krishi jagran agriculture world february 2016
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Krishi Jagran, India's No.1 (Agriculture Media Group) How to grow more agri-production with latest scientific methods Events, news, information, product- launch, sports, politics, Entertainment etc. Right choice for agriculture fraternityTRANSCRIPT
W RLDW RLDThe Pulse � Global Agriculture
AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE
AGRI CLUSTER MAPS CAN HELP INDIA IMPROVE ITS
EXISTING FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS?
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY TREND IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE:
GEOSPATIAL AND ICT
DIGITAL INDIA AND AGRICULTURE
THE POWER TO EMPOWER FARMERS
SMART AGRICULTURESMART
TECHNOLOGIES EMPOWERING INDIAN AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURETECHNOLOGIES EMPOWERING INDIAN AGRICULTURE
Echoing Sustainable Environment and Agriculturewww.krishijagran.comkrishi.jagran @krishijagran
Volume II Issue 2 February 2016 `70 | | |
Volume 2 Issue 2 February 2016
www.krishijagran.com
contents
AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE W RLDW RLD
06
12
30
Agriculture World is printed and published by: M. C. Dominic60/9, 3rd Floor, Yusuf Sarai Market, Near Green Park Metro Station, New Delhi 110016.Tel: 011-26511845, 26517923, Mobiles: +91-9313301029 - +91-9654193353.Email: [email protected], [email protected] • Web: www.krishijagran.comPrinted at: Pushpak Press Pvt. Ltd., 203-204, DSIDC, Okhla Ph.-I, New Delhi - 110020
10
SMART AGRICULTURE
Help to raise productivity, accuracy and in time decision taking,
improving eciency across major sectors of the economy
AGRI CLUSTER MAPS CAN HELP INDIA
The objective of these cluster maps is to improve the existing food supply
chain by establishing new and strengthening existing B2B2C
relationships
24
18
DIGITAL INDIA AND AGRICULTURE
Technology has touched every sector and gradually making its way into the
Indian farmer`s world
EMPOWERING FARMERS WITH INFORMATION
REVOLUTION
With a Mission to empower farmers and people living in rural
India with pertinent and high quality information and services,
through aordable communication network, in a
sustainable manner
Sr. Executive Editor Dr. KT Chandy RK Teotia Chander Mohan
Assistant Editor Ruby JainCorrespondent Imran Khan
Manish Chauhan Sagar Malhotra Deepshikha Sameer Tiwari
V.P. Int. Business D.D. Nair Gavrilova Maria
Marketing Head Sanjay Kumar GM - Marketing Farha Khan
Sr. Manager Marketing KJ Saranya Sara Khan
Marketing Manager Megha Sharma Sr. Executive Marketing Afsana Malik Chunki Bhutia Poonam Bishwakarma Rinki Pundir Laxmi Pandey Soniya Mahajan Shifali Mahajan Preeti Chauhan Kanchan Singh Punam Pradhan Rachael Xavier Agnes Marry Hema Sharma Ritika Raju Jannet Johnson Rajni Kumari Karishma Lehri Meena Pandey Priya Tripathi Aayesha Khan
Circulation Head Nishant K TaakSr. Executive Circulation Rahul Singh Abdus Samad Sujata Gautam Anku Yadav Pappu Ray Mohit Prashant Sharma
Head Pre-Press Dharmendra KumarDesigner Yogesh KumarAccounts KB Indira
Office Assistant Prem Kumar Ranjan
Editor-in-Chief
MC Dominic
Directors Shiny Emanuel MG Vasan
DD NairVP International Business (Russia & CIS Countries)6 Mikluho-Maklaya STR, Moscow, Russia 117198Mob: +7903729 98 30, Tel: +7499501 99 10Email: [email protected]
M MezhukanalE-16F - 33, Hamriya Free Zone, Sharjah, UAEMob: +971 50 2870465 Email: [email protected]
All rights reserved.Copyright @ Krishi Jagran Media Group.Agriculture World is published by Krishi Jagran Media Group.Editor: MC Dominic
Disclaimer:While every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of the information contained in this publications, the publishers are not responsible for any errors or omissions that might have crept into this publications.No part of this publication may be reproduced or kept in a retrieval system, without the express permission of the publishers.
M C DominicEditor‐in‐Chief
Agriculture in India is not merely a business enterprise; it is more a way of life. Indian agriculture is undergoing rapid transformation since the introduction of green revolution. �us, there is a need for
technological innovations in the sector, which will continue to emphasize the importance of a sustainable approach with increased yields. Geospatial tools along with Information and Communication technologies can play an important role in this respect by helping e�ective plan and manage agriculture resources.
Remote Sensing (RS) and GIS technologies have been of great use to geospatial users in planning for the e�cient use of natural resources at the national, regional and farm levels. Realizing the important role played by the geospatial their application areas and advantages. Jyotsana Chuchra Raheja Explains the `Emerging Technology Trend in Indian Agriculture: Geospatial and ICT` in his article.
India has made progress towards its goal of bringing millions of people in digital arena and giving them a better living condition. What is the need of hour now is a productivity- and e�ciency-led transformation. Geospatial and ICT can have a disruptive impact on Indian Agriculture followed by nation's economic development.
Technology has touched every sector and gradually making its way into the Indian farmer`s world. Now the Global markets have become accessible with the implementation of technology, and e�orts to the latest technologies are being made by the Government. Chander Mohan in his article ` Digital India and Agriculture` explains the National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGP-A) which is the power to empower Farmers.
Communication is a major challenge and is a serious impediment in taking the fruits of ICT to rural parts of the country. IFFCO Kisan has been formed with an exclusive mandate to design, develop, source and supply state of the art, economical and rural communications with value additions of content and services. Sandeep Malhotra touched the pulse of the rural India in his article `Empowering Farmers with Information Revolution of IFFCO Kisan Sanchar` for improving the Quality of life of Rural Citizens by empowering them with quality, timely and actionable advisories on topics of rural interest.
Cluster maps create horizontal and vertical relationships between vendors, service providers, consumers in a geographically de�ned area and create a reciprocally supportive process. Once clusters are created, dissemination of knowledge and information results in �ow of bene�ts in all directions explains Anurag Awasthi in his article `Agri Cluster Maps can Help India Improve its Existing Food Supply Chains` emphasizing the need, role and achieving the goal to improve the existing supply chain linkages.
To create a mobile e-commerce platform that is also a low-cost ful�lment system focused on the needs of rural India. �is system will help in rural transformation and would help to alleviate rural isolation, create more transparency for farmers, and improve their productivity and incomes. Dev R Bhardwaj explains the �Kisan Manch� initiatives in his article `Powering Rural India Kisan Manch Way` an Idea of a mobile e-commerce platform that is also a low-cost ful�llment system focused on the needs of rural India.
34 37GPS TrackingSandeep Sabharwal
Biostadt's Elite ClubHaani Khorakiwala
POWERING RURAL INDIAAn initiative to bring farmers and farming community close to its end users, service providers and facilitators and
provide them the benefits by cutting across the multiple channels of communication
TECHNOLOGIES EMPOWERING INDIAN AGRICULTURE
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY TREND
Geospatial tools along with Information and Communication technologies can
play an important role in this respect by helping eective plan and manage
agriculture resources
Volume 2 Issue 2 February 2016
www.krishijagran.com
contents
AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE W RLDW RLD
06
12
30
Agriculture World is printed and published by: M. C. Dominic60/9, 3rd Floor, Yusuf Sarai Market, Near Green Park Metro Station, New Delhi 110016.Tel: 011-26511845, 26517923, Mobiles: +91-9313301029 - +91-9654193353.Email: [email protected], [email protected] • Web: www.krishijagran.comPrinted at: Pushpak Press Pvt. Ltd., 203-204, DSIDC, Okhla Ph.-I, New Delhi - 110020
10
SMART AGRICULTURE
Help to raise productivity, accuracy and in time decision taking,
improving eciency across major sectors of the economy
AGRI CLUSTER MAPS CAN HELP INDIA
The objective of these cluster maps is to improve the existing food supply
chain by establishing new and strengthening existing B2B2C
relationships
24
18
DIGITAL INDIA AND AGRICULTURE
Technology has touched every sector and gradually making its way into the
Indian farmer`s world
EMPOWERING FARMERS WITH INFORMATION
REVOLUTION
With a Mission to empower farmers and people living in rural
India with pertinent and high quality information and services,
through aordable communication network, in a
sustainable manner
Sr. Executive Editor Dr. KT Chandy RK Teotia Chander Mohan
Assistant Editor Ruby JainCorrespondent Imran Khan
Manish Chauhan Sagar Malhotra Deepshikha Sameer Tiwari
V.P. Int. Business D.D. Nair Gavrilova Maria
Marketing Head Sanjay Kumar GM - Marketing Farha Khan
Sr. Manager Marketing KJ Saranya Sara Khan
Marketing Manager Megha Sharma Sr. Executive Marketing Afsana Malik Chunki Bhutia Poonam Bishwakarma Rinki Pundir Laxmi Pandey Soniya Mahajan Shifali Mahajan Preeti Chauhan Kanchan Singh Punam Pradhan Rachael Xavier Agnes Marry Hema Sharma Ritika Raju Jannet Johnson Rajni Kumari Karishma Lehri Meena Pandey Priya Tripathi Aayesha Khan
Circulation Head Nishant K TaakSr. Executive Circulation Rahul Singh Abdus Samad Sujata Gautam Anku Yadav Pappu Ray Mohit Prashant Sharma
Head Pre-Press Dharmendra KumarDesigner Yogesh KumarAccounts KB Indira
Office Assistant Prem Kumar Ranjan
Editor-in-Chief
MC Dominic
Directors Shiny Emanuel MG Vasan
DD NairVP International Business (Russia & CIS Countries)6 Mikluho-Maklaya STR, Moscow, Russia 117198Mob: +7903729 98 30, Tel: +7499501 99 10Email: [email protected]
M MezhukanalE-16F - 33, Hamriya Free Zone, Sharjah, UAEMob: +971 50 2870465 Email: [email protected]
All rights reserved.Copyright @ Krishi Jagran Media Group.Agriculture World is published by Krishi Jagran Media Group.Editor: MC Dominic
Disclaimer:While every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of the information contained in this publications, the publishers are not responsible for any errors or omissions that might have crept into this publications.No part of this publication may be reproduced or kept in a retrieval system, without the express permission of the publishers.
M C DominicEditor‐in‐Chief
Agriculture in India is not merely a business enterprise; it is more a way of life. Indian agriculture is undergoing rapid transformation since the introduction of green revolution. �us, there is a need for
technological innovations in the sector, which will continue to emphasize the importance of a sustainable approach with increased yields. Geospatial tools along with Information and Communication technologies can play an important role in this respect by helping e�ective plan and manage agriculture resources.
Remote Sensing (RS) and GIS technologies have been of great use to geospatial users in planning for the e�cient use of natural resources at the national, regional and farm levels. Realizing the important role played by the geospatial their application areas and advantages. Jyotsana Chuchra Raheja Explains the `Emerging Technology Trend in Indian Agriculture: Geospatial and ICT` in his article.
India has made progress towards its goal of bringing millions of people in digital arena and giving them a better living condition. What is the need of hour now is a productivity- and e�ciency-led transformation. Geospatial and ICT can have a disruptive impact on Indian Agriculture followed by nation's economic development.
Technology has touched every sector and gradually making its way into the Indian farmer`s world. Now the Global markets have become accessible with the implementation of technology, and e�orts to the latest technologies are being made by the Government. Chander Mohan in his article ` Digital India and Agriculture` explains the National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGP-A) which is the power to empower Farmers.
Communication is a major challenge and is a serious impediment in taking the fruits of ICT to rural parts of the country. IFFCO Kisan has been formed with an exclusive mandate to design, develop, source and supply state of the art, economical and rural communications with value additions of content and services. Sandeep Malhotra touched the pulse of the rural India in his article `Empowering Farmers with Information Revolution of IFFCO Kisan Sanchar` for improving the Quality of life of Rural Citizens by empowering them with quality, timely and actionable advisories on topics of rural interest.
Cluster maps create horizontal and vertical relationships between vendors, service providers, consumers in a geographically de�ned area and create a reciprocally supportive process. Once clusters are created, dissemination of knowledge and information results in �ow of bene�ts in all directions explains Anurag Awasthi in his article `Agri Cluster Maps can Help India Improve its Existing Food Supply Chains` emphasizing the need, role and achieving the goal to improve the existing supply chain linkages.
To create a mobile e-commerce platform that is also a low-cost ful�lment system focused on the needs of rural India. �is system will help in rural transformation and would help to alleviate rural isolation, create more transparency for farmers, and improve their productivity and incomes. Dev R Bhardwaj explains the �Kisan Manch� initiatives in his article `Powering Rural India Kisan Manch Way` an Idea of a mobile e-commerce platform that is also a low-cost ful�llment system focused on the needs of rural India.
34 37GPS TrackingSandeep Sabharwal
Biostadt's Elite ClubHaani Khorakiwala
POWERING RURAL INDIAAn initiative to bring farmers and farming community close to its end users, service providers and facilitators and
provide them the benefits by cutting across the multiple channels of communication
TECHNOLOGIES EMPOWERING INDIAN AGRICULTURE
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY TREND
Geospatial tools along with Information and Communication technologies can
play an important role in this respect by helping eective plan and manage
agriculture resources
Agriculture sector is the mainstay of
the rural Indian economy. Unlike
developed nation, agriculture still
remains the backbone of our
country. Agriculture in India is not merely a
business enterprise; it is more a way of life.
Indian agriculture is undergoing rapid
transformation since the introduction of green
revolution technology. There is focus on faster,
sustainable and more inclusive agriculture
growth in the 12th five year Plan. Thus, there
is a need for technological innovations in the
sector, which will continue to emphasize the
importance of a sustainable approach with
increased yields. Geospatial tools along with
Information and Communication technolo-
gies can play an important role in this respect
by helping effective plan and manage
agriculture resources.
Understanding the Indian agriculture
sector, where most of the landholdings are
small and the majority of farmers are
practicing subsistence farming, there is need
for steady investments in technology
development, irrigation infrastructure,
emphasis on modern agricultural practices
and provision of agricultural credit and
subsidies concerning the small farmers. At the
farm level decision support, near-real time
information, soil condition, water use,
fertilizer application, pest and weed
management are the most important elements
of geospatial technology. Remote Sensing
(RS) and GIS technologies have been of great
use to geospatial users in planning for the
efficient use of natural resources at the
national, regional and farm levels. Realizing
the important role played by the geospatial
technologies, given below in the figure are
majorly used technologies, their application
areas and advantages.
It has been observed that large number of
these projects, applications and various
programmes are making use of the geospatial
technologies like GIS, high resolution satellite
data, aerial images and more. Government
agencies have now started focussing on
village and farm level studies using these
technologies. The various programs utilizing
this technology are Agmarknet, Agriculture
Mission Mode Project under NeGP (National
e-Governance Plan), Agriculture Resource
Information, AgriNET, Kissan SMS, Hortnet,
Dacnet, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
(RKVY), Nav Krishi, CAPE (Crop acreage and
production estimation) and Forecasting
A g r i c u l t u r a l o u t p u t u s i n g S p a c e ,
Agrome teo ro logy and Land based
observations (FASAL). Some of the recent
initiatives are discussed below:
· Nabard, NRSC sign MoU for web-based
monitoring of watershed projects
· Progressive Rural Integrated Digital
Enterprise (PRIDE) business model
There is a need to translate remote sensing, GIS techniques, precision farming data, and cloud data into implementable policies and schemes at the farm level and ensure their adoptability by farmers at the grassroots level
Technologies can play an important
role in this respect by
helping effective plan and manage
agriculture resources
Emerging Technology Trend in Indian Agriculture: Geospatial and ICT
Jyotsana Chuchra Raheja
GEO
SPA
TIALG
EO
SPA
TIA
L
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|06 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 07
Fig.: The diagram below highlights some of the core technologies used in Agriculture.
UAV S
Hyperspectraldata
PrecisionTechnologies
Airborneimages
Satellite
AutomatedSensors
GIS
Big Data
LIDAR
ICTGPS
FARMER
Agriculture sector is the mainstay of
the rural Indian economy. Unlike
developed nation, agriculture still
remains the backbone of our
country. Agriculture in India is not merely a
business enterprise; it is more a way of life.
Indian agriculture is undergoing rapid
transformation since the introduction of green
revolution technology. There is focus on faster,
sustainable and more inclusive agriculture
growth in the 12th five year Plan. Thus, there
is a need for technological innovations in the
sector, which will continue to emphasize the
importance of a sustainable approach with
increased yields. Geospatial tools along with
Information and Communication technolo-
gies can play an important role in this respect
by helping effective plan and manage
agriculture resources.
Understanding the Indian agriculture
sector, where most of the landholdings are
small and the majority of farmers are
practicing subsistence farming, there is need
for steady investments in technology
development, irrigation infrastructure,
emphasis on modern agricultural practices
and provision of agricultural credit and
subsidies concerning the small farmers. At the
farm level decision support, near-real time
information, soil condition, water use,
fertilizer application, pest and weed
management are the most important elements
of geospatial technology. Remote Sensing
(RS) and GIS technologies have been of great
use to geospatial users in planning for the
efficient use of natural resources at the
national, regional and farm levels. Realizing
the important role played by the geospatial
technologies, given below in the figure are
majorly used technologies, their application
areas and advantages.
It has been observed that large number of
these projects, applications and various
programmes are making use of the geospatial
technologies like GIS, high resolution satellite
data, aerial images and more. Government
agencies have now started focussing on
village and farm level studies using these
technologies. The various programs utilizing
this technology are Agmarknet, Agriculture
Mission Mode Project under NeGP (National
e-Governance Plan), Agriculture Resource
Information, AgriNET, Kissan SMS, Hortnet,
Dacnet, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
(RKVY), Nav Krishi, CAPE (Crop acreage and
production estimation) and Forecasting
A g r i c u l t u r a l o u t p u t u s i n g S p a c e ,
Agrome teo ro logy and Land based
observations (FASAL). Some of the recent
initiatives are discussed below:
· Nabard, NRSC sign MoU for web-based
monitoring of watershed projects
· Progressive Rural Integrated Digital
Enterprise (PRIDE) business model
There is a need to translate remote sensing, GIS techniques, precision farming data, and cloud data into implementable policies and schemes at the farm level and ensure their adoptability by farmers at the grassroots level
Technologies can play an important
role in this respect by
helping effective plan and manage
agriculture resources
Emerging Technology Trend in Indian Agriculture: Geospatial and ICT
Jyotsana Chuchra Raheja
GEO
SPA
TIALG
EO
SPA
TIA
L
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|06 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 07
Fig.: The diagram below highlights some of the core technologies used in Agriculture.
UAV S
Hyperspectraldata
PrecisionTechnologies
Airborneimages
Satellite
AutomatedSensors
GIS
Big Data
LIDAR
ICTGPS
FARMER
powered by the TCS's mKRISHI platform
· AgroStar: Direct to farmer “m-commerce
platform”
· New Crop Insurance Scheme (NCIS), the
plan will make use of unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) or drones to access crop
damage figures
· KISAN (Crop Insurance using Space
technology and Geoinformatics) will use
satellite and drone-based imaging and
other geospatial technology to get timely
and accurate data on crop yields
Geospatial applications in agriculture
have grown to a stage where they facilitate
decision and policy support for food security,
pover ty a l lev iat ion and sus tainable
development. In India, there is vast potential
for these technologies and a good knowledge
base has been established over the years.
There is a need to translate remote sensing,
GIS techniques, precision farming data, and
cloud data into implementable policies and
schemes at the farm level and ensure their
adoptability by farmers at the grassroot level.
For greater and sustainable development of
the sector and efficient planning and
management of agricultural resources, it is
necessary that the technology infiltrate at the
micro or small farm level.
TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION AREAS ADVANTAGES
Agriculture mapping and surveys to gather information and statistics on crops, rangeland, livestock and other related agricultural resources
Crop monitoring for nutrients, water-stress, disease, insect attack and overall plant health.
UAV/Drone can capture highly accurate images of fields, covering up to hundreds of hectares/acres in a single flight
Identify Crop Production Impact LIDAR can be used to create elevation map of the farmland that can be converted to create slope and sunlight exposure area map
Visualization and assessments Generating maps and resource data
Coupling of real-time data collection with accurate position information
GPS-based applications in precision farming are being used for farm planning, field mapping, soil sampling, tractor guidance, crop scouting, variable rate applications, and yield mapping.
Precision soil preparation and seeding Swath control and variable rate
technology
Optimizing planting, harvesting and
distribution
Overall farming life cycle
Easy and timely data acquisition
Temporal and real time (time series) data availability
C o m p r e h e n s i v e a n d r e l i a b l e information
Generating cartographic maps.
Optimized use of resources.
Efficient management of resources and data in a centralised database.
Better visualization of agriculture objects using satellite imagery.
Enhanced p lann ing too l s and techniques.
Better analytical capabilities
Accurate assessments
Easy Dissemination of agriculture data through web capab i l i t i e s and interoperability services.
