAM), a pan-India electronic trading portal that connects the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities, is one of the many initiatives launched by the government. The Digital Agriculture Mission 2021–2025 is another initiative that aims to support and accelerate projects based on new technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, remote sensing and GIS technology, and the use of drones and robots. The Jio Agri (JioKrishi) platform, which was launched in February 2020, digitises the agricultural ecosystem throughout the value chain to empower farmers. The DBT Agri Portal, which was launched in January 2013, is a centralised portal for agricultural schemes across the country. Through government subsidies, the portal assists farmers in adopting modern farm machinery.
The future
The government has approved the spray of agrochemicals via drones, and trials are already underway by institutes and companies. Drones are currently being tested for use in the cotton-growing region along with other crops of the country to spray pesticides to control pests that would otherwise be treated by agricultural labourers, which takes a long time and does not always result in uniform spraying. They not only reduce the risk of unintentional fume inhalation but also speed up the pest control process by covering larger areas in less time. The main advantage of using a drone is that it uses less water and pesticide and allows for more precision during the application process. Pesticide companies are required to submit phytotoxicity studies under the directives issued by the government. This will significantly contribute to research, leading to increased productivity in the coming years. Though commercialisation will take some time, it is encouraging that the government is moving in this new direction.
Among other technologies, remote sensing, soil sensors, unmanned aerial surveying, and market insights enable farmers to gather, visualise, and assess crop and soil health conditions at various stages of production conveniently and cost-effectively. They can act as an early warning system, identifying potential issues and providing solutions to address them as soon as possible. AI/ML algorithms can generate real-time actionable insights to help farmers improve crop yield, control pests, assist in soil screening, provide farmers with actionable data, and reduce their workload. Blockchain technology enables tamper-proof and precise farm and inventory data, as well as quick and secure transactions for the farmers. Hence, they are no longer reliant on paperwork or files to record and store critical data. More such state-of-the-art technologies will continue to be valuable tools for connecting with farmers next year too. The year 2022 will be a year of innovations that will greatly benefit the agricultural sector.
Despite all technological advancements taking place only a handful of farmers are being benefitted by the same, a large number of farmers are still far away from the same due to numerous reasons, again the role of education and training becomes pivotal for the farmers which requires a joint effort by the government agencies and the industry.
Farmers have started to realise the importance
