Digital Agriculture: By 2050, there will be 10 billion people on the planet, agricultural acreage will have decreased by half, 20–40% of crop output will be lost to pests and diseases, and another 10–25% will be lost after harvest. When geopolitical concerns like the Ukraine War are taken into consideration, food security is a significant issue for humanity.
In all of this, digital agriculture technologies might be the solution to the problems in agriculture; crucially, if we can overcome obstacles, they might help us attain sustainability.
Agriculture’s digital drive
Utilization of modern technology: In order to increase production and profitability, farming is using modern technology. Today’s farmers employ digital tools for a variety of purposes, including information, market services, financial services, and farm management.
IoT and AI in smart agriculture: In addition to big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence, “smart agriculture” also makes use of remote sensing software (AI). The Internet of Things (IoT) in agriculture consists of sensors, drones, and computer images combined with analytical tools to produce useful insights.
Data and ML use: Predictive analytics enables rapid decision-making based on data from data mining, data modeling, and machine learning (ML).
Digital adoption of Supply chain: The entire farm-to-fork (F2F) supply chain, which includes the trip from planting through harvesting (of fruits, vegetables, grains, etc.) till it reaches your plate, can benefit from digital adoption. Stakeholders in this journey include farmers, food processors, traders, retailers, and ultimately end users.
Precision agriculture: Precision agriculture increases crop yields while using fewer resources. To help with waste management, lower production costs, make the best use of water and limit negative environmental effects, it measures and analyses the requirements of various fields and crops.
The challenges of digital adoption in the Farm to Fork (F2F) supply chain
Risks concentrated on farmers: For instance, all risks are centered on farmers, who are burdened by factors like the whims of the weather, choosing profitable products, having limited access to crop insurance, etc. In order to make up for that load, we need to offer the farmer extra benefits.
Lack of faith in the F2F model’s overall performance: Large agricultural entities or producers now control a sizable majority of the decisions regarding food production, crop marketing, transportation, etc. While output has increased, decision-making has become less democratic.
Digital inequalities: Digital inequalities between large and small farmers, or between high- and low-income countries, are what define the sector’s digital transformation.
Obstacles in the supply chain ecosystem: A fertilizer or agricultural equipment company may desire to assist farmers but has difficulties in setting up the ideal supply chain to deliver a comprehensive solution.
Capital investment is a difficult problem: Other farmers also have financial limitations, and subsistence farmers cannot afford capital investments. At the farm level, this is a really difficult problem.
What binds these supply chain components together?
Sustainability: Sustainability is a phrase used to describe actions that guarantee long-term growth in agricultural output and income while preserving the environment. Farming practices improve product quality, lower input costs, boost production, and ensure environmental sustainability by applying inputs only to the sections of the field that require them.
Digital ecosystem evolution: India’s high-speed internet and digital ecosystem evolution make it possible for agri-tech businesses to use AI/ML models.
Precision techniques: Utilizing precision approaches, businesses are assisting farmers in significantly increasing yields.
No middlemen: Thanks to the proliferation of online agri-tech platforms, farmers can now sell their goods directly to consumers, cutting out the middleman and raising their profits. Additionally, it fosters openness and trust between farmers and consumers.
Digital market access: In India, growing internet usage and smartphone adoption have already significantly altered the agricultural landscape, particularly how small and medium farmers conduct their business. It facilitates direct access to markets, enabling farmers to keep a larger share of the value generated.
Current status of Indian agriculture
While employing digital technologies for agriculture in India has a lot of potential, there are still a number of challenges to be solved.
Farmers in India are currently using relatively little agricultural technology.
Small landholdings and severe overpopulation result in low productivity, which also lowers our level of mechanization.
Because there is no agricultural marketing, farmers must rely on neighborhood traders and intermediaries to sell their produce, which is then sold for extremely low prices.
Government Initiatives towards Digital Agriculture:
AgriStack: A collection of technology-based interventions in agriculture has been planned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare as “AgriStack.” In order to give farmers end-to-end services throughout the agriculture food value chain, it will establish a unified platform for them.
Digital Agriculture Mission: The government has launched the “Digital Agriculture Mission” for initiatives based on cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence, blockchain, remote sensing, GIS, utilisation of drones and robotics, etc. between 2021 and 2025.
Unified Farmer Service Platform (UFSP): UFSP enables seamless interoperability of multiple public and private IT systems in the agriculture ecosystem across the nation. It consists of Core Infrastructure, Data, Applications, and Tools. The role that UFSP is intended to serve is as follows:
- Act as a central agency in the Agri ecosystem (like UPI in the e Payments)
- Enables Registration of the Service Providers (public and private) and the Farmer Services.
- Enforces various rules and validations required during the service delivery process.
- Acts as a Repository of all the applicable standards, API’s (Application Programming Interface), and formats.
- Act as a medium of data exchange amongst various schemes and services to enable comprehensive delivery of services to the farmer.
National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture: The National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGP-A), a centrally sponsored program that was initially introduced in 2010–2011 in seven pilot States, intends to promote rapid development in India by providing farmers with timely access to information on agriculture.
The program was further expanded in 2014–15 to include all remaining States and 2 UTs.
Other Schemes: Kisan Call Centers, the Kisan Suvidha App, the Agri Market App, the Soil Health Card (SHC) Portal, and other digital initiatives.
Way forward
The digital revolution is touching every sphere of life and hence it is high time to bring agriculture into its ambit. The MoUs to rope in the private sector can help in
- quicker modernisation of Farms,
- easier access to various schemes and
- subject matter knowledge.
Such practices must be studied in depth via pilot projects and extended to the whole of India if found successful.
Digital technology in agriculture is designed to support innovation and sustainable farm practices. To ensure its success, all changes must be holistic in their benefits.
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