The Government on June 29, 2021 launched ‘Atmanirbhar Krishi App,’ developed by the Bengaluru-based Indian Centre for Social Transformation (ICST), to provide farmers with actionable agricultural insights and early weather alerts. According to the Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India, data related to soil type, soil health, moisture, weather, and water table were aggregated and analysed to generate personalised insights related to crop selection, fertilizers requirements, and water needs for each farmer at the farm-holding level.
A component of KisanMitr, it focuses on filling the gap by combining data from various government ministries/departments such as weather and weather-based information from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD); land surface information, vegetarian index and crop from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO); soil type and soil health from Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmer Welfare (DACFW), the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR); surface water (river/reservoir/canal) and ground water from National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) including Central Ground Water Board (CGWA), etc. All this data will be available to the farmers through this app.
KisanMitr Initiative
KisanMitr (Friends of the Farmers) project is an initiative of the Government of India, which aims to make Indian farmers more self-reliant by giving them insights and recommendations based on information from various data sources from different departments of the government.
It will enable farmers to have evidence-based information in their hands. When this information is utilised to make decisions on cropping patterns, mechanisation of small farmers’ holdings or stubble burning, it will ensure that decisions are made keeping in mind the importance of sustainability of water and environment, and judicious use of resources.
Some of the salient features of the app are as follows:
The language of the app has been made comprehensible for the farmers. The app is available in 12 languages. These features will enhance inclusivity during the decision-making process.
- The Android and Windows versions of the app are available on Google Play Store and are free of cost for farmers, startups, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), self-help groups (SHGs), or NGOs to use.
- Considering the connectivity issues in the remote areas of the country, the app has been designed to work on minimal bandwidth.
- The app does not collect any inputs from farmers. It relies on the geo-location of the farm to provide relevant data. Data relevant to another location can be collected by entering the PIN code of that area.
- The app uses data related to the soil health, soil type, weather, moisture, and water table which are aggregated and analysed for generating personalised insights related to the fertilizer requirement, crop selection, and water needs for each farmer at the farm-holding level.
- The app has been envisioned in five stages: data aggregation; building centralised insights; enable local expertise supported interactions and insights; deriving machine learning inferences; and continuous improvement.
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