Optimized on farm decision making
A c c u r a t e f i e l d m a p p i n g a n d measurements
Real time monitoring and managing farm operations
Efficiency and sustainability in the food and agriculture value chain
Satellite Imagery
Aerial Imagery
UAV's/ Drones
Hyper spectral data
LIDAR
GIS
GPS/GNSS
Precision Technology
ICT and mobile technology
Remote Sensing (RS)
and GIS technologies have been of great use to
geospatial users in
planning for the efficient
use of natural resources at the national, regional and farm levels
Jyotsana Chuchra Raheja Sr. Research Analyst
Commercial Research and Policy Advocacy Geospa�al Media and Communica�ons
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|08
GEO
SPA
TIA
L
powered by the TCS's mKRISHI platform
· AgroStar: Direct to farmer “m-commerce
platform”
· New Crop Insurance Scheme (NCIS), the
plan will make use of unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) or drones to access crop
damage figures
· KISAN (Crop Insurance using Space
technology and Geoinformatics) will use
satellite and drone-based imaging and
other geospatial technology to get timely
and accurate data on crop yields
Geospatial applications in agriculture
have grown to a stage where they facilitate
decision and policy support for food security,
pover ty a l lev iat ion and sus tainable
development. In India, there is vast potential
for these technologies and a good knowledge
base has been established over the years.
There is a need to translate remote sensing,
GIS techniques, precision farming data, and
cloud data into implementable policies and
schemes at the farm level and ensure their
adoptability by farmers at the grassroot level.
For greater and sustainable development of
the sector and efficient planning and
management of agricultural resources, it is
necessary that the technology infiltrate at the
micro or small farm level.
TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION AREAS ADVANTAGES
Agriculture mapping and surveys to gather information and statistics on crops, rangeland, livestock and other related agricultural resources
Crop monitoring for nutrients, water-stress, disease, insect attack and overall plant health.
UAV/Drone can capture highly accurate images of fields, covering up to hundreds of hectares/acres in a single flight
Identify Crop Production Impact LIDAR can be used to create elevation map of the farmland that can be converted to create slope and sunlight exposure area map
Visualization and assessments Generating maps and resource data
Coupling of real-time data collection with accurate position information
GPS-based applications in precision farming are being used for farm planning, field mapping, soil sampling, tractor guidance, crop scouting, variable rate applications, and yield mapping.
Precision soil preparation and seeding Swath control and variable rate
technology
Optimizing planting, harvesting and
distribution
Overall farming life cycle
Easy and timely data acquisition
Temporal and real time (time series) data availability
C o m p r e h e n s i v e a n d r e l i a b l e information
Generating cartographic maps.
Optimized use of resources.
Efficient management of resources and data in a centralised database.
Better visualization of agriculture objects using satellite imagery.
Enhanced p lann ing too l s and techniques.
Better analytical capabilities
Accurate assessments
Easy Dissemination of agriculture data through web capab i l i t i e s and interoperability services.
Optimized on farm decision making
A c c u r a t e f i e l d m a p p i n g a n d measurements
Real time monitoring and managing farm operations
Efficiency and sustainability in the food and agriculture value chain
Satellite Imagery
Aerial Imagery
UAV's/ Drones
Hyper spectral data
LIDAR
GIS
GPS/GNSS
Precision Technology
ICT and mobile technology
Remote Sensing (RS)
and GIS technologies have been of great use to
geospatial users in
planning for the efficient
use of natural resources at the national, regional and farm levels
Jyotsana Chuchra Raheja Sr. Research Analyst
Commercial Research and Policy Advocacy Geospa�al Media and Communica�ons
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|08
GEO
SPA
TIA
L
India has made progress towards its goal of
bringing millions of people in digital arena
and giving them a better living condition.
What is the need of hour now is a
p r o d u c t i v i t y - a n d e f f i c i e n c y - l e d
transformation. Geospatial and ICT can have
a disruptive impact on Indian Agriculture
followed by nation's economic development.
These are powerful technologies which can
help to raise productivity, accuracy and in
time decision taking, improving efficiency
across major sectors of the economy, and
radically alter how services are delivered.
Geospatial Media and Communications,
with its vision of ''Making a Difference
through Geospatial Knowledge in World
Economy and Society'', has been constantly
working towards promoting and propagating
geospatial knowledge for facilitating
advancements and collaborations amongst
stakeholders of geospatial industry.
To take our vision forward in the region, thwe are organizing 18 edition of our flagship
event GeoSmart India (Formerly India st rdGeospatial Forum) from 1 March-3 March,
2016 at India Expo Centre and Mart, Greater
Noida, India. Understanding the value of
geospatial technology and ICT in enhanced
decision making, effectively managing
resources and assets, enhancing the
efficiency of workflows, and improving the
accessibility of information, two days long
and exclusive program for Smart GeoAgri
Agriculture is being organized with the
theme: “Smart Agriculture: Technologies nd rdempowering Indian Agriculture'' on 2 -3
March 2016 followed by a panel discussion.
The key highlights of the GeoSmart India
2016 conference are:
§ 4000+ delegates/visitors from 80+
countries
§ 30+ Concurrent Sessions
§ 300+ Total Presentations
§ 1500+ sq m exhibition space
§ Ministerial level participation from all
over India
§ Dedicated two-day program on Smart
Agriculture and much more. GeoAgri
GeoAgri Participants Profile:
Technology Companies || Ministries &
Department of Agriculture & Plantation from
dif ferent countr ies || Agricul tural/
Plantation/Forestry Research Agencies ||
To strengthen and connect Geospatial and ICT communities all over the world with the strategies taken to cater global challenges
Making a Difference
through Geospatial
Knowledge in World
Economy and Society has
been constantly
working towards
promoting and
propagating Geospatial
knowledge for facilitating
advancements and
collaborations
SMART AGRICULTURETechnologies Empowering Indian Agriculture
Agricultural Universities & Colleges||
Multilateral Agencies|| Industry Players ||
Agricultural/Plantation Associations &
Unions || User Organisations || Policy
Makers || Academia || Meteorological
Agencies || National Geospatial Agencies
GeoAgri will be focusing on diverse
emerging topics in Modern Agriculture and
Rural development, the major themes for the
program shall be Precision Agriculture,
Geospatial tools innovations in Agriculture,
Irrigation and automation technology, Digital
Farming, ICT Based Agriculture, Mobile
based Agriculture practices, Climate Smart
Agriculture, Robotics/Drones/UAVs which
will be having 6 sessions in two days with
almost 30+ well known faces across region
catering Agricul ture users Segment,
Technology & Solution Providers, Investors,
Food Sector, Bankers , Researchers ,
Warehouse professionals, Supply chain
Industr ies, Policy Makers, Secretary
Generals, Agri technology experts etc of
various agencies as Speakers. GeoAgri
The specific Objectives of are:GeoAgri
§ To understand current geospatial and ICT
domain's path and bring awareness to
the agricultural stakeholders on global
platform.
§ To exchange of ideas and sharing of
knowledge and skills pertaining to the
domain and provide an explicit platform
for networking opportunities.
§ To strengthen and connect geospatial and
ICT communities all over the world with
the strategies taken to cater global
challenges.
§ Exchange of skills and knowledge on new
forms of applications and technology by
sharing latest success stories and
challenges.
§ Bring together decision makers to discuss
and de l ibe ra t e t he su s ta inab le
contribution of geospatial intelligence.
Major Themes:
Theme 1: The benefits from Traditional
Farming to Knowledge based Agriculture:
The linkages with sustainability, food security
and climate change impacts.
§ Theme 2: Use of ICT- Web-based Agro
advisories for Rural Development
§ Theme 3: Way forward in space
technology for Sustainable Agriculture-
''Reach the Unreached''
Panel Discussion Themes:
The need of application research &
prospect analysis on reliability of
Geospatial Technology and ICT in
Agriculture.
The latest advance in and challenge in
precision agriculture at home and
abroad.
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|10 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 11
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SPA
TIALG
EO
SPA
TIA
L
India has made progress towards its goal of
bringing millions of people in digital arena
and giving them a better living condition.
What is the need of hour now is a
p r o d u c t i v i t y - a n d e f f i c i e n c y - l e d
transformation. Geospatial and ICT can have
a disruptive impact on Indian Agriculture
followed by nation's economic development.
These are powerful technologies which can
help to raise productivity, accuracy and in
time decision taking, improving efficiency
across major sectors of the economy, and
radically alter how services are delivered.
Geospatial Media and Communications,
with its vision of ''Making a Difference
through Geospatial Knowledge in World
Economy and Society'', has been constantly
working towards promoting and propagating
geospatial knowledge for facilitating
advancements and collaborations amongst
stakeholders of geospatial industry.
To take our vision forward in the region, thwe are organizing 18 edition of our flagship
event GeoSmart India (Formerly India st rdGeospatial Forum) from 1 March-3 March,
2016 at India Expo Centre and Mart, Greater
Noida, India. Understanding the value of
geospatial technology and ICT in enhanced
decision making, effectively managing
resources and assets, enhancing the
efficiency of workflows, and improving the
accessibility of information, two days long
and exclusive program for Smart GeoAgri
Agriculture is being organized with the
theme: “Smart Agriculture: Technologies nd rdempowering Indian Agriculture'' on 2 -3
March 2016 followed by a panel discussion.
The key highlights of the GeoSmart India
2016 conference are:
§ 4000+ delegates/visitors from 80+
countries
§ 30+ Concurrent Sessions
§ 300+ Total Presentations
§ 1500+ sq m exhibition space
§ Ministerial level participation from all
over India
§ Dedicated two-day program on Smart
Agriculture and much more. GeoAgri
GeoAgri Participants Profile:
Technology Companies || Ministries &
Department of Agriculture & Plantation from
dif ferent countr ies || Agricul tural/
Plantation/Forestry Research Agencies ||
To strengthen and connect Geospatial and ICT communities all over the world with the strategies taken to cater global challenges
Making a Difference
through Geospatial
Knowledge in World
Economy and Society has
been constantly
working towards
promoting and
propagating Geospatial
knowledge for facilitating
advancements and
collaborations
SMART AGRICULTURETechnologies Empowering Indian Agriculture
Agricultural Universities & Colleges||
Multilateral Agencies|| Industry Players ||
Agricultural/Plantation Associations &
Unions || User Organisations || Policy
Makers || Academia || Meteorological
Agencies || National Geospatial Agencies
GeoAgri will be focusing on diverse
emerging topics in Modern Agriculture and
Rural development, the major themes for the
program shall be Precision Agriculture,
Geospatial tools innovations in Agriculture,
Irrigation and automation technology, Digital
Farming, ICT Based Agriculture, Mobile
based Agriculture practices, Climate Smart
Agriculture, Robotics/Drones/UAVs which
will be having 6 sessions in two days with
almost 30+ well known faces across region
catering Agricul ture users Segment,
Technology & Solution Providers, Investors,
Food Sector, Bankers , Researchers ,
Warehouse professionals, Supply chain
Industr ies, Policy Makers, Secretary
Generals, Agri technology experts etc of
various agencies as Speakers. GeoAgri
The specific Objectives of are:GeoAgri
§ To understand current geospatial and ICT
domain's path and bring awareness to
the agricultural stakeholders on global
platform.
§ To exchange of ideas and sharing of
knowledge and skills pertaining to the
domain and provide an explicit platform
for networking opportunities.
§ To strengthen and connect geospatial and
ICT communities all over the world with
the strategies taken to cater global
challenges.
§ Exchange of skills and knowledge on new
forms of applications and technology by
sharing latest success stories and
challenges.
§ Bring together decision makers to discuss
and de l ibe ra t e t he su s ta inab le
contribution of geospatial intelligence.
Major Themes:
Theme 1: The benefits from Traditional
Farming to Knowledge based Agriculture:
The linkages with sustainability, food security
and climate change impacts.
§ Theme 2: Use of ICT- Web-based Agro
advisories for Rural Development
§ Theme 3: Way forward in space
technology for Sustainable Agriculture-
''Reach the Unreached''
Panel Discussion Themes:
The need of application research &
prospect analysis on reliability of
Geospatial Technology and ICT in
Agriculture.
The latest advance in and challenge in
precision agriculture at home and
abroad.
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|10 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 11
GEO
SPA
TIALG
EO
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The penetration of the virtual world is
enhancing the profitable margins to the
agriculturists and the agricultural
business sector worldwide. Technology has
touched every sector and gradually making
its way into the Indian farmer`s world. Now
the Global markets have become accessible
with the implementation of technology, and
efforts to the latest technologies are being
made by the Government.
Nat iona l E -Governance P lan in
Agriculture (NeGP-A) introduced during last
phase of the 11th Plan, to achieve rapid
development of agriculture in India through
the use of ICT, has been continued during 12th
Plan as a part of Sub Mission on Agricultural
Extension (SAME).
a) Strengthening of IT apparatus in
Depar tmen t o f Agr i cu l t u re and
Cooperation (Hqrs), Field Offices and
Directorates of DAC
b) Strengthening of IT Apparatus in
Agriculture and Cooperation in the States
and Union Territories (AGRISNET)
c) Development of Agricultural Informatics
and Communication iv. Kisan Call Centre
All the IT initiatives of DAC will be
integrated to enable the farmers in
making proper and timely use of the
information available through multiple
ICT channels including Web Portals,
Common Service Centres, Internet Access
Points, Touch Screen Kiosks and SMSs
through State Wide Area Network &
State Data Centre and availability of
Government to Citizen (G2C) Services.
National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGP-A)
NeGP-A is proposed to be implemented
across the country and aims at offering
Government to Citizen / Farmer (G2C or
G2F), Government to Business (G2B) and
Governmen t to Governmen t (G2G)
agricultural services in an integrated manner
through the Central Agriculture Portal (CAP)
and State Agriculture Portals (SAPs).
The key objectives of the Project include:
Bringing farmer centrici ty & service
orientation to the programmes. Enhancing
reach & impact of extension services
Improving access of farmers to information &
services throughout crop cycle. Building
upon, enhancing & integrating the existing
ICT initiatives of Centre, and States
The need of the hour is that the Farmer of today wear the mantel of entrepreneur-ship and leverage the potential offered by technology
Enhancing efficiency & effectiveness of
programs through process redesign More
effective management of schemes of DAC
Promoting a common framework across
states. The scheme is expected to bring the
following benefits to the Stakeholders –
Farmers, business and Government(s):
Provide uniform face of government to
agriculture sector stakeholders (especially
farmers) Service-level governed service
delivery with built-in checks and balances to
increase efficiency. Streamlined processes
which make Government efficient and
effective for service delivery Integration of
existing initiatives with new ones, thus
creating sustainable balance of ICT Improved
monitoring of compliance, MIS and utilization
of public money. The Project would make
current service delivery mechanisms more
efficient, transparent and accountable.
Further, it would facilitate farmers to have
easy accessibility to these services through
multiple service delivery channels. The Project
will also help the Department of Agriculture
and Cooperation (DAC) to optimize its costs
in delivery of services to various stakeholders.
The Project will generate efficiencies in the
system and the benefits shall be realized
immediately after implementation which will
more than offset the total cost of the Project
over a period of time. The farmer value
proposition emanating from this Project can
be succinctly depicted as follows: The Mission
Mode Project on Agriculture is one of the 27
Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) under the
State Category of the National e-Governance
Plan (NeGP) duly approved by the Union
Cabinet in May, 2006.
The need of the hour is that the Farmers of
today wear the mantel of entrepreneurship
and are leveraging the potential offered by
technology. The farmers are widening their
horizons and exploring markets to manifest a
global reach.
The introduction of innovative schemes by
the Government reflects the aspirations of
India to create benchmarks in the agricultural
domain and be at par with global practices.
Digital India Project and Agriculture
Government's Digital India project s tlaunched on 1 July 2015 envisions
empowering citizens with e-access to
government services and livelihood related
services, among others. The project has three
core components, viz. digital infrastructure,
digital services and digital literacy. Mobile
phone is the preferred delivery medium with
focus on m Governance and m Services. The
m Agriculture and m GramBazar, out of
the seven components covered under m
Services, directly impact agricultural
extension and marketing services.
The project will benefit small farmers. It seeks to
1. Transform rural India into a digitally-
empowered knowledge economy.
2. Provide universal phone connectivity and
access to broadband in 250,000
villages.
3. Extend timely services to farmers through
information technology and its tools.
DIGITAL INDIA AND AGRICULTURE The Power To Empower Farmers
Enhancing reach &
impact of extension services
Improving access of
farmers to information & services
throughout crop cycle
CHANDER MOHAN
NeG
P-A
NeG
P-A
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|12 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 13
The penetration of the virtual world is
enhancing the profitable margins to the
agriculturists and the agricultural
business sector worldwide. Technology has
touched every sector and gradually making
its way into the Indian farmer`s world. Now
the Global markets have become accessible
with the implementation of technology, and
efforts to the latest technologies are being
made by the Government.
Nat iona l E -Governance P lan in
Agriculture (NeGP-A) introduced during last
phase of the 11th Plan, to achieve rapid
development of agriculture in India through
the use of ICT, has been continued during 12th
Plan as a part of Sub Mission on Agricultural
Extension (SAME).
a) Strengthening of IT apparatus in
Depar tmen t o f Agr i cu l t u re and
Cooperation (Hqrs), Field Offices and
Directorates of DAC
b) Strengthening of IT Apparatus in
Agriculture and Cooperation in the States
and Union Territories (AGRISNET)
c) Development of Agricultural Informatics
and Communication iv. Kisan Call Centre
All the IT initiatives of DAC will be
integrated to enable the farmers in
making proper and timely use of the
information available through multiple
ICT channels including Web Portals,
Common Service Centres, Internet Access
Points, Touch Screen Kiosks and SMSs
through State Wide Area Network &
State Data Centre and availability of
Government to Citizen (G2C) Services.
National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGP-A)
NeGP-A is proposed to be implemented
across the country and aims at offering
Government to Citizen / Farmer (G2C or
G2F), Government to Business (G2B) and
Governmen t to Governmen t (G2G)
agricultural services in an integrated manner
through the Central Agriculture Portal (CAP)
and State Agriculture Portals (SAPs).
The key objectives of the Project include:
Bringing farmer centrici ty & service
orientation to the programmes. Enhancing
reach & impact of extension services
Improving access of farmers to information &
services throughout crop cycle. Building
upon, enhancing & integrating the existing
ICT initiatives of Centre, and States
The need of the hour is that the Farmer of today wear the mantel of entrepreneur-ship and leverage the potential offered by technology
Enhancing efficiency & effectiveness of
programs through process redesign More
effective management of schemes of DAC
Promoting a common framework across
states. The scheme is expected to bring the
following benefits to the Stakeholders –
Farmers, business and Government(s):
Provide uniform face of government to
agriculture sector stakeholders (especially
farmers) Service-level governed service
delivery with built-in checks and balances to
increase efficiency. Streamlined processes
which make Government efficient and
effective for service delivery Integration of
existing initiatives with new ones, thus
creating sustainable balance of ICT Improved
monitoring of compliance, MIS and utilization
of public money. The Project would make
current service delivery mechanisms more
efficient, transparent and accountable.
Further, it would facilitate farmers to have
easy accessibility to these services through
multiple service delivery channels. The Project
will also help the Department of Agriculture
and Cooperation (DAC) to optimize its costs
in delivery of services to various stakeholders.
The Project will generate efficiencies in the
system and the benefits shall be realized
immediately after implementation which will
more than offset the total cost of the Project
over a period of time. The farmer value
proposition emanating from this Project can
be succinctly depicted as follows: The Mission
Mode Project on Agriculture is one of the 27
Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) under the
State Category of the National e-Governance
Plan (NeGP) duly approved by the Union
Cabinet in May, 2006.
The need of the hour is that the Farmers of
today wear the mantel of entrepreneurship
and are leveraging the potential offered by
technology. The farmers are widening their
horizons and exploring markets to manifest a
global reach.
The introduction of innovative schemes by
the Government reflects the aspirations of
India to create benchmarks in the agricultural
domain and be at par with global practices.
Digital India Project and Agriculture
Government's Digital India project s tlaunched on 1 July 2015 envisions
empowering citizens with e-access to
government services and livelihood related
services, among others. The project has three
core components, viz. digital infrastructure,
digital services and digital literacy. Mobile
phone is the preferred delivery medium with
focus on m Governance and m Services. The
m Agriculture and m GramBazar, out of
the seven components covered under m
Services, directly impact agricultural
extension and marketing services.
The project will benefit small farmers. It seeks to
1. Transform rural India into a digitally-
empowered knowledge economy.
2. Provide universal phone connectivity and
access to broadband in 250,000
villages.
3. Extend timely services to farmers through
information technology and its tools.
DIGITAL INDIA AND AGRICULTURE The Power To Empower Farmers
Enhancing reach &
impact of extension services
Improving access of
farmers to information & services
throughout crop cycle
CHANDER MOHAN
NeG
P-A
NeG
P-A
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|12 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 13
There are three core components, viz. digital infrastructure, digital services and digital literacy and Mobile phone is the preferred delivery medium with focus on m- Governance and m- Services
Mobile phones are
omnipresent and cost effective
means to revolutionize
agriculture in India
4. Enhance efficiency in agricultural
governance through digital literacy and
electronic delivery of services. This article
briefly highlights government's initiatives
and suggests the need for harnessing
potential of digital India for agricultural
development.
According to “Situation Assessment of
Indian Farmers”, only about 28% of all
farmers use any kind of agriculture-related
information that is available rather than what
they need. While about 72% of farmers do not
have any source of information that can help
them adopt latest technology, most farmers
are unable to access credit, insurance and
marketing services from the established
institutions. This is primarily responsible for
farmer's low crop product iv i ty and
profitability. Despite India has the largest
irrigated land and ranks second in terms of
arable land the yield crops is 20%-40% of the
world's best levels.
