Digitization: A Paradigm Shift of Agriculture
The Indian Agricultural sector provides employment to about 65% of the labour force, accounts for 27% of GDP, contributes 21% of total exports, and raw materials to several industries. Researchers show that 68% of the entire population of India is covered by the rural area and 58% of people depend on agriculture as their main source of livelihood. The fast Growing Population demands 50% of an increase in the production of the food to feed all. At the same time, the traditional inefficient practices, water scarcity for irrigation, less productive lands, double cropping, lack of crop rotation, lack of time for soil recreation are putting pressure on fertility and yields followed by the exploitation of the middlemen preventing the farmers from getting the best price for their products. Under such circumstances, the concept of Digitization of Agricultural Sector becomes more vital. There is a necessity of empowering the rural community by creating digital Infrastructure, providing various digital services, and Promoting digital literacy. Digitization in Agriculture can be defined as ICT and data ecosystems to support the development and delivery of timely, targeted information and services to make farming profitable and sustainable. The distinct vision of our Prime Minister assures regarding several initiatives taken to provide “Protective shield” to the farmers to increase production, Improve storage and connectivity with the consumers for better supply and profit. This paper intends to explore the initiatives taken by Government for providing Digital Infrastructure such as Automation, agricultural robots, smart sensors and decision support systems to the farmers and also to study about how it would result in improving the income of the farmers. It mainly focuses on the three areas that encompass Digital Agriculture i.e- Data Intelligence, Smart Analysis, and Communication.
Published by: Prof. Sonali Ganguly, Sujeet Prakash Patra
Author: Prof. Sonali Ganguly
Paper ID: V3I3-1136
Paper Status: published
Published: May 16, 2017
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