How Agricultural Technology Aids Tomorrow's Farmers

As a multidimensional construct, technology has always played a significant role in alleviating tensions and crinkles in venerable systems.

FREMONT, CA: AgTech is a specific subset of the technology spectrum that provides broad assistance to the agriculture industry. Agriculture employs approximately 43 percent of India's workforce, making it one of the most important economic sectors and our primary source of sustenance. There are numerous ways in which AgTech supports farmers, enabling them to be future-ready and acutely aware of the benefits that technology can provide. Farmers have begun to educate themselves, become informed, and equip themselves with the inner workings and advantages of the virtual world through the integration of digital technology into their daily agricultural tasks.

Integrating Farm Management and Technology:

Farm management is not an easy task. They require knowledge and understanding of the unique characteristics of various crops, as each crop has special requirements. They need inputs and recommendations regarding best practices to be followed. AgTech enables farmers to advance the most effective agricultural practices, thereby increasing efficiency. Farmers can control their crops and produce more effectively as a result of technology, mitigating various risks and collaborating on a centralized database where they are informed and educated about the processes to follow, as well as optimizing on-farm resources, which are typically scarce, for these various crops to assure the maximum yield. By integrating technology into routine agronomic activities, individuals can focus on the big picture, Sustainable Agriculture, Climate Resilience, and Traceability.

Financial Stability:

A technology platform, such as FarmERP, can assist farmers in increasing their income and thus their purchasing and selling capacity and performing various cost analyses to ensure that funds are allocated appropriately for each task the farmer performs or purchase they make. Additionally, farmers are being guided toward forming FPCs/FPOs (Farmer Producer Companies / Organizations) that will enable them to conduct post-processing and production and manufacture and sell the product on their own through the FPOs, thereby adding a good value.

Agriculture's Digital Supply Chain:

AgTech establishes a digital agricultural supply chain that connects all the dots, streamlining the entire process. Stakeholders are brought together on a unified technological platform. Farmers can expand their buyer base, reach more consumers, and increase their profitability due to technology access. The manufacturing processes become more efficient in this case and the selling of the product to an increasing number of profitable outlets. Platforms such as E-Mandis are also gaining traction today. They establish a uniform national market for agricultural commodities, thereby expanding the consumer base for farmers and individual farmers, who can then deal directly with the entire country (theoretically).

These are just a few examples of how technology can be integrated into agriculture to benefit individual and small farmers and the entire value chain while helping contract farmers, corporates, R&D institutions, funding agencies, trade associations, FPOs, and government bodies.