Introduction

India is the largest extractor of groundwater, and about 90% of which is used for irrigation. The efficiency of canal systems is such that the tail-ender villages do not receive adequate water. Multiple crops per year, increased demand for other users, urbanisation, have all led to increase in groundwater dependence, over the years. This has resulted in overexploitation of groundwater, water quality degradation and salinity ingress.

Smart agriculture aims to help farmers to make decisions to maximise crop yield and quality, optimise water and other inputs, and maintain soil health. This is particularly important for livelihood of marginal farmers, cattle rearers and other allied occupations, especially in the context of climate change uncertainty. In addition to close understanding of the local agro-ecological zone, geomorphology, subsurface conditions, the local socio-economic conditions, it involves regular data monitoring of weather, water, soil, crop growth, and using this in an integrated manner for decision making.

Digital Farming is much required in the Indian context as by 2050, India will have an estimated 1.64 billion population1 and will need 333 million tonnes2 of annual food grain production. Climate change aggravates the situation and threatens to reduce yields of major crops by 25%

The following picture depicts Smart Agriculture System

Smart agriculture aims at increasing crop yield and quality, with efficient use of inputs through data based decision at farm level. The data collection will include:

One time or infrequently varying data:

1. Topography, aquifer, hydrogeology, geomorphology

2. Water sources in the vicinity, in village, in taluka,

3. Soil type

Regularly and frequent collected data collected throughout the cropping season, from pre-sowing to harvest, for:

1. Local weather conditions and forecast,

2. Soil quality and moisture,

3. Water availability from all sources, and

4. Crop growth status

The data may include that collected through automatic or manual measurements as well as publicly sourced data. The data is uploaded to an integrated system and stored, for viewing and analysis by experts as well as farmers or local agriculture extension workers or others. This enables expert advisory to farmers, at farm level as well as village level, and helps them make decisions at all stages of the crop cycle, make optimum use of inputs including water and nutrients and maintain soil health. The system also involves providing training to farmers and local village based trained persons for using technology and incorporating data guided decisions with their traditional agriculture practices.

The system will accumulate data, from large number of farms, over a long period of time, to develop a data repository which will help to improve decisions over time.  Data collection at localized scale will help to get a clear picture of field conditions; and such collection done at multitude of field points will enable to gather the regional scenario. And so the system will need data collection points at various scales, covering clusters of farms and spreading to villages, clusters of villages, talukas, districts and so on. This vast data, over time, will also help develop AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning) based improvements to decision making.

The system will also enable long term decisions like cropping pattern changes for various cropping seasons, irrigation pattern, village water budgeting, and developing village water security strategy.

Smart agriculture – Input-Process-Output Framework:

The following framework provides another view of a smart agriculture project and guides its various components.

WIN Foundation and  Arid Communities and Technologies organized  a field workshop on 'Farmer centric protocols in agriculture practices and role of innovation and technology', from 3rd to 5th October 2023 in Kachchh. Active participation from technology startups, agriculture experts, KVK Mundra led to good discussions on first two days with diverse farmer and women groups from Abdasa and Mandvi project locations, practicing rainfed farming, irrigated farming, horticulture, summer crops and also nutri-gardens. A reflection and planning session was done on the 3rd day with the start-ups, ACT team, Bhujal Jankars, and WIN team, to plan for the Winter cropping season and comprehensive smart farming related services to be provided to marginal farmers, for all stages including from pre-sowing to post-harvest, with strong involvement and ownership at grassroot level. The services include soil and water quality testing, soil moisture measurement, weather data, and regular advisory on farming practices.

soilsens, Intech Harness and RAJ Instruments participated and committed their support through their innovative products and services. Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kachch and Satvik, Kachch participated, offering their agriculture expertise. 

The detailed workshop report is available at: