Digital Technologies for Transforming Indian Agriculture in 21st Century Dr.J.Meenambigai Associate Professor Department of Agricultural Extension Faculty of Agriculture Annamalai University Chidambaram

1. Digital Technologies for
Transforming Indian Agriculture in
21st Century
Dr.J.Meenambigai
Associate Professor
Department of Agricultural Extension
Faculty of Agriculture ,Annamalai University
Tamil Nadu

2. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Digital transformation has been a
strong theme in both business and
IT over the past five years and
often is a term mistakenly used for
almost any kind of new
technology adoption.

3. Is the economic and societal effects of
digitization and digitalization.
Is the conversion of analogue data and
processes into a machine readable format.
Is the use of digital technologies and data
as well as interconnection that results in
new or changes to existing activities.
Are ICT, including the internet, mobile,
devices and data analytics used to improve
the generation, collection, exchange,
aggregation, analysis, access search ability
and presentation of digital content.

4. Agriculture
Indian Agriculture contributes 22% of
our GDP, and approximately 60% Indians
derive their livelihood from the
agricultural sector.
In India, these are about 120 million farm
holdings and the number is growing year
by year.
Planning commission of India states that
the agriculture growth is stagnating and
sluggish.

5. Need of ICT in Indian Agriculture
 ICT in agriculture is an emerging field
focusing on the enhancement of
agricultural and rural development in
India.
 The advancements in ICT can facilitate an
environment for more remunerative
agriculture.

6. Market information
Information on latest techniques and
technologies
Information about rural development
programs and subsidies
Weather forecasting
Latest (best) packages of practices
Post-harvest technology

7. Cont…..
 General agricultural news
 Information on insurance / claim
processing
 Input prices and availability
 Early warning and management of
diseases and pests
 Soil testing and soil sampling information

8. Role of ICT
Enhancing Agricultural
Production
Improving Market Access
Capacity-building and
empowerment

9. ICT Initiatives and Applications
1) aAQUA
2) KISSAN Kerala
3) TNAU AGRITECH Portal
4) AGRISNET
5) DACNET
6) e-Krishi
7) ASHA
8) India Development Gateway (InDG) portal
9) Rice Knowledge Management Portal (RKMP)
10) Agropedia

10. Market Information and Agri-Business
Firms’ Portal to Farmer
AGMARKNET
ITC-e-Chopal
EID Parry-Indiagriling
Indiancommodities.com
Mahindra Kisan Mintra
IFFCO Agri-Portal
Agrowatch Portal
iKissan

11. Private and Co-operative
Organizations
• Village Knowledge Center -
M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation
• Village Resource Center - Indian Space
Research Organization
• Community Information Center
• Common Service Center

12. Telephony/ Mobile Telephony
1) Farmers Call Center (Kissan Call Center)
2) Lifelines India
3) IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL)
4) Fisher Friend
5) Reuters Market Light(RML)
6) Mobile Advisory Services by Krishi Vigyan
Kendras (KVKs) of Indian Council of
Research(ICAR)

13. Hybrid Projects
e-Arik
e-Sagu
Digital Green
Knowledge Share Center

14. Invigorating Extension through
ICT Tools
…
1. TNAU Agri Tech Portal
2. Crop Doctor
3. Multi Video Conference
4. Cross platform of Android, Mac iOS
5. Training the Extension Officials Phase-I (1482)
6. On-line and off-line Access
7. Instant interaction with Research Institutes and
KV

15. Mobile communication technology
Mobile applications– Agricultural
Rural Development by providing
access to information, market and
services to rural inhabitants (world
bank, 2012).
Mobile Technology

16. Role of mobile phones
 Access to modern technology for farming.
 Fulfill the informational needs of farmers.
 Improve the information transfer between
farmers and research institutions.
 Significantly reduce the communication
and information cost
 Provide new opportunities for rural farmers
to obtain knowledge and information.

17. Cont…..
Provided information on markets,
weather, transport and agricultural
techniques.
Provide new approach to farmers to make
tentative decisions.
Leads to greater social cohesion and
improved social relationships.
 Provided connectivity and offer benefits
such as mobility and security to owners.