Potential of ICT
In format ion and Communicat ion
Technology (ICT) has the potential to
revolutionize Indian agriculture in terms of
raising crop productivity and profitability per
unit area and resources. By June, 2014, rural
India had about 122.4 million [68.32%]
households with mobiles exhibiting mobile
connectivity has become a basic service in
rural areas. Rural mobile subscriber base is
growing twice as faster compared to urban
subscriber base. As of March 2015, the
national teledensity was 79% and rural
teledensity 46.5%. Telecom Policy aims to
increase rural teledensity to 60% by 2017 and
100% by 2020. Study of the IAMAI revealed
80% using it for communications, 67% for
online services, 65% for e-commerce and
60% for social networking. Mobile phones
can be effectively utilized for purposes
i n c l ud i ng gene ra t i ng , p roce s s i ng ,
transmit t ing, disseminating, sor t ing,
archiving and retrieving critical information
and data relating to agriculture. Mobile
phones are omnipresent and cost effective
means to revolutionize agriculture in India.
Several apps are now available and many
more can be developed to meet farmers'
following specific needs
For India, at a time when national,
regional and international research institutes
have already developed technologies,
farmers need motivation and encouragement
to adopt these proven yield-enhancing, cost-
e f f i c i en t and env i ronmen t - f r i end l y
technologies. Acknowledging the slow impact
of the ICT initiatives of the government and
private sector, the digital India project should
pay undivided attention to provide accurate
information from authentic sources to farmers
on time on various aspects as identified by
various field studies, viz.
· Detai ls of locat ion-speci f ic crop
production technology
· Economics of crop, livestock and fish
farming
· Authorized sources of timely availability
of standard quality inputs [seeds,
fer t i l izers , pes t ic ides e tc . ] farm
equipment, sprinklers, drippers, among
others, along with costs
· Post-harvest management technology
and facilities including transport,
storage, processing, preservation,
packaging and marketing
· Commodity prices, weather, measures to
minimize impact of drought and climate
change
· Detailed procedure for availing bank
credit, crop and livestock insurance
cover, government subsidies, land
records etc.
· Government's programs providing
subsidy and other facilities to develop
i r r i ga t i on po t en t i a l , r a i nwa t e r
harvesting, soil and water conservation
measures, soil and water testing facilities,
prevention and control of pests and
diseases, bio-gas, minimum support
prices
· Contract farming, value chain system,
warehouse receipt
· Reclamation of degraded, saline and
alkaline land
· Mechanism to redress grievances.
Accordingly, farmers need ICT-enabled
portals for following purposes which can
be developed, rigorously field tested and
made available to farmers.
Production-enhancing proven crop-
specific technologies [from pre-sowing to
harvesting and post-harvest management]
based on soil & water analysis. Separate for
dry land & irrigated farming focusing efficient
use of seeds, fertilizers, water, pesticides,
farm equipment & labor; and reclamation of
degraded, saline & alkaline land.
Crop-speci f ic reasonably pr iced
standard quality production inputs (seeds,
fer tilizers, pesticides, etc.) and farm
equipment and machinery along with sources
of availability
S torage , t ranspor t , p rocess ing ,
packaging, Land records, farm credit,
insurance, marketing, weather, farmer-
producers' organizations, market yards,
procurement centres
Availability of subsidies, assistance
available to mitigate effects of climate
change, drought, floods, earthquake,
cyclones
State government's department of
agriculture, state agricultural universities,
Krishi Vigyan Kendras, regional research
institutes, farmer- producers organizations,
corporate/industrial/business houses and
multinational companies engaged in
manufacturing/production and distribution
of farm inputs, farm equipment & machinery,
rural financial institutions, insurance
companies, among others, have a significant
role and added responsibility to contribute
their professional knowledge to develop
digital ecosystem for agriculture and make
available to farmers.
Government has, among others, initiated several
measures viz.
A. Government has put in operation three
portals viz. farmer portal, kisan call
centre and mkisan portal to help farmers
take informed decisions for efficient
farming under varying agro-climatic
conditions.
B. Under the e- Governance Programme,
soil health card software has been
standardized and web-based software
developed to provide integrated nutrient
management recommendations using
soil test crop response method for eight
states.
C. Under National e-Governance Plan in
Agriculture [NeGP-A] information is
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|14 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 15
NeG
P-A
NeG
P-A
There are three core components, viz. digital infrastructure, digital services and digital literacy and Mobile phone is the preferred delivery medium with focus on m- Governance and m- Services
Mobile phones are
omnipresent and cost effective
means to revolutionize
agriculture in India
4. Enhance efficiency in agricultural
governance through digital literacy and
electronic delivery of services. This article
briefly highlights government's initiatives
and suggests the need for harnessing
potential of digital India for agricultural
development.
According to “Situation Assessment of
Indian Farmers”, only about 28% of all
farmers use any kind of agriculture-related
information that is available rather than what
they need. While about 72% of farmers do not
have any source of information that can help
them adopt latest technology, most farmers
are unable to access credit, insurance and
marketing services from the established
institutions. This is primarily responsible for
farmer's low crop product iv i ty and
profitability. Despite India has the largest
irrigated land and ranks second in terms of
arable land the yield crops is 20%-40% of the
world's best levels.
Potential of ICT
In format ion and Communicat ion
Technology (ICT) has the potential to
revolutionize Indian agriculture in terms of
raising crop productivity and profitability per
unit area and resources. By June, 2014, rural
India had about 122.4 million [68.32%]
households with mobiles exhibiting mobile
connectivity has become a basic service in
rural areas. Rural mobile subscriber base is
growing twice as faster compared to urban
subscriber base. As of March 2015, the
national teledensity was 79% and rural
teledensity 46.5%. Telecom Policy aims to
increase rural teledensity to 60% by 2017 and
100% by 2020. Study of the IAMAI revealed
80% using it for communications, 67% for
online services, 65% for e-commerce and
60% for social networking. Mobile phones
can be effectively utilized for purposes
i n c l ud i ng gene ra t i ng , p roce s s i ng ,
transmit t ing, disseminating, sor t ing,
archiving and retrieving critical information
and data relating to agriculture. Mobile
phones are omnipresent and cost effective
means to revolutionize agriculture in India.
Several apps are now available and many
more can be developed to meet farmers'
following specific needs
For India, at a time when national,
regional and international research institutes
have already developed technologies,
farmers need motivation and encouragement
to adopt these proven yield-enhancing, cost-
e f f i c i en t and env i ronmen t - f r i end l y
technologies. Acknowledging the slow impact
of the ICT initiatives of the government and
private sector, the digital India project should
pay undivided attention to provide accurate
information from authentic sources to farmers
on time on various aspects as identified by
various field studies, viz.
· Detai ls of locat ion-speci f ic crop
production technology
· Economics of crop, livestock and fish
farming
· Authorized sources of timely availability
of standard quality inputs [seeds,
fer t i l izers , pes t ic ides e tc . ] farm
equipment, sprinklers, drippers, among
others, along with costs
· Post-harvest management technology
and facilities including transport,
storage, processing, preservation,
packaging and marketing
· Commodity prices, weather, measures to
minimize impact of drought and climate
change
· Detailed procedure for availing bank
credit, crop and livestock insurance
cover, government subsidies, land
records etc.
· Government's programs providing
subsidy and other facilities to develop
i r r i ga t i on po t en t i a l , r a i nwa t e r
harvesting, soil and water conservation
measures, soil and water testing facilities,
prevention and control of pests and
diseases, bio-gas, minimum support
prices
· Contract farming, value chain system,
warehouse receipt
· Reclamation of degraded, saline and
alkaline land
· Mechanism to redress grievances.
Accordingly, farmers need ICT-enabled
portals for following purposes which can
be developed, rigorously field tested and
made available to farmers.
Production-enhancing proven crop-
specific technologies [from pre-sowing to
harvesting and post-harvest management]
based on soil & water analysis. Separate for
dry land & irrigated farming focusing efficient
use of seeds, fertilizers, water, pesticides,
farm equipment & labor; and reclamation of
degraded, saline & alkaline land.
Crop-speci f ic reasonably pr iced
standard quality production inputs (seeds,
fer tilizers, pesticides, etc.) and farm
equipment and machinery along with sources
of availability
S torage , t ranspor t , p rocess ing ,
packaging, Land records, farm credit,
insurance, marketing, weather, farmer-
producers' organizations, market yards,
procurement centres
Availability of subsidies, assistance
available to mitigate effects of climate
change, drought, floods, earthquake,
cyclones
State government's department of
agriculture, state agricultural universities,
Krishi Vigyan Kendras, regional research
institutes, farmer- producers organizations,
corporate/industrial/business houses and
multinational companies engaged in
manufacturing/production and distribution
of farm inputs, farm equipment & machinery,
rural financial institutions, insurance
companies, among others, have a significant
role and added responsibility to contribute
their professional knowledge to develop
digital ecosystem for agriculture and make
available to farmers.
Government has, among others, initiated several
measures viz.
A. Government has put in operation three
portals viz. farmer portal, kisan call
centre and mkisan portal to help farmers
take informed decisions for efficient
farming under varying agro-climatic
conditions.
B. Under the e- Governance Programme,
soil health card software has been
standardized and web-based software
developed to provide integrated nutrient
management recommendations using
soil test crop response method for eight
states.
C. Under National e-Governance Plan in
Agriculture [NeGP-A] information is
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|14 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 15
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provided to farmers through multiple
channels including Common Service
Centres Internet Kiosks and SMSs.
Currently, 12 identified clusters of
services provide information on weather;
soil health; seeds, nutrients, pests;
irrigation; crops, good agricultural
practices, farm machinery; marketing
infrastructure; farm commodity prices,
arrivals, procurement points; electronic
certification for export & import; drought
relief & management; livestock, fisheries
management; training; monitoring
implementation and evaluation of
schemes. The first phase of the project is
under implementation in seven states out
of 28 in the country.
D. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Deve lopment has a lso des igned
agricultural portals for farmers. The
Focused Attention is-
Immediate need is to conduct a nation-
wide separately for each agro-ecological
region] evaluation study to assess the impact
of ICT initiatives on agriculture already
developed and put in place by the
government and private sector in respect of
(a) number of farmers regularly receiving &
u s i ng mob i l e - enab l ed ag r i cu l t u ra l
information services (b) feedback from users
about content, timeliness, utility, satisfaction,
changes required, their grievances (c)
increase in productivity, output and income of
benefitted farmers (d) increase in price
realization in farm commodities sold, direct
selling without dependence on middlemen (e)
About 72% of farmers
do not have any source
of information
that can help them to adopt latest technology, most of the farmers are
unable to access credit,
insurance and
marketing services from the
established institutions
reduction in costs of transactions (f)
mechanism to redress grievances.
For success fu l des igning digi ta l
ecosystem for agriculture, the system design
should have all desired features of higher user
satisfaction, viz. (i)ease of access (ii)updated
content (iii) layout, design, consistent themes
(iv) easy navigation (v) higher interactivity (vi)
access through multiple media (particularly
voice) (vii) higher use of non-textual
information (viii) language options[ix]lower
cost of transaction.
Regulatory & Development Authority need to be in place
to ensure
(i) increase in farmers' easy, timely and
r e l i ab l e a c ce s s t o ag r i c u l t u ra l
information system (as per farmers'
needs) throughout the country in a
systematic & planned manner.
(ii) development of need-based appropriate
digital models for agriculture under
public & private sector which conform BIS
& available at affordable cost.
(iii) improving general and digital literacy
and compu te r s k i l l and d ig i ta l
infrastructure in rural India in line with
digital India vision.
(iv) prevention of fake models and fraudulent
practices
Chander Mohan Sr. Execu�ve Editor
Krishi Jagran, New DelhiMob: 9891311166
Email: [email protected]
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|16
Ever Lasting Bonding of trust and quality since years.38Let’s join together.
Wide range of products and large network of dealers
Protecting crop at every stage.
NeG
P-A
provided to farmers through multiple
channels including Common Service
Centres Internet Kiosks and SMSs.
Currently, 12 identified clusters of
services provide information on weather;
soil health; seeds, nutrients, pests;
irrigation; crops, good agricultural
practices, farm machinery; marketing
infrastructure; farm commodity prices,
arrivals, procurement points; electronic
certification for export & import; drought
relief & management; livestock, fisheries
management; training; monitoring
implementation and evaluation of
schemes. The first phase of the project is
under implementation in seven states out
of 28 in the country.
D. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Deve lopment has a lso des igned
agricultural portals for farmers. The
Focused Attention is-
Immediate need is to conduct a nation-
wide separately for each agro-ecological
region] evaluation study to assess the impact
of ICT initiatives on agriculture already
developed and put in place by the
government and private sector in respect of
(a) number of farmers regularly receiving &
u s i ng mob i l e - enab l ed ag r i cu l t u ra l
information services (b) feedback from users
about content, timeliness, utility, satisfaction,
changes required, their grievances (c)
increase in productivity, output and income of
benefitted farmers (d) increase in price
realization in farm commodities sold, direct
selling without dependence on middlemen (e)
About 72% of farmers
do not have any source
of information
that can help them to adopt latest technology, most of the farmers are
unable to access credit,
insurance and
marketing services from the
established institutions
reduction in costs of transactions (f)
mechanism to redress grievances.
For success fu l des igning digi ta l
ecosystem for agriculture, the system design
should have all desired features of higher user
satisfaction, viz. (i)ease of access (ii)updated
content (iii) layout, design, consistent themes
(iv) easy navigation (v) higher interactivity (vi)
access through multiple media (particularly
voice) (vii) higher use of non-textual
information (viii) language options[ix]lower
cost of transaction.
Regulatory & Development Authority need to be in place
to ensure
(i) increase in farmers' easy, timely and
r e l i ab l e a c ce s s t o ag r i c u l t u ra l
information system (as per farmers'
needs) throughout the country in a
systematic & planned manner.
(ii) development of need-based appropriate
digital models for agriculture under
public & private sector which conform BIS
& available at affordable cost.
(iii) improving general and digital literacy
and compu te r s k i l l and d ig i ta l
infrastructure in rural India in line with
digital India vision.
(iv) prevention of fake models and fraudulent
practices
Chander Mohan Sr. Execu�ve Editor
Krishi Jagran, New DelhiMob: 9891311166
Email: [email protected]
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|16
Ever Lasting Bonding of trust and quality since years.38Let’s join together.
Wide range of products and large network of dealers
Protecting crop at every stage.
NeG
P-A
Communication is a major challenge and is a serious impediment in taking the fruits of ICT
to rural parts of the country. Majority of the villages - which form bulk of India, fall
abysmally short of access to basic source of quality communication. IFFCO has realized
that absence of reliable medium as well as appropriate services of relevance to ride over it have
been acting as a major bottleneck. The need of the hour is to take valuable information inputs to
farmers - directly to their 'ears' and 'eyes'. Equally important is the ability to scale up these
services so that the large rural base is not left out in the process of e-transformation. It is apt to
note that many initiatives fall short in replicability on a large scale. Thus, communication, content
and scalability are three major concerns in this arena which IFFCO sought to address.
'IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited' is IFFCO's determination to take the above challenges 'Head
On'. IFFCO Kisan has been formed with an exclusive mandate to design, develop, source and
supply state of the art, economical and rural communications with value additions of content and
services. The focus is to take the advantage of latest in technology to address several issues faced
by the farmers for simple need for communication, access to input from experts and services of
reliable quality. The objective is to empower people living in villages of the country in a
sustainable and viable manner. Cooperative Societies form the core of the strategy which is
enabled to be a catalyst for promoting these products and services in an economically viable
manner.
In order to achieve the objectives cited above, IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited was
incorporated on Apr 12, 2007. Initially pilot projects were launched in Eastern UP to test the
The objective to Improve the Quality of life of Rural Citizens by empowering them with quality, timely and actionable advisories on topics of rural interest
CO
VER S
TORY
model. IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited has
forged strategic relationships to evolve
products in mobile telephony which are tailor
made to suit rural requirements. IFFCO Kisan
Sanchar Limited is endeavouring to ensure
that the basic need of communication for
people living in villages is lowest possible so
that they do not feel hampered in their need to
'talk' to their near and dear. With a Mission
"Empower farmers and people living in rural
India with pertinent and high quality
information and services, through affordable
communication network, in a sustainable
manner. To work concertedly to develop
content and services which will improve
informed decision making by people living in
Indian villages." To fulfill the objective to
Improve the Quality of life of Rural Citizens by
empowering them with quality, timely and
actionable advisories on topics of rural
interest. The network of :
IFFCO KISAN”S SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY
Free Voice Message (Free Voice Message for rural Subscribers)
Through the Green SIM Card, every day,
up to four free voice messages are delivered
to the Subscribers. Each such voice message is
of one-minute duration and cover contextual
alerts and advisories on diverse subjects like
soil management, weather forecasts, weather
based agro-advisory, crop management,
plant protection, market rates, dairy and
animal husbandry. Information of general use
on health, employment, education, women
empowermen t , f i nanc ia l i nc lu s ion ,
awarenes s o f c l ima te change and
Government schemes are also provided.
The focus is to take the
advantage of latest in
technology to address
several issues faced by the farmers for simple need
for communica-tion, access
to input from experts and services of
reliable quality
Empowering Farmers with Information Revolution ofIFFCO Kisan Sanchar
Sandeep Malhotra
These voice messages are prepared by
experts on subjects of immediate interest to
the rural Subscribers. Market rates and
weather information at district-level is also
given as text message. The endeavour is to
empower rural subscribers, particularly
farmers, with latest information for informed
decision making.
Helpline (Dedicated helpline for query resolution by Experts)
The subscribers of Green SIM Card of
IFFCO Kisan have the privilege of access to a
dedicated Helpline service, which has the
potential to become a rural lifeline through a
6 digit number 534351. Farmers can get a
solution to their problems, queries by using
this short code. Experienced professionals are
accessible on this helpline, who provide
solutions to farmers. Where required, Subject
Matter Exper ts (SMEs) are taken on
conference call to provide a satisfactory
resolution to queries.
Call Back Facility (To listen to voice messages once again)
Every day up to
four voice messages
a re de l i ve red to
people who possess
Green Sim Cards, on
their mobile phones
free of cost. These
messages are based
on the area of interest
of the people and are
recorded in the local
CO
VER S
TORY
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|18 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 19
State Covered-19
Territory Manager-84
Number ofZones-107
Districts Covered-390
Distributors-2300
Retailers-17000 Kisan Mitras-2000
Marketing Associates-300
No. of Communities-79
Communication is a major challenge and is a serious impediment in taking the fruits of ICT
to rural parts of the country. Majority of the villages - which form bulk of India, fall
abysmally short of access to basic source of quality communication. IFFCO has realized
that absence of reliable medium as well as appropriate services of relevance to ride over it have
been acting as a major bottleneck. The need of the hour is to take valuable information inputs to
farmers - directly to their 'ears' and 'eyes'. Equally important is the ability to scale up these
services so that the large rural base is not left out in the process of e-transformation. It is apt to
note that many initiatives fall short in replicability on a large scale. Thus, communication, content
and scalability are three major concerns in this arena which IFFCO sought to address.
'IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited' is IFFCO's determination to take the above challenges 'Head
On'. IFFCO Kisan has been formed with an exclusive mandate to design, develop, source and
supply state of the art, economical and rural communications with value additions of content and
services. The focus is to take the advantage of latest in technology to address several issues faced
by the farmers for simple need for communication, access to input from experts and services of
reliable quality. The objective is to empower people living in villages of the country in a
sustainable and viable manner. Cooperative Societies form the core of the strategy which is
enabled to be a catalyst for promoting these products and services in an economically viable
manner.
In order to achieve the objectives cited above, IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited was
incorporated on Apr 12, 2007. Initially pilot projects were launched in Eastern UP to test the
The objective to Improve the Quality of life of Rural Citizens by empowering them with quality, timely and actionable advisories on topics of rural interest
CO
VER S
TORY
model. IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited has
forged strategic relationships to evolve
products in mobile telephony which are tailor
made to suit rural requirements. IFFCO Kisan
Sanchar Limited is endeavouring to ensure
that the basic need of communication for
people living in villages is lowest possible so
that they do not feel hampered in their need to
'talk' to their near and dear. With a Mission
"Empower farmers and people living in rural
India with pertinent and high quality
information and services, through affordable
communication network, in a sustainable
manner. To work concertedly to develop
content and services which will improve
informed decision making by people living in
Indian villages." To fulfill the objective to
Improve the Quality of life of Rural Citizens by
empowering them with quality, timely and
actionable advisories on topics of rural
interest. The network of :
IFFCO KISAN”S SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY
Free Voice Message (Free Voice Message for rural Subscribers)
Through the Green SIM Card, every day,
up to four free voice messages are delivered
to the Subscribers. Each such voice message is
of one-minute duration and cover contextual
alerts and advisories on diverse subjects like
soil management, weather forecasts, weather
based agro-advisory, crop management,
plant protection, market rates, dairy and
animal husbandry. Information of general use
on health, employment, education, women
empowermen t , f i nanc ia l i nc lu s ion ,
awarenes s o f c l ima te change and
Government schemes are also provided.
The focus is to take the
advantage of latest in
technology to address
several issues faced by the farmers for simple need
for communica-tion, access
to input from experts and services of
reliable quality
Empowering Farmers with Information Revolution ofIFFCO Kisan Sanchar
Sandeep Malhotra
These voice messages are prepared by
experts on subjects of immediate interest to
the rural Subscribers. Market rates and
weather information at district-level is also
given as text message. The endeavour is to
empower rural subscribers, particularly
farmers, with latest information for informed
decision making.
