New Delhi: In the age of hi-tech gadgets - technology and agriculture, once considered as different realms of experience, are partners in progress. Technology has been used by developed countries and some developing nations to generate more revenue especially in the agriculture sector by allowing local farmers to access markets and information through phone and internet.
India, which ranks second in the farm output worldwide, is looking to improve its agriculture sector by introducing a service called 'mKisan' which aim to provide small holder farmers with high quality, relevant and timely information and advice via mobile.
Mobile Value Added Service (mVAS) provider Handygo Technologies has been awarded a project from the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation to support the design and launch of an agricultural mVAS to benefit approximately 1 million small farmers in India over the next two years.
'mKisan', which is a unique mobile-based extension service, will include comprehensive information and advice on a wide range of relevant topics including crops and livestock. The service also includes agricultural bulletins comprising agro-met advisory, information on market prices, pest and disease alerts and a dedicated farmer helpline. In addition to this, the project also aims to test video-based advisory and knowledge sharing tools for farmers.
The company has framed a consortium with CABI, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Digital Green for this project. CABI will support on actionable agriculture content and subject matter specialists. ILRI will support livestock content and Digital Green will take care of video content on agriculture and livestock. Handygo will promote 'mKisan' in six major states of the country in their regional languages.
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