18. Mobile apps
Software programmes designed to run on Smartphone, tablets
and other devices
Basic tasks like e-mail, web browsing, calendar contacts,
weather forecast etc.,
Mobile agricultural apps – characterise to target the needs
of the agricultural sector and its stake holders.
 Wide spectrum of activities from field to market
 Services such as weather forecasting, agricultural business
news, information for agricultural machinery and equipment
daily farming yield forecasting and monitoring.

19. Kisan suvidha
Developed by: Ministry
of Agriculture and
Farmers.

20. Kisan suvidha is an
omnibus mobile app
developed to help farmers
by providing relevant
information.
Weather, Market Price,
Dealers, Plant Protection,
Agro Advisory, Call To
KCC

21. Kisan suvidha

22. Soil health card
Soil Health Card scheme is a Government of India
scheme promoted by the Department of Agriculture,
Co-operation and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and being
implemented in the state and union territories.
A SHC gives soil nutrients status to each farmer for
his/her land holding and also gives advices on
fertilizer dosage and soil amendments needed to
maintain soil health in the long run.

23. Soil health card

24. CCE agri mobile app
In rural areas, there will be no or poor internet
connection that is why this app has been designed
in such a way that data can be collected without
internet connection.
It works in both online and offline mode.
Internet is required only to download the app and
doing registration.
Affter that CCE data can be entered using this app
without internet connection.
And as and when internet is available, data can be
pushed to the server.

25. BENEFITS OF CCE AGRI APP
Significantly improve data speed (from
harvesting to insurance loss estimation) and
biggest gain is data quality:
Geo-tagging ensures field visit
Photos mitigate manipulation risk, and
Data transfer greatly improves data
consolidation/analysis
Reduced time in data collation
Reduced time in claim settlement

26. Crop insurance
Developed by: Department
of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare (DAC & FW).
It provides details of crop
insurance.

27. Features:
Crop insurance mobile app
can be used to calculate the
insurance premium for
notified crops based on area,
coverage amount and loan
amount in case of loanee
farmer.
It can also used to get details
of normal sum insured,
extended sum insured, of any
of notified crop in notified
area.

28. eNAM:
Developed by: Small Farmer Agribusiness
Consortium(SFAC), Ministry of Agriculture
and Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India.
Purpose of mobile app is to facilitate remote
bidding by traders and access to arrivals and
price related information to farmers and other
holders on their smart phones.

29. E-NAM PROCESS

30. REGISTRATION

32. No. Of Stakeholders in e-nam
(as on 30th September, 2019)
source:enam.gov.in

33. Benefits

34. AgriMarket
Developed by: Ministry of
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
AgriMarket app is used to get
market price of crops in the
markets within 50kms of the
device’s location

35. DIGITAL MANDI INDIA
Helps in checking the latest Mandi prices of
agricultural commodities reported from
different states and districts/ mandis in india.

36. Features
One can browse through various commodity categories
and get the selected commodity’s price reported by
various states/ by mandi.
Simplified flow to reach the selected commodity’s
mandi price.
Copy the mandi price of a commodity and share the
price on social media.
Sync data the Indian government portal
Agmarknet.nic.in

37. PUSA KRISHI
Pusa krishi mobile app launched
in MARCH 21,2016.
Information about new varieties
released by ICAR.
“LAB TO LAND”
ICAR

39. riceXpert
ICAR-National Rice
Research Institute-Cuttack.
View to reach the latest rice
technologies to the rice
farmers in real time basis.

40. OILSEEDS
ICAR IIOR CASTOR
Jan 10, 2018.
General information
Agronomic practices
Hybrids
Varieties
Cropping systems

41. ICAR- IIOR safflower:
Jun 7, 2017
Commodity markets
Major pest and diseases
Varieties and hybrids

42. ICAR IIOR Sunflower

43. Solapur anar
To educate pomegranate growers
about scientific pomegranate
production.
Include publications
Announcement from National
Research Centre on Pomegranate-
trainings, seminar
English, Hindi, Marathi

44. Cane advisor
ICAR- sugarcane breeding
institute, coimbatore, TN.
Details from planting to
harvest with text and relevant
graphics.
Scheduler
Query handler

45. mkrishi fisheries app
Developed by Tata Consultancy Services
Innovation lab-Mumbai, in collaboration with
ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute
& Indian National Centre for Ocean Information
Service(INCOIS) Hyderabad.
INCOIS generate Potential Fishing Zone(PFZ), a
fish shoals sensing data received from NOAA
Satellites, sea surface temperature and the presence
of phytoplankton which form the food of several
fish species.