Helpline (Dedicated helpline for query resolution by Experts)
The subscribers of Green SIM Card of
IFFCO Kisan have the privilege of access to a
dedicated Helpline service, which has the
potential to become a rural lifeline through a
6 digit number 534351. Farmers can get a
solution to their problems, queries by using
this short code. Experienced professionals are
accessible on this helpline, who provide
solutions to farmers. Where required, Subject
Matter Exper ts (SMEs) are taken on
conference call to provide a satisfactory
resolution to queries.
Call Back Facility (To listen to voice messages once again)
Every day up to
four voice messages
a re de l i ve red to
people who possess
Green Sim Cards, on
their mobile phones
free of cost. These
messages are based
on the area of interest
of the people and are
recorded in the local
CO
VER S
TORY
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|18 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 19
State Covered-19
Territory Manager-84
Number ofZones-107
Districts Covered-390
Distributors-2300
Retailers-17000 Kisan Mitras-2000
Marketing Associates-300
No. of Communities-79
languages. However, for those subscribers,
who could not receive the voice message call
or have missed a voice message, a facility is
available to call a short code (534359) which
provides for listening to the messages again.
This facility is available for listening to the
same days' alerts and advisories any time
during that day.
Rural Portal (one place information centre)
IFFCO Kisan.com is a visionary
initiative extending e-revolution to farmers &
cooperatives. It was an ambitious project for
IKSL to e-transformation of rural India and
farmer. As IKSL has been studying the
requirements of farmers, their concerns and
type of information; which farmers are
looking, which in turn helped it develop vast
databases of advisories in form of text,
graphics and audio files in ten Indian
languages. 'IFFCOKisan.com' is an attempt to
take this useful information to a much larger
audience, readily available online for quick
access. It will be greater use of data related
services in rural India with interactive and
farmer friendly Content. IKSL is poised to
grow further to work for the uplift the farmers
of India by innovative use of technology.
“IFFCOKisan.com” will help user to get
weather information and forecast, mandi
prices and its trends, will promote Rural Art-
Craft & Rural Tourism and many more. In a
nutshell 'IFFCOKisan.com' would serve as a
complete E-Gateway for Rural India
promoting both “Make in India as well as
Digital India”.
This rural Portal is inspired by a similar
initiative of IFFCO launched in 2001, based
on touch screen kiosks, but refurbished to suit
the latest context and new developments. The
rural Portal leverages the voice content
delivered to farmers and also includes many
new features l ike supplementing the
information with images, providing library
services on large number of topics and even
promoting rural tourism & handicraft.
Initially this portal was launched with the
name of “gramsanjeevani.com” and later on
it's get renamed as 'IFFCOKisan.com'.
Mobile App- Agriculture App - Evolution
from Kiosk to Multi Modal Interactive Platform
for rural India
This “IFFCO Kisan” mobile app is
working for rural empowerment. Its provides
access to weather forecasts, mandi prices,
latest agricultural advisory, library of best
practices, expert's advice, latest news and
many more. This user-friendly app is
available in eleven Indian languages with
audio enablement for the convenience of less
educated farmers' i.e English, Hindi, Punjabi,
Malayalam, Bengali, Oriya, Marathi,
Kannad, Telugu, Tamil and Gujarati.
Weather - This section provides five day
weather forecasts of a particular district with
temperature, humidity, possibility of rainfall,
wind speed and direction for locations of
interest set through preferences. Farmers may
add or remove the locations for which
information is required. The farmers can take
informed decisions on farming related
activities based on the forecasts. At a time,
two locations can be selected as a preferences
in weather section.
Mandi/ Market Information - Mandi
section provides information on the prevailing
prices in market yards. Farmers can view the
market price status, trends and take a decision
on sale of their produce. Farmers may add,
edit or remove the crops / mandi / locations
for which information is required. They can
also search for status of a commodity in a
particular mandi, just for information. At a
time, five crops & mandi combination can be
selected in the preferences.
Contextualised Advisories - The crop
specific advisories for various agro-climatic
zones based on prevailing conditions are
provided through this section. The advisories
and alerts are based on research by experts,
which can guide the farmers on
actions required to be initiated
under the prevailing weather
conditions. The advisories and
alerts are provided in audio
format also for the benefit of less
educated farmers. Farmers may
add, edit or remove crops /
locations for which information is
required. At a time, two crops can
be selected in the preferences.
'Ask our Experts' - Quick
Access to Experts -Farmers can
send their queries / doubts to a panel of
experts through this section. Those who find it
difficult to write may take a photo of the plant
part causing concern to them. The expert will
study the issue and provide personalized
solution. This section provides access to all the
important information one may need to know
on a specific crop. Farmers may add or
remove crops / locations for which
information is required. At a time, two crops
can be selected in the preferences.
Gyan Bhandar- It is a library for the user,
based on the set preferences user can get
written information. Information is also
provided in audio format for the benefit of less
educated farmers.
Market- It is a very important and center
of attraction for Buyer & Seller. It will be a
meeting place for Seller & Buyer. Its increases
the chances of selling his produce in less time
and maximize his income. Seller registered
his produce with all required information
including his contact details. Similarly, buyer
can also register with his requirement. It also
creates new business avenue for rural India
societies and can be work as a bridge for
direct consumer/ trader to source or purchase
directly from farmer.
News- It might be hard to believe but our
'News' section of IFFCO Kisan mobile app is
the most dynamic and most frequent updated
section. We keep this section as a credibility
indicator for the users and invite them to visit
this section at least twice a day. Our news
section is a collection of news from different
sources and all news will be connected with
rural India, agriculture and related things,
social welfare, jobs & employment,
government initiatives and many more.
Chat- It is a text-based communication
which an IFFCO Kisan app user can do with
other IFFCO Kisan app user that is in real-
time. For example, any typed text is received
by other participants immediately; it is an
exchanging of messages in real time with one
or more simultaneous users of IFFCO Kisan
app user's network.
Setting- It is a place where a user will set
all his preferences and make IFFCO Kisan
app for himsel f by cus tomis ing the
preferences in Weather, Mandi, Advisory,
Gyan Bhandar by providing location, crop,
interested areas and related information.
User can also set his profile like personal
profile data i.e Crop details, land details,
animal's details, family details and many
more.
Helplines- Through this section user can
reach to IFFCO Kisan helpline (for green SIM
user) as well as for Kisan Call Centre Services
(KCC) by selecting any one option. Our entire
experts are available. In order to harness the
potential of ICT in Agriculture, Ministry of
Agriculture launched the scheme "Kisan Call
Centres (KCCs)" on January 21, 2004. IFFCO
Kisan app is having facility to connect with
“Kisan Call Centres” experts to talk with. This
one touch connect with KCC expert can be
used from any network's user i.e BSNL, Idea,
Vodafone, Airtel etc. It is a toll free service
from Ministry of Agriculture. KCC experts will
resolve the enquiry/ issue and provide
personalized solution on the call to the user. It
will be helpful for user to get right solution for
their enquiries instantly.
User can also set his profile like personal profile data i.e Crop details, land details, animal's details, family details and many more
The rural Portal
leverages the voice content
delivered to farmers and also includes
many new features like
supplementing the
information
Sandeep MalhotraChief Execu�ve OfficerMob: +91‐9810131375
Email: [email protected]
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|20 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 21
CO
VER S
TORYC
OV
ER S
TORY
languages. However, for those subscribers,
who could not receive the voice message call
or have missed a voice message, a facility is
available to call a short code (534359) which
provides for listening to the messages again.
This facility is available for listening to the
same days' alerts and advisories any time
during that day.
Rural Portal (one place information centre)
IFFCO Kisan.com is a visionary
initiative extending e-revolution to farmers &
cooperatives. It was an ambitious project for
IKSL to e-transformation of rural India and
farmer. As IKSL has been studying the
requirements of farmers, their concerns and
type of information; which farmers are
looking, which in turn helped it develop vast
databases of advisories in form of text,
graphics and audio files in ten Indian
languages. 'IFFCOKisan.com' is an attempt to
take this useful information to a much larger
audience, readily available online for quick
access. It will be greater use of data related
services in rural India with interactive and
farmer friendly Content. IKSL is poised to
grow further to work for the uplift the farmers
of India by innovative use of technology.
“IFFCOKisan.com” will help user to get
weather information and forecast, mandi
prices and its trends, will promote Rural Art-
Craft & Rural Tourism and many more. In a
nutshell 'IFFCOKisan.com' would serve as a
complete E-Gateway for Rural India
promoting both “Make in India as well as
Digital India”.
This rural Portal is inspired by a similar
initiative of IFFCO launched in 2001, based
on touch screen kiosks, but refurbished to suit
the latest context and new developments. The
rural Portal leverages the voice content
delivered to farmers and also includes many
new features l ike supplementing the
information with images, providing library
services on large number of topics and even
promoting rural tourism & handicraft.
Initially this portal was launched with the
name of “gramsanjeevani.com” and later on
it's get renamed as 'IFFCOKisan.com'.
Mobile App- Agriculture App - Evolution
from Kiosk to Multi Modal Interactive Platform
for rural India
This “IFFCO Kisan” mobile app is
working for rural empowerment. Its provides
access to weather forecasts, mandi prices,
latest agricultural advisory, library of best
practices, expert's advice, latest news and
many more. This user-friendly app is
available in eleven Indian languages with
audio enablement for the convenience of less
educated farmers' i.e English, Hindi, Punjabi,
Malayalam, Bengali, Oriya, Marathi,
Kannad, Telugu, Tamil and Gujarati.
Weather - This section provides five day
weather forecasts of a particular district with
temperature, humidity, possibility of rainfall,
wind speed and direction for locations of
interest set through preferences. Farmers may
add or remove the locations for which
information is required. The farmers can take
informed decisions on farming related
activities based on the forecasts. At a time,
two locations can be selected as a preferences
in weather section.
Mandi/ Market Information - Mandi
section provides information on the prevailing
prices in market yards. Farmers can view the
market price status, trends and take a decision
on sale of their produce. Farmers may add,
edit or remove the crops / mandi / locations
for which information is required. They can
also search for status of a commodity in a
particular mandi, just for information. At a
time, five crops & mandi combination can be
selected in the preferences.
Contextualised Advisories - The crop
specific advisories for various agro-climatic
zones based on prevailing conditions are
provided through this section. The advisories
and alerts are based on research by experts,
which can guide the farmers on
actions required to be initiated
under the prevailing weather
conditions. The advisories and
alerts are provided in audio
format also for the benefit of less
educated farmers. Farmers may
add, edit or remove crops /
locations for which information is
required. At a time, two crops can
be selected in the preferences.
'Ask our Experts' - Quick
Access to Experts -Farmers can
send their queries / doubts to a panel of
experts through this section. Those who find it
difficult to write may take a photo of the plant
part causing concern to them. The expert will
study the issue and provide personalized
solution. This section provides access to all the
important information one may need to know
on a specific crop. Farmers may add or
remove crops / locations for which
information is required. At a time, two crops
can be selected in the preferences.
Gyan Bhandar- It is a library for the user,
based on the set preferences user can get
written information. Information is also
provided in audio format for the benefit of less
educated farmers.
Market- It is a very important and center
of attraction for Buyer & Seller. It will be a
meeting place for Seller & Buyer. Its increases
the chances of selling his produce in less time
and maximize his income. Seller registered
his produce with all required information
including his contact details. Similarly, buyer
can also register with his requirement. It also
creates new business avenue for rural India
societies and can be work as a bridge for
direct consumer/ trader to source or purchase
directly from farmer.
News- It might be hard to believe but our
'News' section of IFFCO Kisan mobile app is
the most dynamic and most frequent updated
section. We keep this section as a credibility
indicator for the users and invite them to visit
this section at least twice a day. Our news
section is a collection of news from different
sources and all news will be connected with
rural India, agriculture and related things,
social welfare, jobs & employment,
government initiatives and many more.
Chat- It is a text-based communication
which an IFFCO Kisan app user can do with
other IFFCO Kisan app user that is in real-
time. For example, any typed text is received
by other participants immediately; it is an
exchanging of messages in real time with one
or more simultaneous users of IFFCO Kisan
app user's network.
Setting- It is a place where a user will set
all his preferences and make IFFCO Kisan
app for himsel f by cus tomis ing the
preferences in Weather, Mandi, Advisory,
Gyan Bhandar by providing location, crop,
interested areas and related information.
User can also set his profile like personal
profile data i.e Crop details, land details,
animal's details, family details and many
more.
Helplines- Through this section user can
reach to IFFCO Kisan helpline (for green SIM
user) as well as for Kisan Call Centre Services
(KCC) by selecting any one option. Our entire
experts are available. In order to harness the
potential of ICT in Agriculture, Ministry of
Agriculture launched the scheme "Kisan Call
Centres (KCCs)" on January 21, 2004. IFFCO
Kisan app is having facility to connect with
“Kisan Call Centres” experts to talk with. This
one touch connect with KCC expert can be
used from any network's user i.e BSNL, Idea,
Vodafone, Airtel etc. It is a toll free service
from Ministry of Agriculture. KCC experts will
resolve the enquiry/ issue and provide
personalized solution on the call to the user. It
will be helpful for user to get right solution for
their enquiries instantly.
User can also set his profile like personal profile data i.e Crop details, land details, animal's details, family details and many more
The rural Portal
leverages the voice content
delivered to farmers and also includes
many new features like
supplementing the
information
Sandeep MalhotraChief Execu�ve OfficerMob: +91‐9810131375
Email: [email protected]
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|20 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 21
CO
VER S
TORYC
OV
ER S
TORY
KRISHI JAGRAN
To Reach Rural India–Advertise in Krishi Jagran and Go Global through Agriculture World
krishijagran.com
WORLD’S LARGEST MULTILINGUAL AGRI-RURAL MAGAZINE
9 Languages (8 Indian & 1 Global), 19 States, 1 Portal – 8 Million combined readership
Ph.: +91-11-26511845, 26517923, 45503170 Email: [email protected] Web: www.krishijagran.com � �
KRISHI JAGRAN, INDIA'S NO.1 AGRI MEDIA GROUP
AGRICULTURE W RLDThe Pulse of Agri-World
www.krishijagran.com n?Zw-J/-;h- feqPh ikroDThe Pulse of Rural India
కృ� ిజ�గర�కృ� ిజ�గర� ßÔÁ¿ø¸ æ±á. í ßÔÁ¿ø¸ æñá1íßÔÁ¿ø¸ æñá1í
MEENA PANDEY9891123772
PRIYA TRIPATHI9891956956
AAYESHA KHAN9891889588
K.J. Saranya9811758683
Nishant Taak : +91- 9953 756433 : [email protected]
Rahul Singh : +91- 9891 339440 : [email protected]
Abdus Samad : +91- 9891 889588 : [email protected]
Sujata Gautam : +91- 8588 998437 : [email protected]
Anku Yadav : +91- 9999 743660 : [email protected]
Mohit : +91- 9891 550087 : [email protected]
Prashant Sharma : +91- 9891 263263 : [email protected]
Sanjay Kumar : +91-9313301029 : [email protected]
Farha Khan : +91-9891724495 : [email protected]
M.C. Dominic : +91-9654193353 : [email protected]
Shiny Emanuel : +91-7838776057 : [email protected]
MG Vasan : +91-9313301029 : [email protected]
D.D. Nair : +79037299830 : [email protected]
Gavrilova Maria : +79273058626 : [email protected]
K.T. Chandy : +91- 8743 005209 : [email protected]
RK Teotia : +91- 9891 511144 : [email protected]
Chander Mohan : +91- 9891 311166 : [email protected]
Ruby Jain : +91- 9999 142633 : [email protected]
Manish Chauhan : +91- 9891 335460 : [email protected]
Imran Khan : +91- 9582 957538 : [email protected]
Sagar Malhotra : +91- 9953 746033 : [email protected]
Deepshikha : +91- 9891 443388 : [email protected]
Sameer Tiwari : +91- 9891 660044 : [email protected]
কৃিষ জাগরণকৃিষ জাগরণকৃিষ জাগরণকৃিষ জাগরণ কৃিষ জাগরণকৃিষ জাগরণßÔÁ¿ø¸ æñá1íßÔÁ¿ø¸ æñá1í
o"kZ 21 vad 1 tuojh 2016 #i;s 35
www.krishijagran.com
ISSN 2455-1074
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www.krishijagran.com
o"kZ 17 vad 01 tuojh 2016 #i;s 35
www.krishijagran.com
ISSN 2455-1112
KRISHI JAGRAN
To Reach Rural India–Advertise in Krishi Jagran and Go Global through Agriculture World
krishijagran.com
WORLD’S LARGEST MULTILINGUAL AGRI-RURAL MAGAZINE
9 Languages (8 Indian & 1 Global), 19 States, 1 Portal – 8 Million combined readership
Ph.: +91-11-26511845, 26517923, 45503170 Email: [email protected] Web: www.krishijagran.com � �
KRISHI JAGRAN, INDIA'S NO.1 AGRI MEDIA GROUP
AGRICULTURE W RLDThe Pulse of Agri-World
www.krishijagran.com n?Zw-J/-;h- feqPh ikroDThe Pulse of Rural India
కృ� ిజ�గర�కృ� ిజ�గర� ßÔÁ¿ø¸ æ±á. í ßÔÁ¿ø¸ æñá1íßÔÁ¿ø¸ æñá1í
MEENA PANDEY9891123772
PRIYA TRIPATHI9891956956
AAYESHA KHAN9891889588
K.J. Saranya9811758683
Nishant Taak : +91- 9953 756433 : [email protected]
Rahul Singh : +91- 9891 339440 : [email protected]
Abdus Samad : +91- 9891 889588 : [email protected]
Sujata Gautam : +91- 8588 998437 : [email protected]
Anku Yadav : +91- 9999 743660 : [email protected]
Mohit : +91- 9891 550087 : [email protected]
Prashant Sharma : +91- 9891 263263 : [email protected]
Sanjay Kumar : +91-9313301029 : [email protected]
Farha Khan : +91-9891724495 : [email protected]
M.C. Dominic : +91-9654193353 : [email protected]
Shiny Emanuel : +91-7838776057 : [email protected]
MG Vasan : +91-9313301029 : [email protected]
D.D. Nair : +79037299830 : [email protected]
Gavrilova Maria : +79273058626 : [email protected]
K.T. Chandy : +91- 8743 005209 : [email protected]
RK Teotia : +91- 9891 511144 : [email protected]
Chander Mohan : +91- 9891 311166 : [email protected]
Ruby Jain : +91- 9999 142633 : [email protected]
Manish Chauhan : +91- 9891 335460 : [email protected]
Imran Khan : +91- 9582 957538 : [email protected]
Sagar Malhotra : +91- 9953 746033 : [email protected]
Deepshikha : +91- 9891 443388 : [email protected]
Sameer Tiwari : +91- 9891 660044 : [email protected]
কৃিষ জাগরণকৃিষ জাগরণকৃিষ জাগরণকৃিষ জাগরণ কৃিষ জাগরণকৃিষ জাগরণßÔÁ¿ø¸ æñá1íßÔÁ¿ø¸ æñá1í
o"kZ 21 vad 1 tuojh 2016 #i;s 35
www.krishijagran.com
ISSN 2455-1074
o"kZ 20 vad 11 uoEcj 2015 #i;s 35
www.krishijagran.com
o"kZ 17 vad 01 tuojh 2016 #i;s 35
www.krishijagran.com
ISSN 2455-1112
India is the second most populated nation in
the World and home to nearly 1.30 billion
people. In 2014, analysis of India's
population demographics revealed that 65
percent of its population was below 35 years
and 50 percent of the population stood below
25 years age group (Guardian). Forecasters
at FS Pardee Center for International Futures
predict India's population to e q u a l
China at 1.45 billion by 2025 and reach 1.60
billion by 2060.
Nearly 4 billion people in the World
make less than USD 3,000 a year or
approximately USD 8 a day. 60 percent of
this population resides in India and China,
and this segment of the society constitutes the
Base-of-Pyramid or BoP populat ion.
Interestingly, BoP households spend nearly 70
percent of their earnings on food. A
developing nation with a large segment of
young population base, is witnessing rising
individual incomes and rapid urbanization.
Further, a shift in dietary patterns from
carbohydrate to protein and vitamin rich diets
and preference for processed and semi-
processed food, is presenting a new set of
challenges and opportunities for the existing
food supply chains in India (Reardon &
Minten, 2011).
Food waste is seen in developed nations where food is rejected and subject to waste at the retail and or consumer level
AG
RI C
LUSTE
R
Base-of-Pyramid (BoP) markets constitute
a large and rapidly emerging consumer
market for goods and services, which until
recently were primarily associated with
consumers in deve loped economies
(WEF, 2009).
Agriculture -In 2013-14, India ranked
among the top three food grain producers in
the World with an annual production of 265
million metric tons (MT) and was the leading
producer of milk at 137.68 million MT (Agri
Stats, Govt. of India, 2015). Agriculture,
Forestry and Fishing contributed 13.9
percent of the nation's Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) (World Bank Indicators).
Further, the sector generated employment for
nearly 49.7 percent of total workforce in India
(Worldbank Indicators).
Yet, In 2013, a total of 11,744 farmers
committed suicides of which 10,462 were
males and 1,282 were females (NCRB, 2015)
Post harvest loss -Nations are faced with
the challenge of delivering nutritious,
adequate and continuous food supplies at
economical prices to their citizens. While
developed nations have ensured food security
for their masses by defining and refining their
agricultural value and supply chains, many
poor and developing nations are still
A developing nation with
a large segment of
young population
base, is witnessing
rising individual
incomes and rapid
urbanization
struggling in their efforts to identify and
streamline their food supply chains. The
efforts of these poor and developing nations
are further stymied by loss and waste suffered
during post harvest cycles.
