Indian is known to be one of the largest producers of agricultural commodities. Agriculture is still the main occupation of thousands of Indians. It is also the largest contributor to India’s national GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Although India is one of the largest producers, its farm productivity is far lower than other countries like China, the USA, or Brazil. The major reason for this low farm productivity in India is that many farmers are still deprived of minimum facilities. Hence, we saw a need to amplify the level of farm mechanization in the country. As a result, a few startups started developing innovative ideas and ways to help and empower the farmer community. The PM Kisan Yojana that began in 2018 also helped in pushing these startup ideas forward.
The majority of the farming community lacked access to farming-related information. Many small farmers in India often find their crops damaged by unforeseen weather and pests. To bridge this knowledge gap, startups initiated multilingual mobile applications that would help boost crop yields and encourage sustainable practices for farmers in the country. From seed optimization, crop rotation, weather forecast, and soil nutrition to pest control and commodity price forecasting, everything is provided to the farmers through these online platforms. These apps also help in speeding up the farming loan processing, identifying crop disease, and improving supply-chain logistics. These online apps like plantix, krishify, Agri app, etc are helping to reach millions of farmers through mobile phones. It also allows farmers to follow local and national market trends that would help determine crop prices. These apps are closing the knowledge gap between the government and the farmers with a full-service. Today, farmers are learning about fresh, efficient farming practices and receiving crop expert’s advice customized to their crop and soil.
Agriculture apps have been really useful for the farmers to keep track of the latest agriculture news and technology. This smart technological advancement is not only helping in maximizing yield and profits but also helps in reducing costs. One of the benefits of such apps providing information flow and connectivity is that it is helping farmers create better farm management decisions. For example, a mandi bhav app will help farmers know the current market price and trends and determine their crop price accordingly. It can also enable monitoring soil conditions in connection with weather conditions to plan the planting and harvesting season efficiently. Optimizing the use of fertilizers, seeds and water are also possible with these advanced apps. These agricultural applications have also helped build a strong network between the producers, suppliers, and buyers. The whole buying and selling process became transparent and got rid of manipulation.
Some of the agricultural applications are designed as a complete farming guide which includes crop management, farming tips, weather forecasting, buying & selling, market price, expert suggestions, answers to farmers’ queries, etc. Other applications are designed to cater to specific details related to farming like soil utilization, crop insurance, loans, etc. Farmers can choose the right app according to their needs and ease the whole farming and supplying process.