Farmer taking photos of crops using a smartphone camera. Credit: CABI

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Project Overview

So, what’s the problem

Agriculture is the largest source of livelihoods in India but the sector is known to be resource-intensive and regionally based (FAO). So, it is vitally important that farmers grow as much as possible.

But many issues affecting crop growth exist, including pest and disease damage, leading to declining profits for the farmer, impacts on the agricultural value chain and ultimately the food security of the nation.

One way to negate these impacts is for farmers to receive practical, relevant advice, and millions of farmers around the world depend on accurate crop forecasting information to improve the quality of their crops and better manage their land. However, a vast majority of smallholder farmers have little access to agricultural information or public ‘extension’ farming agents and, therefore, accurate diagnosis and well-timed interventions are a major concern for smallholder and marginalized farmers.

Digital development can help bring practical and timely agricultural knowledge to smallholder farmers and help them to lose less and grow more healthy, nutritious and profitable crops.

Technological interventions in the agriculture sector can also make the sector more attractive to young farmers and reach more female farmers.

What is this project doing?

Remote sensing technology (satellites or aircraft sensors) has been used for some time in agriculture to collect data, detect and monitor crop patterns. In this project, the focus was on providing remote advice to farmers based on picture-based crop monitoring, with the aim of aiding agronomic advice, empowering farmers to optimize their decision-making and reduce risks and losses both in crops and income.

The project provided picture-based advisories (PBA) (ie remote advice to farmers), based on picture-based crop monitoring. An app was developed to allow farmers to register their agriculture sites and send pictures of affected crops, together with weekly repeat images which helped experts identify growth patterns of the crop. After assessing the images, Plant Doctors (from Plant clinics, part of the Plantwise programme) would recommend the best remedial measures.

The initiative provided personalized agricultural advice, not only based on localized information but also on visible crop characteristics. It included the application of scientific research and knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer training.

Phase one of the project successfully tested this strategy and phase two extended the reach of the advisory services along with providing Picture Based Advice (PBA) bundled with Picture Based Insurance (PBI) services which focused on assessing crop losses based on the images sent by the farmers throughout the season. The PBI product is offered by HDFC Ergo insurance company in partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Key activities:

• Preparing and validating content for Paddy and Groundnut crops covering the entire package of practices from sowing to harvest.
• Providing personalized remote advice based on the pictures sent by the farmers to improve farmers’ knowledge of recommended practices.