Post harvest losses are best explained in
terms of food loss and food waste. Food losses
take place in developing nations where
inefficiencies in food supply chain, poor
warehousing infrastructure, logistics, little
access to markets is available and exposure to
natural elements such as rain, result in edible
food being rendered unfit for human
consumption. Food waste is seen in
developed nations where food is rejected and
subject to waste at the retail and or consumer
level. Stringent retail standards, bargain
discounts and numerous consumer options at
supermarket aisles are some of the major
drivers for food being subject to waste. A
2011 FAO study Global Food Losses and
Food Waste, stated that “roughly one-third of
food produced for human consumption is lost
or wasted globally, which amounts to about
1.3 billion tons per year.”
No nation is immune from post harvest
losses and India too has incurred post
harvest losses, to the tune of 502,389 metric
tons of rice and 136,206 metric tons of wheat
AG
RI C
LUSTE
R
AGRI CLUSTER MAPS CAN HELP INDIA IMPROVE ITS EXISTING FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS?
at its storage facilities from 1997 – 2013
(Save Indian Grain, 2013). India incurs post
harvest fruits and vegetable losses worth over
INR 2 lakh crore (USD 32 billion) each year,
owing to the absence of food processing units,
modern cold storage facilities and a callous
attitude towards tackling the grave issue of
post harvest losses (Assocham, 2013).
The quantity of post harvest losses may
represent a small percentage of the annual
food grain production in India which could
have fed millions of malnourished Indians
suffering from hunger, by meeting their
individual nutrition requirements. Further,
monetary losses to the national exchequer
could have been stemmed and surplus
agricultural production subject to exports.
Food supply chains - Food supply chain
refers to the series of processes such as
production, processing, distr ibution,
consumption and disposal, which are
involved in the movement of food from our
fields to households.
In India, the movement of food from fields
to households involves various stakeholders
such as aggregators, grain and produce
merchants, wholesalers, forwarding agents,
transporters, distributors, retailers, vendors
and finally end-consumers. Financial
services, telecommunication companies,
energy firms and fleet logistics act as powerful
enablers of business activities within the food
supply chain. These direct and support
stakeholders facilitate the movement of food
from fields to sub market yards, major mandis,
warehouses, distribution hubs, food processing
units and finally to retail supermarkets,
neighborhood and kirana stores.
Food moves from farmers to end-
consumers in a batch process and money
paid by end-consumer moves in the opposite
direction to people who were involved in the
Anurag Awasthi
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|24 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 25
India is the second most populated nation in
the World and home to nearly 1.30 billion
people. In 2014, analysis of India's
population demographics revealed that 65
percent of its population was below 35 years
and 50 percent of the population stood below
25 years age group (Guardian). Forecasters
at FS Pardee Center for International Futures
predict India's population to e q u a l
China at 1.45 billion by 2025 and reach 1.60
billion by 2060.
Nearly 4 billion people in the World
make less than USD 3,000 a year or
approximately USD 8 a day. 60 percent of
this population resides in India and China,
and this segment of the society constitutes the
Base-of-Pyramid or BoP populat ion.
Interestingly, BoP households spend nearly 70
percent of their earnings on food. A
developing nation with a large segment of
young population base, is witnessing rising
individual incomes and rapid urbanization.
Further, a shift in dietary patterns from
carbohydrate to protein and vitamin rich diets
and preference for processed and semi-
processed food, is presenting a new set of
challenges and opportunities for the existing
food supply chains in India (Reardon &
Minten, 2011).
Food waste is seen in developed nations where food is rejected and subject to waste at the retail and or consumer level
AG
RI C
LUSTE
R
Base-of-Pyramid (BoP) markets constitute
a large and rapidly emerging consumer
market for goods and services, which until
recently were primarily associated with
consumers in deve loped economies
(WEF, 2009).
Agriculture -In 2013-14, India ranked
among the top three food grain producers in
the World with an annual production of 265
million metric tons (MT) and was the leading
producer of milk at 137.68 million MT (Agri
Stats, Govt. of India, 2015). Agriculture,
Forestry and Fishing contributed 13.9
percent of the nation's Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) (World Bank Indicators).
Further, the sector generated employment for
nearly 49.7 percent of total workforce in India
(Worldbank Indicators).
Yet, In 2013, a total of 11,744 farmers
committed suicides of which 10,462 were
males and 1,282 were females (NCRB, 2015)
Post harvest loss -Nations are faced with
the challenge of delivering nutritious,
adequate and continuous food supplies at
economical prices to their citizens. While
developed nations have ensured food security
for their masses by defining and refining their
agricultural value and supply chains, many
poor and developing nations are still
A developing nation with
a large segment of
young population
base, is witnessing
rising individual
incomes and rapid
urbanization
struggling in their efforts to identify and
streamline their food supply chains. The
efforts of these poor and developing nations
are further stymied by loss and waste suffered
during post harvest cycles.
Post harvest losses are best explained in
terms of food loss and food waste. Food losses
take place in developing nations where
inefficiencies in food supply chain, poor
warehousing infrastructure, logistics, little
access to markets is available and exposure to
natural elements such as rain, result in edible
food being rendered unfit for human
consumption. Food waste is seen in
developed nations where food is rejected and
subject to waste at the retail and or consumer
level. Stringent retail standards, bargain
discounts and numerous consumer options at
supermarket aisles are some of the major
drivers for food being subject to waste. A
2011 FAO study Global Food Losses and
Food Waste, stated that “roughly one-third of
food produced for human consumption is lost
or wasted globally, which amounts to about
1.3 billion tons per year.”
No nation is immune from post harvest
losses and India too has incurred post
harvest losses, to the tune of 502,389 metric
tons of rice and 136,206 metric tons of wheat
AG
RI C
LUSTE
R
AGRI CLUSTER MAPS CAN HELP INDIA IMPROVE ITS EXISTING FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS?
at its storage facilities from 1997 – 2013
(Save Indian Grain, 2013). India incurs post
harvest fruits and vegetable losses worth over
INR 2 lakh crore (USD 32 billion) each year,
owing to the absence of food processing units,
modern cold storage facilities and a callous
attitude towards tackling the grave issue of
post harvest losses (Assocham, 2013).
The quantity of post harvest losses may
represent a small percentage of the annual
food grain production in India which could
have fed millions of malnourished Indians
suffering from hunger, by meeting their
individual nutrition requirements. Further,
monetary losses to the national exchequer
could have been stemmed and surplus
agricultural production subject to exports.
Food supply chains - Food supply chain
refers to the series of processes such as
production, processing, distr ibution,
consumption and disposal, which are
involved in the movement of food from our
fields to households.
In India, the movement of food from fields
to households involves various stakeholders
such as aggregators, grain and produce
merchants, wholesalers, forwarding agents,
transporters, distributors, retailers, vendors
and finally end-consumers. Financial
services, telecommunication companies,
energy firms and fleet logistics act as powerful
enablers of business activities within the food
supply chain. These direct and support
stakeholders facilitate the movement of food
from fields to sub market yards, major mandis,
warehouses, distribution hubs, food processing
units and finally to retail supermarkets,
neighborhood and kirana stores.
Food moves from farmers to end-
consumers in a batch process and money
paid by end-consumer moves in the opposite
direction to people who were involved in the
Anurag Awasthi
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|24 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 25
Wholesale exporters and merchants in large metropolitan cities can seamlessly connect with registered traders at various mandis to enquire about crop arrivals and finalize purchase agreements
The quantity of post harvest
losses may represent a
small percentage of
the annual food grain
production in India which
could have fed millions of
malnourished Indians
suffering from hunger, by
meeting their individual nutrition
requirements
various stages of the food supply chain. In
developing nations, food supply chain
operations and processes, are predominantly
manual and labor intensive in nature. Since
Food Supply Chains are a series of linkages
involving multiple stakeholders in the
movement of food in one direction and money
in the reverse direction, the entire chain is
affected when one link in the entire chain is
subject to stress (What is food supply chain?
Centre for Health & Global Environment,
Harvard).
ICT - Performance Indicator reports from
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI),
show that India is one of the largest markets
for telecommunications firms with 970 million
telephone subscribers; comprising of 944
million wireless subscribers and 2 million
wireline subscribers. 572 million subscribers
reside in urban areas and 399 million in rural
India (TRAI, 2015). Recent ICT trends and
research studies currently account food and
beverage sales for more than two-thirds of all
retail sales, the value of which is expected to
nearly double to $686 billion by 2020
(Bhattacharjee, 2014) and 5 percent of
FMCG sales or 5 billion USD to be online by
2020 (Economic Times, 2015). Online
purchases by mobile phones have grown
more than 100 percent since last year and
compelling reasons for smart phone shopping
include growing availability of mobile
applications and individual convenience
(Indo-Asian News Service, 2015).
A recent study by Deloitte revealed that,
67 percent of Indian micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSME) lack digital footprint and
experience poor business linkages, thereby
forcing them to rely on traditional word-of-
mouth business relationships. While
businesses with SEO optimized sites and
access to IT resources, are able to achieve
high rankings in search engine page
rankings, small businesses are challenged for
resources and SEO developers, and are
unable to register their presence in the digital
world.
These digital gaps force agri businesses
t o e ngage and r e l y on nume rou s
intermediaries, increase waiting time at
mandis, warehouses and retail chains, stock
high inventory levels, increase advertisement
budgets, experience poor alignment of
market forces; which eventually contribute to
food losses and waste at most stages of the
food supply chain.
Clusters - In India, development of
clusters is synonymous with pharmaceuticals
sector in Haridwar, Roorkee, Dehradun and
Rudrapur in Uttarakhand and Baddi in
Himachal Pradesh, textile and clothing sector
in Ludhiana and Panipat for carpets and rugs
along with wollen products, Tirupur,
Coimbatore, Madurai and Karur in Tamil
Nadu for apparels, spinning mills, silk and
home textile units, and parts of West Bengal
and Bihar for jute and silk, parts of Gujarat
and Bhiwandi and Malegaon in Maharashtra
for spinning, weaving, home textiles and
garments.
Clusters in leather and leather goods
sector include Patna, Muzaffarpur, Bettiah,
Aurangabad, Munger, Purnia and Katihar in
Bihar for cattle hides and goat skins,
Hyderabad and Karim Nagar in Telangana,
Bhimavara, Cuddapah and Eluru in Andhra
Pradesh, and Madagao, Mapusa, Panaji,
Zuari and Ponda in Goa for raw hides and
skins, Patiala, Bhatinda, Muktsar, Fazilka,
Firozpur, Kotakpura, Gurudaspur and
Amritsar in Punjab for soft leather shoes and
traditional footwear, Solan and Baddi in
Himachal Pradesh for leather finishing,
Mumbai, Kolhapur and Bhiwandi in
Maharashtra for leather sandals, and
Chennai, Ambur, Ranipet, Vaniyambadi,
Vellore and Pernambut in Tamil Nadu for
finished leather, shoe uppers and finished
shoes.
Some o f the major c lus te r s fo r
engineering and capital goods in India are
The objective of these cluster maps is to
improve the existing food supply chain by
establishing new and strengthening existing
B2B2C relationships. The map directories
define agri-stakeholders into five broad
clusters; namely, agri-input providers,
catalysts, farmers, enablers and end-
consumers. Industries are mapped in these
sub-parent clusters based on the sequence of
their roles within the food supply chain.
Cluster maps create horizontal and
vertical relationships between vendors,
se r v i ce p rov ider s , consumers in a
geographically defined area and create a
reciprocally supportive process. Once clusters
are created, dissemination of knowledge and
information results in flow of benefits in all
directions. Stakeholders gain bargaining
power with vendors, seek new ways to spur R &
D, connect with multiple competitors and
consumers, and above all usher transparency
in their supply chain operations (Porter, 1990).
In developing nations, policy makers and
stakeholders frequently seek and interact with
each other for policy formulation, institutional
intervention and arbitration. Mapping of
office locations with readily available contact
details such as telephone numbers, email ID
and institutional URLs will help reduce the time
and effort spent in search and connecting with
each other. Further, rating mechanisms and
feedback forms can enhance the quality and
efficiency of services delivered.
The goal is to improve the existing supply
chain linkages by establishing new B2B and
strengthening existing B2B relationships.
Small and marginal farmers in India are semi-
literate and lack real time access to quality
information.
Often times, farmers have to rely and
believe on information made available by
intermediaries to make decision regarding
agri inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and
irrigation equipment. Fertilizers and farm
irrigation are the major expense heads for
farmers, and if contact information about
dams, barrages, fertilizer plants and depots is
made available, then farmers can coordinate
and sync their farm operations with their agri
input providers, and vice versa; thereby
improving the efforts of the government in
terms of “more crop per drop”.
based in Rajkot, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai,
Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ludhiana for
machine tools, Ahmedabad, Bangalore,
Gurgaon, Delhi, Jaipur and Noida for power
and electrical equipment, Rajkot, Surat, Vapi,
Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Tarapur, Nagpur,
Coimbatore, Panipat, Amritsar and Ludhiana
for textile machinery, Pune, Mumbai,
Bangalore, Chennai and Coimbatore for
Process plant machinery, Ahmedabad,
Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore for plastic,
paper and rubber machinery, and Mumbai,
Pune, Nagpur, Chennai and Delhi for light
engineering goods.
Principal clusters within the auto and auto
components sector include, New Delhi,
Gurgaon and Manesar in North India, Pune
Nasik, Halol and Aurangabad in Western
India, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hosur in
South and Jamshedpur and Kolkata in
Eastern India (KPMG, 2014).
In the agriculture sector, the grape cluster
in Nasik and Sangli, Maharashtra and the
litchi clusters in Bihar are fine examples of
agro-based clusters (Nogales, 2014).
Solution – Agri Stakeholder & Cluster
Maps - At Save Indian Grain. Org, we have
created “...a last-mile, online, mobile, map-
driven directory of stakeholders and
commodities”, within the agriculture and
food processing sector. These maps
e s sen t ia l l y r eo rgan ize f ragmen ted
information on commodities, vendors and
stakeholders, and connect millions of
producers, consumers from Base-of-the-
Pyramid (BoP) segment in India; thereby
giving stakeholders, equal opportunity to
connect with new vendors and clients on a
single page. These map directories are
complimented by StandPoint, a map blog of
India's agricultural commodities exports and
imports by trade receipts, payments and
destinations.
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|26 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 27
AG
RI C
LUSTE
RAG
RI C
LUSTE
R
Wholesale exporters and merchants in large metropolitan cities can seamlessly connect with registered traders at various mandis to enquire about crop arrivals and finalize purchase agreements
The quantity of post harvest
losses may represent a
small percentage of
the annual food grain
production in India which
could have fed millions of
malnourished Indians
suffering from hunger, by
meeting their individual nutrition
requirements
various stages of the food supply chain. In
developing nations, food supply chain
operations and processes, are predominantly
manual and labor intensive in nature. Since
Food Supply Chains are a series of linkages
involving multiple stakeholders in the
movement of food in one direction and money
in the reverse direction, the entire chain is
affected when one link in the entire chain is
subject to stress (What is food supply chain?
Centre for Health & Global Environment,
Harvard).
ICT - Performance Indicator reports from
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI),
show that India is one of the largest markets
for telecommunications firms with 970 million
telephone subscribers; comprising of 944
million wireless subscribers and 2 million
wireline subscribers. 572 million subscribers
reside in urban areas and 399 million in rural
India (TRAI, 2015). Recent ICT trends and
research studies currently account food and
beverage sales for more than two-thirds of all
retail sales, the value of which is expected to
nearly double to $686 billion by 2020
(Bhattacharjee, 2014) and 5 percent of
FMCG sales or 5 billion USD to be online by
2020 (Economic Times, 2015). Online
purchases by mobile phones have grown
more than 100 percent since last year and
compelling reasons for smart phone shopping
include growing availability of mobile
applications and individual convenience
(Indo-Asian News Service, 2015).
A recent study by Deloitte revealed that,
67 percent of Indian micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSME) lack digital footprint and
experience poor business linkages, thereby
forcing them to rely on traditional word-of-
mouth business relationships. While
businesses with SEO optimized sites and
access to IT resources, are able to achieve
high rankings in search engine page
rankings, small businesses are challenged for
resources and SEO developers, and are
unable to register their presence in the digital
world.
These digital gaps force agri businesses
t o e ngage and r e l y on nume rou s
intermediaries, increase waiting time at
mandis, warehouses and retail chains, stock
high inventory levels, increase advertisement
budgets, experience poor alignment of
market forces; which eventually contribute to
food losses and waste at most stages of the
food supply chain.
Clusters - In India, development of
clusters is synonymous with pharmaceuticals
sector in Haridwar, Roorkee, Dehradun and
Rudrapur in Uttarakhand and Baddi in
Himachal Pradesh, textile and clothing sector
in Ludhiana and Panipat for carpets and rugs
along with wollen products, Tirupur,
Coimbatore, Madurai and Karur in Tamil
Nadu for apparels, spinning mills, silk and
home textile units, and parts of West Bengal
and Bihar for jute and silk, parts of Gujarat
and Bhiwandi and Malegaon in Maharashtra
for spinning, weaving, home textiles and
garments.
Clusters in leather and leather goods
sector include Patna, Muzaffarpur, Bettiah,
Aurangabad, Munger, Purnia and Katihar in
Bihar for cattle hides and goat skins,
Hyderabad and Karim Nagar in Telangana,
Bhimavara, Cuddapah and Eluru in Andhra
Pradesh, and Madagao, Mapusa, Panaji,
Zuari and Ponda in Goa for raw hides and
skins, Patiala, Bhatinda, Muktsar, Fazilka,
Firozpur, Kotakpura, Gurudaspur and
Amritsar in Punjab for soft leather shoes and
traditional footwear, Solan and Baddi in
Himachal Pradesh for leather finishing,
Mumbai, Kolhapur and Bhiwandi in
Maharashtra for leather sandals, and
Chennai, Ambur, Ranipet, Vaniyambadi,
Vellore and Pernambut in Tamil Nadu for
finished leather, shoe uppers and finished
shoes.
Some o f the major c lus te r s fo r
engineering and capital goods in India are
The objective of these cluster maps is to
improve the existing food supply chain by
establishing new and strengthening existing
B2B2C relationships. The map directories
define agri-stakeholders into five broad
clusters; namely, agri-input providers,
catalysts, farmers, enablers and end-
consumers. Industries are mapped in these
sub-parent clusters based on the sequence of
their roles within the food supply chain.
Cluster maps create horizontal and
vertical relationships between vendors,
se r v i ce p rov ider s , consumers in a
geographically defined area and create a
reciprocally supportive process. Once clusters
are created, dissemination of knowledge and
information results in flow of benefits in all
directions. Stakeholders gain bargaining
power with vendors, seek new ways to spur R &
D, connect with multiple competitors and
consumers, and above all usher transparency
in their supply chain operations (Porter, 1990).
In developing nations, policy makers and
stakeholders frequently seek and interact with
each other for policy formulation, institutional
intervention and arbitration. Mapping of
office locations with readily available contact
details such as telephone numbers, email ID
and institutional URLs will help reduce the time
and effort spent in search and connecting with
each other. Further, rating mechanisms and
feedback forms can enhance the quality and
efficiency of services delivered.
The goal is to improve the existing supply
chain linkages by establishing new B2B and
strengthening existing B2B relationships.
Small and marginal farmers in India are semi-
literate and lack real time access to quality
information.
Often times, farmers have to rely and
believe on information made available by
intermediaries to make decision regarding
agri inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and
irrigation equipment. Fertilizers and farm
irrigation are the major expense heads for
farmers, and if contact information about
dams, barrages, fertilizer plants and depots is
made available, then farmers can coordinate
and sync their farm operations with their agri
input providers, and vice versa; thereby
improving the efforts of the government in
terms of “more crop per drop”.
based in Rajkot, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai,
Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ludhiana for
machine tools, Ahmedabad, Bangalore,
Gurgaon, Delhi, Jaipur and Noida for power
and electrical equipment, Rajkot, Surat, Vapi,
Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Tarapur, Nagpur,
Coimbatore, Panipat, Amritsar and Ludhiana
for textile machinery, Pune, Mumbai,
Bangalore, Chennai and Coimbatore for
Process plant machinery, Ahmedabad,
Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore for plastic,
paper and rubber machinery, and Mumbai,
Pune, Nagpur, Chennai and Delhi for light
engineering goods.
Principal clusters within the auto and auto
components sector include, New Delhi,
Gurgaon and Manesar in North India, Pune
Nasik, Halol and Aurangabad in Western
India, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hosur in
South and Jamshedpur and Kolkata in
Eastern India (KPMG, 2014).
In the agriculture sector, the grape cluster
in Nasik and Sangli, Maharashtra and the
litchi clusters in Bihar are fine examples of
agro-based clusters (Nogales, 2014).
Solution – Agri Stakeholder & Cluster
Maps - At Save Indian Grain. Org, we have
created “...a last-mile, online, mobile, map-
driven directory of stakeholders and
commodities”, within the agriculture and
food processing sector. These maps
e s sen t ia l l y r eo rgan ize f ragmen ted
information on commodities, vendors and
stakeholders, and connect millions of
producers, consumers from Base-of-the-
Pyramid (BoP) segment in India; thereby
giving stakeholders, equal opportunity to
connect with new vendors and clients on a
single page. These map directories are
complimented by StandPoint, a map blog of
India's agricultural commodities exports and
imports by trade receipts, payments and
destinations.
