India is going digital in every sector at a remarkable speed. The launch of ‘Digital India’ by the government has ensured that the process is accelerated. Considering the fact that the livelihoods of 58% of rural households still rely on agriculture, it was only a matter of time before agriculture too became digital.
In 2015, India had about 320 million people residing in rural areas using mobile phones. This makes the phones the easiest mode of communication and the best platform for the exchange of information. Taking leverage of this data, the government, as well as the private sector, introduced agriculture apps for the benefit of farmers, to provide them with education, knowledge and support.
7 agriculture apps that can prove very beneficial to the farmers.
1. Kisan Suvidha
This app was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016 to work towards empowerment of farmers. The app provides information on current weather, and forecast of the next 5 days; market prices in the nearest town; and knowledge about fertilisers, seeds, machinery, etc. The app is available in many languages and is very user-friendly in design.
2. Pusa Krishi
This app was launched by the Union Agriculture minister in 2016 to help the farmers get information about the latest technologies developed by the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI). It provides the farmers with information on new varieties of crops developed by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR).
3. IFFCO Kisan
This app was launched in 2015 with an aim to help Indian farmers make informed decisions through customized information related to their needs. Users can access a variety of information modules including agricultural advisory, weather, market prices, agricultural information library in form of text audio images and videos in selected languages.
4. Kheti Badi
Kheti Badi is a social initiative app aimed to promote and support organic farming in the country. The app helps the farmers to switch to organic farming by providing them alternative solutions to their problems.
5. Crop Insurance
This app helps the farmers to calculate insurance premium for notified crops and provides them with information on cut-off dates and company contacts for their crop and location. It can also be used to get details of normal sum insured, extended sum insured, premium details and subsidy information of any notified crop in any notified area.
6. Plantix
Plantix is an agriculture app which connects the global farming community. The app allows the farmers to take pictures of their sick plants and get solutions from the community across the globe. The app empowers the individual farmers who take up farming as a hobby or plant researchers, along with the professional farmers.
7. MyAgriGuru
MyAgriGuru is a digital platform for farmers – an initiative by the Mahindra Group. The app is aimed at creating an integrated network in the agriculture community in India. The platform connects farmers and agri-experts across the country and enables the exchange of thoughts, ideas and information – creating a true, trustworthy eco-system.
