India is basically an agriculture-based country with over 140 million hectares of cultivable land and 3,000 different crops. But, the hike in population and the massive number of malnourished people within the country calls for a paradigm shift in India's agriculture sector. In this technologically advanced world, it is clear that the intervention of data into farming is the only threshold that can reshape the agriculture industry.
According to popular research, around 2.5 quintillion data is produced each day. Big data is opening up new horizons of opportunities in every sector, and industries are looking forward to making utmost use of the data available. Likewise, data can also help farmers transform the agricultural value chain by producing and interconnecting data from nooks and corners of the world. Data has the capacity to improve production with minimal cost and enable innovative and precision farming. Data-enabled precision farming not only improves productivity but also boosts the economy, helps in effective management of water, and minimises environmental impact.
From the analysis of seed varieties and selection of proper agri-inputs to finding the right price, data helps farmers utilise the resources effectively and reap maximum profit. For instance, data collected from remote satellites and visual data from drones can let farmers identify the crop patterns over the years, duration and months of production, and revenues earned. It can also predict the arrival of pests and forecast weather. With satellites detecting farm boundaries, identifying water sources nearby as well as detecting soil moisture would become almost instantaneous. Big data assists farmers to check soil types, control irrigations, gain real-time price updates, and find the right market as well.
With data compilation and analytics, farmers would be able to get updated information related to agriculture on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and also be able to check previous data without delay. It can also provide agri-business with greater visibility of their supply chains and greater accuracy in predicting supply behaviour over time. The proliferation of mobile technologies in rural areas can assist in connecting farmers to retailers and wholesale dealers, offering opportunities to deliver tailored products for the market.
Also, while over 20 tonnes of grains are lost every year in the country due to the shortage of transportation or storage facilities, data can ensure that no crops produced are wasted. The loss can also be reduced by scheduling the production of crops from the previous year's data. Accessing global data can even let farmers know about worldwide demand and export surplus crops. This also enhances the cultivation of scarce crops increasing the export value of products.
To sum up, India, being the producer of 11 percent of global agriculture, is looking forward to a green revolution enhanced by data. Only with the efficient use of data can India improve its farmlands and meet the nightmare of food scarcity. Thus, India must introduce a systematic business model to capture and process data relevant to unlock valuable insights about agriculture and renovate the industry. Incorporating data into agriculture will not only benefit farmers but also help India grow into a developed country and unleash its full potential.
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