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|26 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 27
AG
RI C
LUSTE
RAG
RI C
LUSTE
R
Nations strive to
produce and sustain
improved and
prosperous standard of
living for their
citizens, and this is driven
by the level of
productivity with which
labor and capital are
utilized
Post harvest, farmers can see the crop
production statistics at a district level and
contact their nearest buyer and crop
processing facility for sale.
Cluster maps will ensure a check on the
price volatility of highly perishable agri
commodities, especially fruits, vegetables,
milk and dairy products by clearly identifying
multiple suppliers and buyers in the post-farm
supply chain. Agri-producers and enablers
will be able to identify new buyers who offer
improved prices and payment options.
New & improved connectivity between
buyers and traders at mandis will increase
throughput at mandis and reduce multiple
layers of intermediaries, which ultimately will
improve efficiency & effectiveness of the food
supply chain. Wholesale exporters and
merchants in large metropolitan cities can
seamlessly connect with registered traders at
various mandis to enquire about crop arrivals
and finalize purchase agreements.
Re l evan t & re l i ab l e shar ing o f
information will align supply volumes with
real-time demand forecasting, reduce
inventories at mandis, warehouses/ cold
storage units and retail stores, and ensure
higher asset capacity utilization rates.
Transparency in logistics cost at each stage of
the supply chain will help buyers in
performing cost-benefit analysis.
The availability of map-driven supply
chain maps will result in market and
environment benefits, namely; a check on
imperfect market behavior such as hoarding,
price gouging and black marketing, reduced
carbon footprint through smarter logistics and
procurement practices, tracing source of
infected agri-commodities in the event of
ecoli/ salmonella outbreak, and above all
smar ter & economic d isas ter re l ie f
management efforts in natural and man-
made disaster zones.
Conclusion - No nation in the world is
competitive in every industry and or sector.
Nations achieve competitive advantage when
their industries build and augment their
potential to innovate and upgrade. When
limited pools of human and natural resources
are channeled in the most dynamic industry or
sector, competitive advantage is attained and
sustained through highly localized processes.
Nations strive to produce and sustain
improved and prosperous standard of living
for their citizens, and this is driven by the level
of productivity with which labor and capital
are utilized. Finally, nations thrive in select
industries when domestic environments are
innovative, dynamic and challenging (Porter,
1990).
By 2050, World will be home to nearly
10.9 bi l l ion people and agricul ture
production must increase by nearly 60
percent of current production levels to meet
the food requirements of all (Alexandratos &
Bruinsma, 2012). If women have access to
improved resources, on-farm yields could
improve by 20-30 percent and this extra
output could reduce the number of hungry
masses by 12-17 percent (FAO, 2011).
I believe that agro-based cluster mapping
of stakeholder and commodities in India is the
need of the hour and neatly compliments with
t h e # M a k e I n I n d i a , # D i g i t a l I n d i a ,
#Star tUpIndia mission, the National
Agriculture Market, the National Cold Chain
Deve lopment , appl ica t ion of Space
Technology in governance, and the newly
announced Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
Rurban Mission (SPMRM) initiatives of Govt.
of India within the agriculture sector.
India's efforts to address social challenge
such as inflation of food prices, and efforts in
combating hunger, malnutrition and poverty
will bear fruit when it realizes self-sufficiency
in protecting and timely processing its surplus
production of agricultural commodities
during the post harvest cycles, and this can be
achieved swiftly by mapping its food supply
chains.
Anurag AwasthiFounder, Save Indian Grain. Org,
Mob: +91‐9936304149Email: [email protected]
Significant achievements by the company include an improvement in environment and resource conservation, including a reduction in green house emission, consumption of water and non-renewable resources without compromising the product quality
Narmada Bio-chem Limited (NBCL) a leading Manufacturer, trader and marketer of Organic Fertilizers, Organic Manures, PROM (Phosphate Rich Organic Manures) and Chemical Mixed Fertilizers (NPK mix, SSP), DAP, MoP, MgSO4, Ammonium Sulphate, different grade of water Soluble fertilizers, Micro nutrients, soil conditioner as well as different type of Bio Pesticides. We have manufacturing four units at outskirt of Metro city Ahmedabad, which are having State of the Art manufacturing facility with annual production capacity 5,25,000 MT as per FCO standards.
To produce energy efficient, environment friendly fertilizers that ensure sustainable, enhancement of crops yield and empower rural India by augmenting the farmer's economic growth.
To become a globally acknowledged business house and most preferred manufacturer and marketer of organic and chemical fertilizers and seeds a far-flung marketing network.
To emerge as a technologically dynamic, growth-focused yet environmentally sensitive organization.
Narmada Bio-chem Limited annually produce approx. 5,25,000 MT of fertilizers and sell in 11 states of India like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, M a d h y a P r a d e s h , A n d h r a P r a d e s h , Chhattisgarh, Bihar, etc. with help of more than 700 distributors/dealers (Private and Co-operative) network and more than 2100 retailers private and Co-operative directly working at grass root level. We arrange time to time farmers' meeting, product promotion activity as part of business.
Quality is integral part of NBCL corporate philosophy. Based on corporate philosophy “QUALITY and CUSTOMERS FIRST” since it foundation.
NBCL takes in to account quality as the first norm for all aspects of the customers
demand and exceeding the expectation with prominence and pro f i c iency. Deeper commitment to suitable business relation through high qual i ty compl iance and envisaging a vision with creativity and innovation has been focus of NBCL. In addition, we are always prepared with our core commitment for QUALITY and ZERO DEFECT, ZERO EFFECT AND ZERO TOLERANCE.
NBCL's efforts are well recognize at maintaining quality of its Products through its integrated management system leading towards sustainable development. All the manufacturing divisions are certified to ISO 9 0 0 1 & I S O 1 4 0 0 1 . S i g n i f i c a n t achievements by th e company include an improvement in environment and resource conservation, including a reduction in green house emission, consumption of water and n o n - r e n e w a b l e r e s o u r c e s w i t h o u t compromising the product quality. NBCL also received D&B (DUNS Number: 87-244-5003) highest rating in the segment of MSME1.
N a r m a d a B i o - c h e m L i m i t e d considering imperative role of research and development for quality Products & services from the very beginning, took the initiative for strong inhouse R & D facilities. With this mission, Narmada Bio-chem Limited has uplifted Research and Development facilities at Kalyangadh through processes, equipment, consumables and procedures to meet the requisite needs of every customer.
Narmada Bio-chem Limited believes that 'the growth of India is directly related to the growth of the rural areas'. Farmers being the central focus of rural India, and farming are main profession. It becomes necessary to help them by providing them with top-of-the-line agricultural inputs and services, “JAMIN BALVAN TO KISAN DHANVAN”.
THE GROWTH OF INDIA IS DIRECTLY Related to the Growth of the Rural Areas
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|28 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 29
NA
RM
AD
A B
IO-C
HEM
AG
RI C
LUSTE
R
Nations strive to
produce and sustain
improved and
prosperous standard of
living for their
citizens, and this is driven
by the level of
productivity with which
labor and capital are
utilized
Post harvest, farmers can see the crop
production statistics at a district level and
contact their nearest buyer and crop
processing facility for sale.
Cluster maps will ensure a check on the
price volatility of highly perishable agri
commodities, especially fruits, vegetables,
milk and dairy products by clearly identifying
multiple suppliers and buyers in the post-farm
supply chain. Agri-producers and enablers
will be able to identify new buyers who offer
improved prices and payment options.
New & improved connectivity between
buyers and traders at mandis will increase
throughput at mandis and reduce multiple
layers of intermediaries, which ultimately will
improve efficiency & effectiveness of the food
supply chain. Wholesale exporters and
merchants in large metropolitan cities can
seamlessly connect with registered traders at
various mandis to enquire about crop arrivals
and finalize purchase agreements.
Re l evan t & re l i ab l e shar ing o f
information will align supply volumes with
real-time demand forecasting, reduce
inventories at mandis, warehouses/ cold
storage units and retail stores, and ensure
higher asset capacity utilization rates.
Transparency in logistics cost at each stage of
the supply chain will help buyers in
performing cost-benefit analysis.
The availability of map-driven supply
chain maps will result in market and
environment benefits, namely; a check on
imperfect market behavior such as hoarding,
price gouging and black marketing, reduced
carbon footprint through smarter logistics and
procurement practices, tracing source of
infected agri-commodities in the event of
ecoli/ salmonella outbreak, and above all
smar ter & economic d isas ter re l ie f
management efforts in natural and man-
made disaster zones.
Conclusion - No nation in the world is
competitive in every industry and or sector.
Nations achieve competitive advantage when
their industries build and augment their
potential to innovate and upgrade. When
limited pools of human and natural resources
are channeled in the most dynamic industry or
sector, competitive advantage is attained and
sustained through highly localized processes.
Nations strive to produce and sustain
improved and prosperous standard of living
for their citizens, and this is driven by the level
of productivity with which labor and capital
are utilized. Finally, nations thrive in select
industries when domestic environments are
innovative, dynamic and challenging (Porter,
1990).
By 2050, World will be home to nearly
10.9 bi l l ion people and agricul ture
production must increase by nearly 60
percent of current production levels to meet
the food requirements of all (Alexandratos &
Bruinsma, 2012). If women have access to
improved resources, on-farm yields could
improve by 20-30 percent and this extra
output could reduce the number of hungry
masses by 12-17 percent (FAO, 2011).
I believe that agro-based cluster mapping
of stakeholder and commodities in India is the
need of the hour and neatly compliments with
t h e # M a k e I n I n d i a , # D i g i t a l I n d i a ,
#Star tUpIndia mission, the National
Agriculture Market, the National Cold Chain
Deve lopment , appl ica t ion of Space
Technology in governance, and the newly
announced Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
Rurban Mission (SPMRM) initiatives of Govt.
of India within the agriculture sector.
India's efforts to address social challenge
such as inflation of food prices, and efforts in
combating hunger, malnutrition and poverty
will bear fruit when it realizes self-sufficiency
in protecting and timely processing its surplus
production of agricultural commodities
during the post harvest cycles, and this can be
achieved swiftly by mapping its food supply
chains.
Anurag AwasthiFounder, Save Indian Grain. Org,
Mob: +91‐9936304149Email: [email protected]
Significant achievements by the company include an improvement in environment and resource conservation, including a reduction in green house emission, consumption of water and non-renewable resources without compromising the product quality
Narmada Bio-chem Limited (NBCL) a leading Manufacturer, trader and marketer of Organic Fertilizers, Organic Manures, PROM (Phosphate Rich Organic Manures) and Chemical Mixed Fertilizers (NPK mix, SSP), DAP, MoP, MgSO4, Ammonium Sulphate, different grade of water Soluble fertilizers, Micro nutrients, soil conditioner as well as different type of Bio Pesticides. We have manufacturing four units at outskirt of Metro city Ahmedabad, which are having State of the Art manufacturing facility with annual production capacity 5,25,000 MT as per FCO standards.
To produce energy efficient, environment friendly fertilizers that ensure sustainable, enhancement of crops yield and empower rural India by augmenting the farmer's economic growth.
To become a globally acknowledged business house and most preferred manufacturer and marketer of organic and chemical fertilizers and seeds a far-flung marketing network.
To emerge as a technologically dynamic, growth-focused yet environmentally sensitive organization.
Narmada Bio-chem Limited annually produce approx. 5,25,000 MT of fertilizers and sell in 11 states of India like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, M a d h y a P r a d e s h , A n d h r a P r a d e s h , Chhattisgarh, Bihar, etc. with help of more than 700 distributors/dealers (Private and Co-operative) network and more than 2100 retailers private and Co-operative directly working at grass root level. We arrange time to time farmers' meeting, product promotion activity as part of business.
Quality is integral part of NBCL corporate philosophy. Based on corporate philosophy “QUALITY and CUSTOMERS FIRST” since it foundation.
NBCL takes in to account quality as the first norm for all aspects of the customers
demand and exceeding the expectation with prominence and pro f i c iency. Deeper commitment to suitable business relation through high qual i ty compl iance and envisaging a vision with creativity and innovation has been focus of NBCL. In addition, we are always prepared with our core commitment for QUALITY and ZERO DEFECT, ZERO EFFECT AND ZERO TOLERANCE.
NBCL's efforts are well recognize at maintaining quality of its Products through its integrated management system leading towards sustainable development. All the manufacturing divisions are certified to ISO 9 0 0 1 & I S O 1 4 0 0 1 . S i g n i f i c a n t achievements by th e company include an improvement in environment and resource conservation, including a reduction in green house emission, consumption of water and n o n - r e n e w a b l e r e s o u r c e s w i t h o u t compromising the product quality. NBCL also received D&B (DUNS Number: 87-244-5003) highest rating in the segment of MSME1.
N a r m a d a B i o - c h e m L i m i t e d considering imperative role of research and development for quality Products & services from the very beginning, took the initiative for strong inhouse R & D facilities. With this mission, Narmada Bio-chem Limited has uplifted Research and Development facilities at Kalyangadh through processes, equipment, consumables and procedures to meet the requisite needs of every customer.
Narmada Bio-chem Limited believes that 'the growth of India is directly related to the growth of the rural areas'. Farmers being the central focus of rural India, and farming are main profession. It becomes necessary to help them by providing them with top-of-the-line agricultural inputs and services, “JAMIN BALVAN TO KISAN DHANVAN”.
THE GROWTH OF INDIA IS DIRECTLY Related to the Growth of the Rural Areas
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|28 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 29
NA
RM
AD
A B
IO-C
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R
“Kisan Manch” is an initiative to bring farmers
and farming community close to its end users,
service providers and facilitators and provide
them the benefits by cutting across the multiple
channels of communication.
Idea is to create a mobile e-commerce
platform that is also a low-cost fulfillment
system focused on the needs of rural India.
This system will help in rural transformation
and would help to alleviate rural isolation,
create more transparency for farmers, and
improve their productivity and incomes. This
mobile e-commerce platform would be
supported by trained and efficient manpower
on the Ground, which would interact on day-
to-day basis with the farmer's community.
Powering Rural India with Information
Technology - Young Team of Professional from
versatile fields has joined together to start this
initiative with a passion to serve the rural
India. Rural India will take years to develop
It would also provide a solid base for emergency planning of the rehabilitation of farming systems after disasters
MO
BILE
APP
the IT Infrastructure; Agro Farm Venture's
rural initiative would take technology right to
the fields of Farmers. The company intends to
builds an eco system, which is more on field
and ground rather than locked in the some
service centre for farmers. We would reach
out to far flung villages, hinterlands, which still
remain away from Technology.
There is an app and portal under
development and testing which would roll out
the following significant services for the
farmers and farming community.
Crop specific information system and
digital calendar for farmers, which provide
them comprehensive information on crop
management and crop life cycle - The Crop
Calendar would be a tool that provides timely
information about seeds to promote local crop
production. It contains information on
planting; sowing and harvesting periods of
locally adapted crops in specific agro-
The company intends to
builds an eco system, which is
more on field and ground rather than
locked in the some
service centre for
farmers
MO
BIL
E A
PP
and subscribers who opt-in for our messages
can select both the content they wish to
receive, plus the device(s) they want to be
contacted by. ““Kisan Manch” ” scheduled
notifications feature extends to alert and
notification capability to include routine
operational notifications that would help
farmers run efficiently there farming
operations. It would also feature scheduled
reminders, event invitations, weather alerts,
and other crop critical and non-critical
updates.
Access to various agriculture input
products and services, which can be made
available to farmers at their doorsteps -
Mobile communications technology has
quickly become Rural India's most common
way of transmitting voice, data, and services.
Given this dramatic change, mobile
appl icat ions in general and mobi le
applications for agricultural and rural
development in particular hold significant
potential for advancing development. They
could provide the most affordable ways for
millions of farmers to access information,
markets, finance, and governance systems
previously unavailable to them.
“Kisan Manch” app is being designed to
take advantage of mobile technology and
aims at instant and convenient service
delivery to farmer. This app would provide
farmers and rural residents with timely access
to extension services, such as advice on inputs
products, agricultural production, marketing,
and technology, food security, and nutrition.
This application would also strengthen market
links when used to improve production
distribution and traceability. Further we see
this app expanding access to finance and
insurance products in rural areas. This app
would be available through widely used
Apple's App Store or Google's Android
This Platforms and app would offer a
payment mechanism for users who are using
this source products and services. This
Platform would facilitate transactions
between farmers and companies or
institutions that see opportunities to market
their products to rural consumers. Examples
include banks, micro insurance companies,
agricultural cooperatives, and suppliers and
distributors of fast- moving agriculture input
goods. In India market we see this as highly
POWERING RURAL INDIAKISAN MANCH WAY
ecological zones. It would also provide
information on the sowing rates of seed and
planting material and the main agricultural
practices.
This tool would supports farmers and
agriculture extentionists across India in taking
appropriate decisions on crops and their
sowing period, respecting the agro-
ecological dimension. It would also provide a
solid base for emergency planning of the
rehabilitation of farming systems after
disasters. To start with experts are putting in
place Crop Calendar that would provide
information for more that 30 crops, located in
50 agro-ecological zones of 10 States in
India.
Crop based personalized alert and
notification system, which provide crop
information, nutrition requirements, weather
alerts and market rates etc - An integrated
notification system (ENS) or unified mass
notification system (MNS) is being developed
on “Kisan Manch” platform to deliver a
message to a small or large group of
registered farmers – anywhere, anytime on
any device or service all at once. With this
feature we would be instantly reaching them
in the most relevant way to them. Recipients
Dev R Bhardwaj
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|30 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 31
“Kisan Manch” is an initiative to bring farmers
and farming community close to its end users,
service providers and facilitators and provide
them the benefits by cutting across the multiple
channels of communication.
Idea is to create a mobile e-commerce
platform that is also a low-cost fulfillment
system focused on the needs of rural India.
This system will help in rural transformation
and would help to alleviate rural isolation,
create more transparency for farmers, and
improve their productivity and incomes. This
mobile e-commerce platform would be
supported by trained and efficient manpower
on the Ground, which would interact on day-
to-day basis with the farmer's community.
Powering Rural India with Information
Technology - Young Team of Professional from
versatile fields has joined together to start this
initiative with a passion to serve the rural
India. Rural India will take years to develop
It would also provide a solid base for emergency planning of the rehabilitation of farming systems after disasters
MO
BILE
APP
the IT Infrastructure; Agro Farm Venture's
rural initiative would take technology right to
the fields of Farmers. The company intends to
builds an eco system, which is more on field
and ground rather than locked in the some
service centre for farmers. We would reach
out to far flung villages, hinterlands, which still
remain away from Technology.
There is an app and portal under
development and testing which would roll out
the following significant services for the
farmers and farming community.
Crop specific information system and
digital calendar for farmers, which provide
them comprehensive information on crop
management and crop life cycle - The Crop
Calendar would be a tool that provides timely
information about seeds to promote local crop
production. It contains information on
planting; sowing and harvesting periods of
locally adapted crops in specific agro-
The company intends to
builds an eco system, which is
more on field and ground rather than
locked in the some
service centre for
farmers
MO
BIL
E A
PP
and subscribers who opt-in for our messages
can select both the content they wish to
receive, plus the device(s) they want to be
contacted by. ““Kisan Manch” ” scheduled
notifications feature extends to alert and
notification capability to include routine
operational notifications that would help
farmers run efficiently there farming
operations. It would also feature scheduled
reminders, event invitations, weather alerts,
and other crop critical and non-critical
updates.
Access to various agriculture input
products and services, which can be made
available to farmers at their doorsteps -
Mobile communications technology has
quickly become Rural India's most common
way of transmitting voice, data, and services.
Given this dramatic change, mobile
appl icat ions in general and mobi le
applications for agricultural and rural
development in particular hold significant
potential for advancing development. They
could provide the most affordable ways for
millions of farmers to access information,
markets, finance, and governance systems
previously unavailable to them.
“Kisan Manch” app is being designed to
take advantage of mobile technology and
aims at instant and convenient service
delivery to farmer. This app would provide
farmers and rural residents with timely access
to extension services, such as advice on inputs
products, agricultural production, marketing,
and technology, food security, and nutrition.
This application would also strengthen market
links when used to improve production
distribution and traceability. Further we see
this app expanding access to finance and
insurance products in rural areas. This app
would be available through widely used
Apple's App Store or Google's Android
This Platforms and app would offer a
payment mechanism for users who are using
this source products and services. This
Platform would facilitate transactions
between farmers and companies or
institutions that see opportunities to market
their products to rural consumers. Examples
include banks, micro insurance companies,
agricultural cooperatives, and suppliers and
distributors of fast- moving agriculture input
goods. In India market we see this as highly
POWERING RURAL INDIAKISAN MANCH WAY
ecological zones. It would also provide
information on the sowing rates of seed and
planting material and the main agricultural
practices.
This tool would supports farmers and
agriculture extentionists across India in taking
appropriate decisions on crops and their
sowing period, respecting the agro-
ecological dimension. It would also provide a
solid base for emergency planning of the
rehabilitation of farming systems after
disasters. To start with experts are putting in
place Crop Calendar that would provide
information for more that 30 crops, located in
50 agro-ecological zones of 10 States in
India.
Crop based personalized alert and
notification system, which provide crop
information, nutrition requirements, weather
alerts and market rates etc - An integrated
notification system (ENS) or unified mass
notification system (MNS) is being developed
on “Kisan Manch” platform to deliver a
message to a small or large group of
registered farmers – anywhere, anytime on
any device or service all at once. With this
feature we would be instantly reaching them
in the most relevant way to them. Recipients
Dev R Bhardwaj
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|30 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 31
Mobile applications
in general and mobile
applications for
agricultural and rural
development in particular
hold significant
potential for advancing
development
promising platform where smart
phone usage is growth is very fast.