46. App consolidates this
information and presents
advisories in local
language.
Raigad, Maharashtra.
Registered users.
To reduce unnecessary
trips.

47. IFFCO Kisan Agri
Developed by: IFFCO Kisan, a
subsidiary of Indian Farmers
Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd.
Features:
Weather
Market Price
Agricultural Advisory
Agriculture Library

48. DASHBOARD

49. Expert system for various crops
Sugarcane expert system
Cultivation practices
Irrigation management
Nutrient management
Crop protection
Post harvest technology

50. Paddy expert system
Nursery management
Nutrient management
Marketing
Schemes

51. Coconut expert system
Pest and disease management
Coconut processing
Institutions for coconut

52. Cattle expert system
Feeding management
Breeding management
Disease management
Production technology

53. Fisher Friendly Mobile Application(FFMA)
Developed by: MS Swaminathan Research
Foundation in partnership with Qualcomm &
INCOIS.

54. Pashu poshan
Balanced ration can be
formulated while optimizing
the cost considering animal
profile, i.e. cattle or buffalo,
age, milk production, milk
fat and feeding regime etc.
To adjust the quantity of
locally available feeding
ingredients offered to their
animals.

55. Dairy telugu & dairy kannada

56. Other apps
Shetkari Masik android app
“Shetkari Masik”-popular magazine
Department of agriculture, Maharashtra
Internet or wifi connectivity

57. Farm-O-Pedia
Developed by: C-DAC Mumbai
Multilingual android application
for rural Gujarat
Functions: suitable crops, crop
wise information, weather and
manage your cattle.

58. Agri-app
Crop production, crop
protection, and all relevant
agriculture allied services on
your smartphone
Kannada, English, Hindi,
Telugu, Tamil, and Marathi

59. Plant pest and disease management
Plantix
Features:
• Real-time diagnosis.
• Weather information system.
• Community features facilitates
interaction.
• Smallholder farmers as end-
users.

60. Recently developed mobile applications in 2019
Meghdoot: The Ministry of Earth Sciences and
Agriculture have launched a mobile application that
will provide location, and crop and livestock-
specific weather- based agro advisories to farmers
in local languages.
CHC: Farmers can select and order the required
machinery at the feasible for them from the Custom
Hiring Centers located in the radius of 50 kms

61. M-Extension – Mobile Phones for
Agricultural Advisory Services
Mobile telephony – Subscription rate –
developing countries 22/100 in habitants in
2005 – 91.8 per 100 inhabitants in 2015.
Recent 3G and 4G technology play a crucial
role in the development of rural people.
Mobile phones – devices used to create,
store access and share information anytime,
anywhere.

62. Cont…..
Teamed with extension and advisory
services help to improve the
livelihoods of rural people.
Getting much needed timely
information to their fingertips at
potentially low cost.
M-Extension – mobile based extension
advisory services.

63. Impact of mobile based agro
advisory service
 Mobile phones have reduced producer price
dispersion and ensured higher market participation
by farmers.
 Helped to reduce wastage, increase the number of
transactions.
 Information accessed through mobile phones has
strengthened local. likelihoods are helped to
preserve natural resources.
 It has also increased general awareness

64. Robots:
 A robot is a mechanical, artificial
agent and is usually an
electromechanical system.
 It is a device because of software
programming, makes complicated
tasks easy to perform.
ROBOTICS IN AGRICULTURE

65. AGRICULTURAL ROBOTICS
 AGRIBOT is a self-directed agricultural robot
powered by solar energy.
 It can control various aspects of farming like
ploughing and levelling, seed sowing, irrigation,
pest controlling, apart from on field surveillance
using camera movement.

66. Agriculture robots
 Agricultural Robotics is the logical proliferation of automation
technology into bio systems such as agriculture, forestry, green
house, horticulture etc.
 In agriculture, the opportunities for robot-enhanced productivity are
immense and the robots are appearing on farms in various guises and
in increasing numbers

67. FUNCTION
The robot has two-main function:
 To survey the crop growth
 Create an automated harvest mechanism.

68. CLASSIFICATION
Field robots
Mobile robots

69.  Robots can move and sense.
 They require multiple sensors and controls that allow
them to move in an unknown environment.

70. Robots usually have five parts
1) Sensors
2) Controller/Computer
3) Drive/Actuator
4) Arm
5) End-effectors

71. 1. Demeter
2. Weed control robot
3. Forester robot
4. Robot in horticulture.
5. Fruit picking robot
6. Drones

72.  Demeter is capable of planning harvesting operations for entire field and
driven by remote control.
 Demeter is a robot that can cut crops it looks like a normal harvester,
but can drive by itself without any human supervision.
Source: Tom Pilarski et al.,(2002)
1.Demeter

73. Source: David Slaughter et
al.,(2008)
 Weed identification is based on color photography.
 A four-wheel-drive weed-seeking robot
was developed by the Danish Farm
Research Authority.
 The task of the weed removing device is
to remove or destroy the weed.
An intelligent hoe uses vision systems
to identify the row of crops, and steer
itself accurately between them,
considerably reducing the need for
herbicides.

75.  Pick ripe fruit without damaging
the branches or leaves of the tree.
 The robot can distinguish between
fruit and leaves by using video
image capturing.
 If a match is obtained, the fruit
is picked.
 Mobility is a priority and the
robots must be able to access all
areas of the tree being harvested.
Source: Ashwini.K (2016)

77. 4. Forester robot
This is a special type of robot used for cutting
up of wood, tending trees, and pruning of X-
mass tree.
The forester robot having six legs moves
wonders in the forest.
It is used for harvesting pulp and hard wood
in the forests.

79.  To get a bird’s eye view of the land offers a quick and easy
way to check on the progress of crops and determine where
they may need to replant or direct pesticide applications.
 It is also used for weed, pest and disease control.
Source :Anderson,C, (2014)

80. Agriculture robots in
Tamil Nadu

90. In the fully-automated Farm of the Future, dedicated
robots will take on farming jobs that once could be done
only by people.
It is not just on the ground that technology promises to
transform farming. Unmanned Air Vehicles, or drones, are
also coming into play on farms.
FUTURE FARM

91. Alex Thomasson 2015

92.  Robots can work 24 hours a day, every day without
rest.
 Robots don’t need to be paid wage (so money is
saved).
 Robots are extremely accurate compared to
humans, so product quality is high.
 Robots can perform tasks more quickly than
humans, so more products can be made.
 Robots can work in very dangerous conditions.
 It can reduce up to 97% of farm’s use ofpesticide.

93. Energy issues, costly.
People are made unemployed because robots are
doing their job.
Robots are very expensive and it can take
more time to pay for them.
lack of decision-making power.

94. Embrace
technology and
harvest data
Huge socio-
economic
impact
Attract youth
back to
agriculture
Bring next
revolution of
agriculture
FUTURE

95. Conclusion
The world is today facing the pressing challenge of
unsustainable food production and consumption practices.
Today’s food system is the main driver of deforestation and
biodiversity loss and generates a quarter of the greenhouse
gas pollution globally.
In fact, climate change could force over 100 million people
into extreme poverty by 2030, mostly through impacts on
agriculture and food security.
Hence, improving the performance of the food system is
critical if we are to sustainably feed nearly 10 billion people
by 2050 while raising farmer incomes, protecting them from
climate change and helping them to thrive.

96.  Rapid population growth, changes in market demands,
depleting agricultural land, and significant changes in
climate patterns, including much more frequent extreme
events — all these factors are pushing agriculture out of
its traditional limits, towards a digital age. This trend is
supported by governments worldwide.
 Digital farming technology will be key to increasing
agriculture productivity by delivering tailored
recommendations to farmers based on crop, planting
date, variety sown; real-time localized observed weather
and projected market prices.

97.  Smart phones also enable farmers to integrate into
structured markets based on approved grades and
standards. The greatest impact of digital agriculture
will have is on the democratization of market pricing
and compressing transaction costs.
 Digital technologies will also leverage social media
platforms to build human capacity. We need to put
our concrete efforts to place an effective framework,
in terms of appropriate policies and programs that
will harness the already well-known potentials of
digital technologies to put India on the higher
pedestal of the’ Second Green Revolution’ by making
Indian rural and agricultural sector self-sufficient.

98. Thank You