The Beta Version of “Kisan
Manch” which is being launched
in next couple of weeks is hyper-
loca l and ta i lo red to use r
requirements—even down to the
village level—in terms of the
information and services that app
would of fer. App would be
launched for selective two states to
start with and scaling would be
undertaken gradually.
Apart from this “Kisan Manch”
is creating an innovative digital platform for
farming community engagement, which
would improve lives of rural communities
across India. “Kisan Manch” is bringing
together Agriculture Universities, Colleges,
academicians & agriculture scientists together
to share knowledge on improved agricultural
practices, livelihoods, health, and nutrition,
using locally produced videos. Production
process is underway to produce more than
1000 Videos in more than 20 languages
across India.
According to the latest research reports,
there is a deep penetration of mobile
phones/smart phones in rural area and these
are widely used by farmers to access lot of
information and also to pass wide-ranging
information between villages—such as
forthcoming social events or the price of
agricultural produce and livestock—or to
offer products for sale and weather forecasts.
For farmers, theses smart phones available at
attractive prices have helped to create a social
network, enabling them to communicate with
other farmers and to exchange information
on various issues. Preliminary data indicate
that by use of these smart phones farmers
have gained self-confidence, good practices
have been shared and very large social
networks have been created in various
regions.
“Kisan Manch” Digital Platform foresees
this public interest in promoting agriculture,
which would work as a link between the
farmers with the outside world. “Kisan
Manch” ” initiative would go a long way in
creating strong movement towards greater
co l labora t ion be tween the farming
community and other stakeholders in the
agriculture business and would drive the
future of innovation in this sector.
Dev R BhardwajDirector‐ Farmer`s Support,
Kisan ManchMob: +91‐98166‐47638
Email: [email protected]
AGRICULTURE WORLD SUBSCRIPTIONDISCOUNT PER RATE
1 YEAR
2 YEARS
3 YEARS
5 YEARS
10 YEARS
15 YEARS
12
24
36
60
120
180
840
1680
2520
4200
8400
12600
140
380
720
800
1400
2100
YEAR MONTHS RATE
700
1300
1800
3400
7000
10500
Lemken Plough “Opal 090” which is mounted reversible hydraulic in function and easy to operate which helps farmer to earn more by spending less on diesel consumption and farm labour
The reason for agricultural burning
According to research by ICIMOD (The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development), almost 90% of field waste is burnt these days in India, Those who use combine harvesters burn the remains of the crop, as the combine harvester leaves longer stalks of straw behind. Those who are in hurry to plant the second crop of “wheat” after “rice” burn their residue Burning is usually done in the late afternoon and smoulders well into the evening. This is because it saves having to employ labour and funds to manually clear it.
It is believed by the farmers that:
Burnt residue is a good fertilizer for the next harvest, but scientists have proved that a fallacy. Burning the stalks reduces it to ashes which has no nutritive value for the soil, which if the stalks were left to mulch naturally and become organic fertilizer.
It kills the pests which proliferate in the fields, like any fire does. .And it drives away other insects and mosquitoes. This is helpful for the farmer but is not good for the soil.
Burning agricultural waste causes serious threat to:
Soil health - is affected with burning instead of allowing the stubble to mulch with the soil and give it organic fertilizer, the burnt straw is a useless additive to the soil fertility.
Environment - Smoke from burning causes Black Carbon which is a product of incomplete combustion. According to ICIMOD, there are indications in the Hindukush Himalaya region ( HKH) that absorbing aerosols containing large amounts of black carbon are playing a significant role in changing of the regions climate.
Human health - Reducing Black Carbon aerosols would both reduce climte impact and benefit human health. The ways to reduce this are to use alternative fuels for cooking and reduce open burning of waste, through improved waste disposal methods.
Animal health is affected like human health with the quantum of black carbon in the air they breathe.
Biodiversity like insects, small mammals and birds that live in the fields are lost with burning.
Effects on plant nutrients and environment
Research from ICIMOD shows that:
One ton of paddy straw contains: 5.5 kg N (as organic) 2.3 kg P2O5(as organic) 25 kg K2O (readily available) 1.2 kg S (as organic) 50-70% micronutrients absorbed by rice 400 kg of Carbon
It is estimated that in Punjab alone, about 125 thousand tones of N and S in the paddy residues is lost during open burning, costing Rs. 2000 million per annum at the prevailing prices
One ton of crop residue on burning releases: CO2=1515 kg CO=92 kg NO=3.83 kg
SO2=0.4 kg CH4=2.7 kg Non methane (volatile organic compounds)=15.7 kg
There are many mitigation options available according to the scientists instead of burning the straw, one of them is use of Plough.
Framers can hire/buy what is called a plough. A Plough is one of the unique techniques farm tool or implement used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It is used for breaking up soil and cutting furrows in preparation of soil. The primary purpose of ploughingis to turn over the upper layer of the soil, bringing fresh nutrients to the surface, while burying weeds and the remains of previous crops, allowing them to break down. It also aerates the soil, and allows it to hold moisture better. Now days in market most popular farmer's choice plough is of Lemken Plough “Opal 090” which is mounted reversible hydraulic in function and easy to operate which helps farmer to earn more by spending less on diesel consumption and farm labour. This technology is eco-friendly cares for the health of soil as well as it also saves water, diesel and time.
Difference in two yields(with and without Mulching) pic: ICIMOD
INN
OVA
TIONM
OBIL
E A
PP
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|32 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 33
BURNING OF STUBBLE IS A RAPID AND CHEAP OPTION
BURNING OF STUBBLE IS A RAPID AND CHEAP OPTION But do the farmers realize the down side to doing that?
Mobile applications
in general and mobile
applications for
agricultural and rural
development in particular
hold significant
potential for advancing
development
promising platform where smart
phone usage is growth is very fast.
The Beta Version of “Kisan
Manch” which is being launched
in next couple of weeks is hyper-
loca l and ta i lo red to use r
requirements—even down to the
village level—in terms of the
information and services that app
would of fer. App would be
launched for selective two states to
start with and scaling would be
undertaken gradually.
Apart from this “Kisan Manch”
is creating an innovative digital platform for
farming community engagement, which
would improve lives of rural communities
across India. “Kisan Manch” is bringing
together Agriculture Universities, Colleges,
academicians & agriculture scientists together
to share knowledge on improved agricultural
practices, livelihoods, health, and nutrition,
using locally produced videos. Production
process is underway to produce more than
1000 Videos in more than 20 languages
across India.
According to the latest research reports,
there is a deep penetration of mobile
phones/smart phones in rural area and these
are widely used by farmers to access lot of
information and also to pass wide-ranging
information between villages—such as
forthcoming social events or the price of
agricultural produce and livestock—or to
offer products for sale and weather forecasts.
For farmers, theses smart phones available at
attractive prices have helped to create a social
network, enabling them to communicate with
other farmers and to exchange information
on various issues. Preliminary data indicate
that by use of these smart phones farmers
have gained self-confidence, good practices
have been shared and very large social
networks have been created in various
regions.
“Kisan Manch” Digital Platform foresees
this public interest in promoting agriculture,
which would work as a link between the
farmers with the outside world. “Kisan
Manch” ” initiative would go a long way in
creating strong movement towards greater
co l labora t ion be tween the farming
community and other stakeholders in the
agriculture business and would drive the
future of innovation in this sector.
Dev R BhardwajDirector‐ Farmer`s Support,
Kisan ManchMob: +91‐98166‐47638
Email: [email protected]
AGRICULTURE WORLD SUBSCRIPTIONDISCOUNT PER RATE
1 YEAR
2 YEARS
3 YEARS
5 YEARS
10 YEARS
15 YEARS
12
24
36
60
120
180
840
1680
2520
4200
8400
12600
140
380
720
800
1400
2100
YEAR MONTHS RATE
700
1300
1800
3400
7000
10500
Lemken Plough “Opal 090” which is mounted reversible hydraulic in function and easy to operate which helps farmer to earn more by spending less on diesel consumption and farm labour
The reason for agricultural burning
According to research by ICIMOD (The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development), almost 90% of field waste is burnt these days in India, Those who use combine harvesters burn the remains of the crop, as the combine harvester leaves longer stalks of straw behind. Those who are in hurry to plant the second crop of “wheat” after “rice” burn their residue Burning is usually done in the late afternoon and smoulders well into the evening. This is because it saves having to employ labour and funds to manually clear it.
It is believed by the farmers that:
Burnt residue is a good fertilizer for the next harvest, but scientists have proved that a fallacy. Burning the stalks reduces it to ashes which has no nutritive value for the soil, which if the stalks were left to mulch naturally and become organic fertilizer.
It kills the pests which proliferate in the fields, like any fire does. .And it drives away other insects and mosquitoes. This is helpful for the farmer but is not good for the soil.
Burning agricultural waste causes serious threat to:
Soil health - is affected with burning instead of allowing the stubble to mulch with the soil and give it organic fertilizer, the burnt straw is a useless additive to the soil fertility.
Environment - Smoke from burning causes Black Carbon which is a product of incomplete combustion. According to ICIMOD, there are indications in the Hindukush Himalaya region ( HKH) that absorbing aerosols containing large amounts of black carbon are playing a significant role in changing of the regions climate.
Human health - Reducing Black Carbon aerosols would both reduce climte impact and benefit human health. The ways to reduce this are to use alternative fuels for cooking and reduce open burning of waste, through improved waste disposal methods.
Animal health is affected like human health with the quantum of black carbon in the air they breathe.
Biodiversity like insects, small mammals and birds that live in the fields are lost with burning.
Effects on plant nutrients and environment
Research from ICIMOD shows that:
One ton of paddy straw contains: 5.5 kg N (as organic) 2.3 kg P2O5(as organic) 25 kg K2O (readily available) 1.2 kg S (as organic) 50-70% micronutrients absorbed by rice 400 kg of Carbon
It is estimated that in Punjab alone, about 125 thousand tones of N and S in the paddy residues is lost during open burning, costing Rs. 2000 million per annum at the prevailing prices
One ton of crop residue on burning releases: CO2=1515 kg CO=92 kg NO=3.83 kg
SO2=0.4 kg CH4=2.7 kg Non methane (volatile organic compounds)=15.7 kg
There are many mitigation options available according to the scientists instead of burning the straw, one of them is use of Plough.
Framers can hire/buy what is called a plough. A Plough is one of the unique techniques farm tool or implement used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It is used for breaking up soil and cutting furrows in preparation of soil. The primary purpose of ploughingis to turn over the upper layer of the soil, bringing fresh nutrients to the surface, while burying weeds and the remains of previous crops, allowing them to break down. It also aerates the soil, and allows it to hold moisture better. Now days in market most popular farmer's choice plough is of Lemken Plough “Opal 090” which is mounted reversible hydraulic in function and easy to operate which helps farmer to earn more by spending less on diesel consumption and farm labour. This technology is eco-friendly cares for the health of soil as well as it also saves water, diesel and time.
Difference in two yields(with and without Mulching) pic: ICIMOD
INN
OVA
TIONM
OBIL
E A
PP
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|32 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 33
BURNING OF STUBBLE IS A RAPID AND CHEAP OPTION
BURNING OF STUBBLE IS A RAPID AND CHEAP OPTION But do the farmers realize the down side to doing that?
In the warehousing domain, SLCM is the only company that has been able to map multi-location & multi-layered operations to REAL TIME monitoring
generally pegged at 10%. In the warehousing
domain, SLCM is the only company that has
been able to map multi-location & multi-
layered operations to REAL TIME monitoring.
We are the only company in India that
enables our clients with Real Time information
of his stock with a turnaround time of less than
5 minutes & an alert facility akin to a card
swipe.
Apart from our world class warehousing
processes which enabled the agri value chain
to save 9.5% of losses during the post harvest
period; the other significant breakthrough
was our NBFC christened as Kissandhan,
launched in March 2014.
Kissandhan provides agriculture loans at
competitive commercial terms where storage
receipt is taken as collateral. The brand name
has been coined to convey a clear message
that we are there to help farmers and others
engaged in farming and associated activities
with attractive financing options.
Till February 2016, Kissandhan has
disbursed loans of more than Rs. 383 crores &
the efficiencies were proven when it disbursed
the loan amount within 48 hours of approval
without referring to the balance sheet of the
client. In fact, the smallest ticket size of loan
has been Rs 42 lacs & typically the high-end
ticket size has been between Rs 5-7 crores.
Kissandhan provides an option to the
farmer to store the crop for a small duration &
get short term finance on his commodity. It
enables him to do the price discovery & sell
when he gets the best price & sow the next
crop without selling the harvested crop &
avoid distressed selling. In a short span,
Kissandhan has impacted about 80,000
farmers pan India & brought Financial
Inclusion by empowering the farmers with
financing solution.
To sum it all, we have a well-defined
standard operating procedure which is
extensively dependent on technology rather
than people. We have a centralized Real Time
process management system which is
independent of geographical location and
infrastructure, which removes any scope for
deviation.
What are the factors driving the growth of
industry?
The exponential growth in this sector is
being driven with innovations like Scientific
Warehousing, GPS tracking, Geo Fencing,
Real Time Monitoring, etc. is bringing
confidence amongst the stakeholders involved
in the sector which is bringing in a lot of
interest from investors from across the world
as well.
With technological innovations, more
investments & strategic initiatives by the
Government, the under-served sector is
bound to accelerate growth in the coming
years.
Where did the initial capital for the innovation
come? What returns does it have?
After working for almost a decade, I
decided to launch Sohan Lal Commodity
Management in 2009, raising Rs 16 lakh
partly from my own savings and through a
loan from family, while my father allowed me
to use a part of his 8,000 sq ft unit in Delhi at
an annual rent of Rs 8 lakh. As I had
thoroughly researched on the sector before
the launch and had in depth knowledge of the
challenges, I was able to deliver better
services and managed to generate a turnover
of Rs 4 crore in the first year and reinvested
the entire proceeds in the business.
The returns can be easily proven with our
financials which show an EBITA growth of
90% year-on-year.
What challenges did you face when you were
starting out?
The sector itself is archaic – the biggest
challenge in this sector is mindset of
stakeholders. Perception of people that
warehousing is nothing but a piece of land
and then a structure to be built on top of it has
actually hampered the growth of the sector.
Our first and foremost challenge was to
What makes this particular concept different? If yes, how do you stand out?
We place ourselves as the only player in the sector because although we
manage more than 1000 warehouses & a throughput of 347 Million MT, but we
have not invested in building a single warehouse infrastructure. We thrive on an
asset light model, and this has helped us achieve an EBITDA growth of 90 percent
year-on-year. Another factor is the process under the aegis of AGRI REACH,
which we boast about as it has helped us in managing the entire network through
a centralized system & cut down the post harvest losses to merely 0.5% which is
Q
Q
Q
Q
In view of the Scientific
Warehousing, GPS
tracking, Geo Fencing, Real
Time Monitoring, etc. with
technological innovations,
more investments &
strategic initiatives by the
Government, the under-
served sector is bound to
accelerate growth in the
coming years believes Shri
Sandeep Sabharwal,
Founder & CEO – SLCM
Group. He has been
recognized with several
prestigious accolades
including Mahatma Gandhi
Ekta Samman by IIFS;
Alumni Recognition Award
for Entrepreneurship from
FORE School of
Management & the Most
Innovative CEO by Inc India.
Shri Sandeep interacted
with the Agriculture World
Team and elaborated the
Scientific approach with
GPS Tracking and Geo
Fencing in the Warehousing
GPS Tracking and Real Time Monitoring Empowers the Farmers at SLCM
EM
POW
ERIN
G F
ARM
ERS
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|34 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 35
EM
POW
ERIN
G FA
RM
ERS
In the warehousing domain, SLCM is the only company that has been able to map multi-location & multi-layered operations to REAL TIME monitoring
generally pegged at 10%. In the warehousing
domain, SLCM is the only company that has
been able to map multi-location & multi-
layered operations to REAL TIME monitoring.
We are the only company in India that
enables our clients with Real Time information
of his stock with a turnaround time of less than
5 minutes & an alert facility akin to a card
swipe.
Apart from our world class warehousing
processes which enabled the agri value chain
to save 9.5% of losses during the post harvest
period; the other significant breakthrough
was our NBFC christened as Kissandhan,
launched in March 2014.
Kissandhan provides agriculture loans at
competitive commercial terms where storage
receipt is taken as collateral. The brand name
has been coined to convey a clear message
that we are there to help farmers and others
engaged in farming and associated activities
with attractive financing options.
Till February 2016, Kissandhan has
disbursed loans of more than Rs. 383 crores &
the efficiencies were proven when it disbursed
the loan amount within 48 hours of approval
without referring to the balance sheet of the
client. In fact, the smallest ticket size of loan
has been Rs 42 lacs & typically the high-end
ticket size has been between Rs 5-7 crores.
Kissandhan provides an option to the
farmer to store the crop for a small duration &
get short term finance on his commodity. It
enables him to do the price discovery & sell
when he gets the best price & sow the next
crop without selling the harvested crop &
avoid distressed selling. In a short span,
Kissandhan has impacted about 80,000
farmers pan India & brought Financial
Inclusion by empowering the farmers with
financing solution.
To sum it all, we have a well-defined
standard operating procedure which is
extensively dependent on technology rather
than people. We have a centralized Real Time
process management system which is
independent of geographical location and
infrastructure, which removes any scope for
deviation.
What are the factors driving the growth of
industry?
The exponential growth in this sector is
being driven with innovations like Scientific
Warehousing, GPS tracking, Geo Fencing,
Real Time Monitoring, etc. is bringing
confidence amongst the stakeholders involved
in the sector which is bringing in a lot of
interest from investors from across the world
as well.
With technological innovations, more
investments & strategic initiatives by the
Government, the under-served sector is
bound to accelerate growth in the coming
years.
Where did the initial capital for the innovation
come? What returns does it have?
After working for almost a decade, I
decided to launch Sohan Lal Commodity
Management in 2009, raising Rs 16 lakh
partly from my own savings and through a
loan from family, while my father allowed me
to use a part of his 8,000 sq ft unit in Delhi at
an annual rent of Rs 8 lakh. As I had
thoroughly researched on the sector before
the launch and had in depth knowledge of the
challenges, I was able to deliver better
services and managed to generate a turnover
of Rs 4 crore in the first year and reinvested
the entire proceeds in the business.
The returns can be easily proven with our
financials which show an EBITA growth of
90% year-on-year.
What challenges did you face when you were
starting out?
The sector itself is archaic – the biggest
challenge in this sector is mindset of
stakeholders. Perception of people that
warehousing is nothing but a piece of land
and then a structure to be built on top of it has
actually hampered the growth of the sector.
Our first and foremost challenge was to
What makes this particular concept different? If yes, how do you stand out?
We place ourselves as the only player in the sector because although we
manage more than 1000 warehouses & a throughput of 347 Million MT, but we
have not invested in building a single warehouse infrastructure. We thrive on an
asset light model, and this has helped us achieve an EBITDA growth of 90 percent
year-on-year. Another factor is the process under the aegis of AGRI REACH,
which we boast about as it has helped us in managing the entire network through
a centralized system & cut down the post harvest losses to merely 0.5% which is
Q
Q
Q
Q
In view of the Scientific
Warehousing, GPS
tracking, Geo Fencing, Real
Time Monitoring, etc. with
technological innovations,
more investments &
strategic initiatives by the
Government, the under-
served sector is bound to
accelerate growth in the
coming years believes Shri
Sandeep Sabharwal,
Founder & CEO – SLCM
Group. He has been
recognized with several
prestigious accolades
including Mahatma Gandhi
Ekta Samman by IIFS;
Alumni Recognition Award
for Entrepreneurship from
FORE School of
Management & the Most
Innovative CEO by Inc India.
Shri Sandeep interacted
with the Agriculture World
Team and elaborated the
Scientific approach with
GPS Tracking and Geo
Fencing in the Warehousing
GPS Tracking and Real Time Monitoring Empowers the Farmers at SLCM
EM
POW
ERIN
G F
ARM
ERS
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|34 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 35
EM
POW
ERIN
G FA
RM
ERS
break this misnomer and prove topeople that
crop management can be done agnostic to
the infrastructure available on the ground.
The second challenge was to get talent, as
the sector is not that glamorous and two at the
start we were a company which had no
corporate backing. It took time but today I can
say it with a pride that I have the most
professional team working with me for the
growth of the Group.
What are your future plans?
As we have mapped a major part of the
country with our services, SLCM had made a
conscious decision to expand and replicate
the model overseas which matches the DNA
of our country. We launched our wholly
owned subsidiary in Myanmar in March
2014 to engage into warehousing & other
allied services.
In a short span, the wholly owned
subsidiar y (WOS) in Myanmar has
expanded its footprints in 9 Industrial Zones &
managing an area of 160,600 sqft, handling
67 commodities with a throughput of 1.37
Million MT. As a part of growth plan and to
reach maximum number of people, we have
tied-up with 8 Banks in India for Collateral
Financing & 5 Banks in Myanmar.
To expand further, we aim to take our
model to other ASEAN & African countries.
We are exploring regions which are
agriculture centric and have scope for the
sector.
In what ways has SLCM contributed to the
sector?
SLCM is constantly bringing the best
practices to upgrade the processes in the
w a r e h o u s i n g d o m a i n . O u r m a j o r
achievement has been that, as we have
expanded the services gradually, we are
present throughout the value chain that is
enabling us as an integrated player. We have
not rushed into expanding the product line
and have taken one service at a time,
understanding the pace and demand of the
sector which has led to build a sustainable
model. Presently, the Group is providing a
diversified portfolio of services ranging from
Warehouse Management, Agriculture
Financing, Collateral Management to
Procurement. The Group has been handled
more than 366 agriculture commodities
including Cotton, Barley, Bajra, Castor Seeds,
Wheat, Pulses, Maize, Spices, Aloe Vera, etc.
SLCM imparts high quality modern
warehousing services with Real Time MIS to
globally reputed clientele. The Group
undertakes 62 internal audits to check
quantity & quality standards and entire
system has been mapped to Real Time
resource monitoring for efficient tracking.
Today, SLCM has successfully created
scientific processes in the agri-logistics space,
which are also being showcased by the
agriculture fraternity across the world as a
role model for reducing post harvest losses.
The scalabilities have been proven with our
foray into Myanmar market last year.
We have time and again proved that
through out-of-box thinking and continuous
innovation, we can address the concerns of
the sector.
Having said that, we have been proud to
be referred and recognized by various
esteemed bodies that have added to our
achievements & some of them are listed here.
Recently, we were amongst top contender for
ET Startup Awards as Top Innovator from
3700 nominations pan India. Few prestigious
recognitions that SLCM has received includes
The Best Warehouse for Agro Commodity by
SCMPro; India's Agriculture/Agro Logistics
Company of the Year Award by Frost &
Sullivan; Agri Warehousing Company of the
Year by Kamikaze; Emerging Warehousing
Company Award by CPAI; CII Scale Awards
for Exemplary Position in Supply Chain &
Logistics in Agri Warehousing; Emerging
Brand Award for Rural Impact by CMO Asia
& Innovative 100 Company by Inc India.
Perception of people
that warehousing
is nothing but a piece of land and
then a structure to
be built on top of it has
actually hampered
the growth of the sector Q
Q
Interviewed by Chander Mohan
Biostadt India Ltd. believes that 'the growth of India is directly related to the growth of the rural areas. Farmers being the central focus of rural India, it becomes necessary to give them a helping hand by providing them with top-of-the-line agricultural inputs and services. With this as their core initiative, Biostadt India Limited has been serving the farming community for over two decades. An impressive track record takes forward its strategy to head the leading position in the Biotechnology research-based agro inputs. This strategy has been further supported with safer and specialty chemical pesticides. The tremendous growth in the business in a span of just 6 years (from INR 100 crores in 2007 to INR 500+ crores in 2015) has itself created a story to talk about.
Now, Biostadt India Limited is firmly positioned to address the emerging local and global challenges. The Company help in providing the farmers not just customized products but customized solutions, developing and evaluating products and processes for improving their satisfaction.Their extensive high-quality product range that includes insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, hybrid seeds, aqua products and farm services, further supports this goal. They offer amongst the best list of farm protection and associated products in India. In view of the above the Agriculture World Team discussed with Ms. Haani Khorakiwala, Director, Biostadt India Limited….She has done BS in Managerial Economics from Carnegie Mellon University, Piitsburgh and MS in Textile Marketing from FIT, New York. She formally joined Biostadt around two years back…..and brought in many strategic thrust to further bring business efficiency. Concept of Elite Club is noble idea to build an inuential Community of farmers and boost agriculture best practices.
Would you like to elaborate the working of Biostadt in India and Worldwide ?
Biostadt India Ltd is a 23 year old, young dynamic company in the
business of serving the farming community with innovative agricultural
solutions thru its pioneering technologies. Ensuring farmer delight is our
mission. Helping them realize their dream is our goal. Over the last two
Q
AG
RI S
OLU
TION
S
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|36 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 37
EM
POW
ERIN
G F
ARM
ERS
BIOSTADT'S ELITE CLUB- a Platform to Learn for Progressive Farmers with Vision to Build Most Inuential Community of Farmers
break this misnomer and prove topeople that
crop management can be done agnostic to
the infrastructure available on the ground.
The second challenge was to get talent, as
the sector is not that glamorous and two at the
start we were a company which had no
corporate backing. It took time but today I can
say it with a pride that I have the most
professional team working with me for the
growth of the Group.
What are your future plans?
As we have mapped a major part of the
country with our services, SLCM had made a
conscious decision to expand and replicate
the model overseas which matches the DNA
of our country. We launched our wholly
owned subsidiary in Myanmar in March
2014 to engage into warehousing & other
allied services.
In a short span, the wholly owned
subsidiar y (WOS) in Myanmar has
expanded its footprints in 9 Industrial Zones &
managing an area of 160,600 sqft, handling
67 commodities with a throughput of 1.37
Million MT. As a part of growth plan and to
reach maximum number of people, we have
tied-up with 8 Banks in India for Collateral
Financing & 5 Banks in Myanmar.
To expand further, we aim to take our
model to other ASEAN & African countries.
We are exploring regions which are
agriculture centric and have scope for the
sector.
In what ways has SLCM contributed to the
sector?
SLCM is constantly bringing the best
practices to upgrade the processes in the
w a r e h o u s i n g d o m a i n . O u r m a j o r
achievement has been that, as we have
expanded the services gradually, we are
present throughout the value chain that is
enabling us as an integrated player. We have
not rushed into expanding the product line
and have taken one service at a time,
understanding the pace and demand of the
sector which has led to build a sustainable
model. Presently, the Group is providing a
diversified portfolio of services ranging from
Warehouse Management, Agriculture
Financing, Collateral Management to
Procurement. The Group has been handled
more than 366 agriculture commodities
including Cotton, Barley, Bajra, Castor Seeds,
Wheat, Pulses, Maize, Spices, Aloe Vera, etc.
SLCM imparts high quality modern
warehousing services with Real Time MIS to
globally reputed clientele. The Group
undertakes 62 internal audits to check
quantity & quality standards and entire
system has been mapped to Real Time
resource monitoring for efficient tracking.
Today, SLCM has successfully created
scientific processes in the agri-logistics space,
which are also being showcased by the
agriculture fraternity across the world as a
role model for reducing post harvest losses.
The scalabilities have been proven with our
foray into Myanmar market last year.
We have time and again proved that
through out-of-box thinking and continuous
innovation, we can address the concerns of
the sector.
Having said that, we have been proud to
be referred and recognized by various
esteemed bodies that have added to our
achievements & some of them are listed here.
Recently, we were amongst top contender for
ET Startup Awards as Top Innovator from
3700 nominations pan India. Few prestigious
recognitions that SLCM has received includes
The Best Warehouse for Agro Commodity by
SCMPro; India's Agriculture/Agro Logistics
Company of the Year Award by Frost &
Sullivan; Agri Warehousing Company of the
Year by Kamikaze; Emerging Warehousing
Company Award by CPAI; CII Scale Awards
for Exemplary Position in Supply Chain &
Logistics in Agri Warehousing; Emerging
Brand Award for Rural Impact by CMO Asia
& Innovative 100 Company by Inc India.
Perception of people
that warehousing
is nothing but a piece of land and
then a structure to
be built on top of it has
actually hampered
the growth of the sector Q
Q
Interviewed by Chander Mohan
Biostadt India Ltd. believes that 'the growth of India is directly related to the growth of the rural areas. Farmers being the central focus of rural India, it becomes necessary to give them a helping hand by providing them with top-of-the-line agricultural inputs and services. With this as their core initiative, Biostadt India Limited has been serving the farming community for over two decades. An impressive track record takes forward its strategy to head the leading position in the Biotechnology research-based agro inputs. This strategy has been further supported with safer and specialty chemical pesticides. The tremendous growth in the business in a span of just 6 years (from INR 100 crores in 2007 to INR 500+ crores in 2015) has itself created a story to talk about.
Now, Biostadt India Limited is firmly positioned to address the emerging local and global challenges. The Company help in providing the farmers not just customized products but customized solutions, developing and evaluating products and processes for improving their satisfaction.Their extensive high-quality product range that includes insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, hybrid seeds, aqua products and farm services, further supports this goal. They offer amongst the best list of farm protection and associated products in India. In view of the above the Agriculture World Team discussed with Ms. Haani Khorakiwala, Director, Biostadt India Limited….She has done BS in Managerial Economics from Carnegie Mellon University, Piitsburgh and MS in Textile Marketing from FIT, New York. She formally joined Biostadt around two years back…..and brought in many strategic thrust to further bring business efficiency. Concept of Elite Club is noble idea to build an inuential Community of farmers and boost agriculture best practices.
Would you like to elaborate the working of Biostadt in India and Worldwide ?
Biostadt India Ltd is a 23 year old, young dynamic company in the
business of serving the farming community with innovative agricultural
solutions thru its pioneering technologies. Ensuring farmer delight is our
mission. Helping them realize their dream is our goal. Over the last two
Q
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POW
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ARM
ERS
BIOSTADT'S ELITE CLUB- a Platform to Learn for Progressive Farmers with Vision to Build Most Inuential Community of Farmers
decades Biostadt is directly linked with
farmer's prosperity, our own multi fold
success can be directly attributed to this.
We are fairly diversified as a company
with a major focus on Biotechnology based
Bio-stimulants for soil and plant health. We
have strategic tie-ups with Japanese
companies to serve like Hoko and Nippon
high quality of pesticides as a solution for
scientific management of insects-pest and
diseases in all commercial and niche crops.
Biostadt also offers big range of products
in Aqua-culture and has emerged as one of
the fast growing company in this domain in
last couple of years' time.
Biostadt has made a successful and
impactful start in the Seeds domain as well
and fortifying this segment of business by
innovative marketing and robust strategies by
expanding product portfolio, distribution
excellence and acquiring companies….like
recently we acquired a leading Pearl Millet
b a s e d c o m p a n y N a n d i S e e d s i n
Ahmedabad. We are committed to providing
the Indian farming community with hybrid HI-
Q Nandi Seeds in crops like Rice, Bajra,
Castor and vegetables as well.
Our state of the art manufacturing plant
in Jammu, produces not only our captive
consumption but also serves as a contract
manufacturing hub for huge and leading
MNC's.
We have a direct marketing presence in
our wholly owned sister concern Biostadt,
Philippines Inc. head quartered in Manila
where we are a top 10 Agriculture company
over there.
In Vietnam we have a strategic JV called
Vin-Thin Biostadt Inc. which again is involved
with the farmers and we have recently bought
a shrimp hatchery on the coast line to provide
high quality post-larvae to breeders.
Besides direct business in South East
Asia, we have a growing global presence
with our brand WOKOZIM which is being
marketed in more than 30 countries. We have
penetration in South-east Asia, China,
Middle-east, African and Latin American
markets.
How is your Dealer/ Distributor Network?
Our domestic market covers a vast
distribution network across PAN India with
dealers' coverage of around fifty thousand to
ensure our reach to farmers in every nook and
corner of the country.
We have our hi-tech manufacturing units
in Jammu and Bhavnagar and twenty five
stock points across the country to make sure
efficient and timely supplies across PAN
India.
What are your priorities and Quality Policies
of the Company?
Quality is our prime priority in every
sphere of our business. It may be the products,
Processes, policies, systems, Procedures or
people.
We have ISO 9000, ISO14000, ISO
17025, BS 18000 that certify our quality
process, Environmental Health, Research Lab
Standards etc. respectively.
What is the strength of the Company?
In the last decade, our business has
grown about ten times. That tells the story of
how Biostadt products have been patronized
by millions of farmers. This reach and
penetration could be possible because of
good quality of products, strategies, and
organizational ethics and value system but we
rate our people, our Human Resources at
Biostadt as our core strength.
What is your marketing Strategy and
Future Planning for growth of Company?
Strategy remains to provide high quality
p r o d u c t s b a s e d o n t h e n e e d a n d
differentiating services to farmers that could
help them to get best ROI of their money and
efforts. And we are committed to that.
We are constantly evolving and seeking
new avenues of growth. To that end we have
entered aggressively in the seed business,
shrimp PL breeding (international) and
focused targeting of high acreage farmers
under the Elite Farmer Initiative.
Which is your major or revenue generating
product?
Our major focus is on Bio-stimulants for
soil and plant health. We have legitimate
claim to be the market leader in this
category…..with Brand BIOZYME powered
with BILT technology which is globally
mastered by Biostadt only. Biozyme is tested
and recommended by various renowned
Universities
BIOZYME is one of the most preferred
brand of the farmers across the country as this
product helps them to get best ROI of their
investment.
Would you like to say something about
Agro chemicals and Fertilizer Industry?
As we know that about 60-65% of our
Indian population, directly or indirectly
depends on Agr icu l ture and a l l ied
occupation. However, contribution of
Agriculture in our national GDP is only about
15%. This huge gap is the big scope for Agri-
input business like Agro-chemicals and
Fertilizers Industry.
With the growing urbanization, area
under Agriculture getting shrunk which raises
the issue of providing food for all in a growing
population. These kinds of dynamics speak
out need of said Industries to ensure high
yield, production and quality of the produce.
Would you like to elaborate some
Farmers Oriented Activities
As a Biostadt whatever we do….Farmers
our focal fundamental. We try to reach and
help farmers by various ways like Farmers
Meetings, Mass-media, and ATL- BTL etc.
Recently, we launched an Elite Club for
progressive and leading farmers with a vision
to build the most influential community of
farmers. This is a unique kind platform
wherein farmers are associated with us
towards best agricultural practices with a
focus on exchange of experiences.
What kind of education and awareness you
are providing to Elite Club Farmers?
We are educating them for scientific and
sustainable way of Agriculture. Good quality
of seeds, Proper identification of diseases and
Insect, Prophylactic application of right
chemicals to possible extent, avoiding excess
use of Chemical and Fertilizers, Proper water
and nutrient management, sharing new
technologies, trend and safety etc.
Also we have planned to organize
Workshops and seminars where scientists
and experts are invited. To encourage
technological and best agricultural practices,
we are awarding and rewarding the farmers.
Other than advisory, what services are you
offering to elite farmers?
We have designed it well to serve them as
much as possible. To ensure that we have
allocated Biostadt Relationship Manager who
will be dedicated to attend and serve the
farmer with top priority, suggesting right
source of getting genuine products, Soil
Health Checkup and recommendations,
Providing and sharing with them Agri-
Newsletters to keep them updated and well
versed with happening in Agriculture etc. are
the few services which is being appreciated
by the members of Elite Club.
Any message you want to convey to elite
farmers?
Elite Farmers play a very important and
pivotal role helping other fellow farmers in
adjoining villages by way of sharing their
learnings and knowledge thus has partnered
with us for transfer of technologies and
knowledge to as many as farmer as a social
activity, We express our thanks to these
progressive farmers.
Also our Elite Club Farmers keep us
updated with grass-root level issues,
challenges and needs related to their crops
and farming. That is great marketing input
for us.
Q
Have strategic tie-ups with Japanese companies to serve high quality of pesticides as a solution for scientific management of insects-pest and diseases in all commercial and niche crops
Interviewed by Ruby Jain
Prophylactic application of
right chemicals to
possible extent,
avoiding excess use of Chemical and
Fertilizers, Proper water and nutrient
management, sharing new
technologies, trend and safety etc
are scientific and
sustainable way of
Agriculture.
Quality is our prime priority in every sphere of our business. It may be the products, Processes, policies, systems, Procedures or people
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016|38 krishijagran.com AGRICULTURE WORLD FEBRUARY 2016| 39
AG
RI S
OLU
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SAG
RI SO
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S
decades Biostadt is directly linked with
farmer's prosperity, our own multi fold
success can be directly attributed to this.
We are fairly diversified as a company
with a major focus on Biotechnology based
Bio-stimulants for soil and plant health. We
have strategic tie-ups with Japanese
companies to serve like Hoko and Nippon
high quality of pesticides as a solution for
scientific management of insects-pest and
diseases in all commercial and niche crops.
Biostadt also offers big range of products
in Aqua-culture and has emerged as one of
the fast growing company in this domain in
last couple of years' time.
Biostadt has made a successful and
impactful start in the Seeds domain as well
and fortifying this segment of business by
innovative marketing and robust strategies by
expanding product portfolio, distribution
excellence and acquiring companies….like
recently we acquired a leading Pearl Millet
b a s e d c o m p a n y N a n d i S e e d s i n
Ahmedabad. We are committed to providing
the Indian farming community with hybrid HI-
Q Nandi Seeds in crops like Rice, Bajra,
Castor and vegetables as well.
Our state of the art manufacturing plant
in Jammu, produces not only our captive
consumption but also serves as a contract
manufacturing hub for huge and leading
MNC's.
We have a direct marketing presence in
our wholly owned sister concern Biostadt,
Philippines Inc. head quartered in Manila
where we are a top 10 Agriculture company
over there.
In Vietnam we have a strategic JV called
Vin-Thin Biostadt Inc. which again is involved
with the farmers and we have recently bought
a shrimp hatchery on the coast line to provide
high quality post-larvae to breeders.
Besides direct business in South East
Asia, we have a growing global presence
with our brand WOKOZIM which is being
marketed in more than 30 countries. We have
penetration in South-east Asia, China,
Middle-east, African and Latin American
markets.
How is your Dealer/ Distributor Network?
Our domestic market covers a vast
distribution network across PAN India with
dealers' coverage of around fifty thousand to
ensure our reach to farmers in every nook and
corner of the country.
We have our hi-tech manufacturing units
in Jammu and Bhavnagar and twenty five
stock points across the country to make sure
efficient and timely supplies across PAN
India.
What are your priorities and Quality Policies
of the Company?
Quality is our prime priority in every
sphere of our business. It may be the products,
Processes, policies, systems, Procedures or
people.
We have ISO 9000, ISO14000, ISO
17025, BS 18000 that certify our quality
process, Environmental Health, Research Lab
Standards etc. respectively.
What is the strength of the Company?
In the last decade, our business has
grown about ten times. That tells the story of
how Biostadt products have been patronized
by millions of farmers. This reach and
penetration could be possible because of
good quality of products, strategies, and
organizational ethics and value system but we
rate our people, our Human Resources at
Biostadt as our core strength.
What is your marketing Strategy and
Future Planning for growth of Company?
Strategy remains to provide high quality
p r o d u c t s b a s e d o n t h e n e e d a n d
differentiating services to farmers that could
help them to get best ROI of their money and
efforts. And we are committed to that.
We are constantly evolving and seeking
new avenues of growth. To that end we have
entered aggressively in the seed business,
shrimp PL breeding (international) and
focused targeting of high acreage farmers
under the Elite Farmer Initiative.
Which is your major or revenue generating
product?
Our major focus is on Bio-stimulants for
soil and plant health. We have legitimate
claim to be the market leader in this
category…..with Brand BIOZYME powered
with BILT technology which is globally
mastered by Biostadt only. Biozyme is tested
and recommended by various renowned
Universities
BIOZYME is one of the most preferred
brand of the farmers across the country as this
product helps them to get best ROI of their
investment.
Would you like to say something about
Agro chemicals and Fertilizer Industry?
As we know that about 60-65% of our
Indian population, directly or indirectly
depends on Agr icu l ture and a l l ied
occupation. However, contribution of
Agriculture in our national GDP is only about
15%. This huge gap is the big scope for Agri-
input business like Agro-chemicals and
Fertilizers Industry.
With the growing urbanization, area
under Agriculture getting shrunk which raises
the issue of providing food for all in a growing
population. These kinds of dynamics speak
out need of said Industries to ensure high
yield, production and quality of the produce.
Would you like to elaborate some
Farmers Oriented Activities
As a Biostadt whatever we do….Farmers
our focal fundamental. We try to reach and
help farmers by various ways like Farmers
Meetings, Mass-media, and ATL- BTL etc.
Recently, we launched an Elite Club for
progressive and leading farmers with a vision
to build the most influential community of
farmers. This is a unique kind platform
wherein farmers are associated with us
towards best agricultural practices with a
focus on exchange of experiences.
What kind of education and awareness you
are providing to Elite Club Farmers?
We are educating them for scientific and
sustainable way of Agriculture. Good quality
of seeds, Proper identification of diseases and
Insect, Prophylactic application of right
chemicals to possible extent, avoiding excess
use of Chemical and Fertilizers, Proper water
and nutrient management, sharing new
technologies, trend and safety etc.
Also we have planned to organize
Workshops and seminars where scientists
and experts are invited. To encourage
technological and best agricultural practices,
we are awarding and rewarding the farmers.
Other than advisory, what services are you
offering to elite farmers?
We have designed it well to serve them as
much as possible. To ensure that we have
allocated Biostadt Relationship Manager who
will be dedicated to attend and serve the
farmer with top priority, suggesting right
source of getting genuine products, Soil
Health Checkup and recommendations,
Providing and sharing with them Agri-
Newsletters to keep them updated and well
versed with happening in Agriculture etc. are
the few services which is being appreciated
by the members of Elite Club.
Any message you want to convey to elite
farmers?
Elite Farmers play a very important and
pivotal role helping other fellow farmers in
adjoining villages by way of sharing their
learnings and knowledge thus has partnered
with us for transfer of technologies and
knowledge to as many as farmer as a social
activity, We express our thanks to these
progressive farmers.
Also our Elite Club Farmers keep us
updated with grass-root level issues,
challenges and needs related to their crops
and farming. That is great marketing input
for us.
Q
Have strategic tie-ups with Japanese companies to serve high quality of pesticides as a solution for scientific management of insects-pest and diseases in all commercial and niche crops
Interviewed by Ruby Jain
Prophylactic application of
right chemicals to
possible extent,
avoiding excess use of Chemical and
Fertilizers, Proper water and nutrient
management, sharing new
technologies, trend and safety etc
are scientific and
sustainable way of
Agriculture.
Quality is our prime priority in every sphere of our business. It may be the products, Processes, policies, systems, Procedures or people
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
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DELENG/2015/65174