The Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today launched ‘Kisan Suvidha’ Mobile App- an “omnibus for quick and relevant information” in Punjabi, English and Hindi language. This application is aimed at providing basic information to farmers on weather updates, crop prices and expert advices, for which they have to otherwise struggle a lot, ending up often relying on hearsays.Appreciating the initiative of the Agriculture department to make our farmers tech-savvy, the Chief Minister said that this format of information technology would go long way to keep them abreast with the changing farm practices, marketing support coupled with latest agronomical techniques to enhance their productivity both in terms of quality and quantity.Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the CMO said that app was a simple interface and provides information on five critical parameters weather, input dealers, market price, plant protection and expert advisories. An additional tab directly connects the farmer with the Kisan Call Centre where technical graduates answer their queries. The design is simple and neat. To begin with, a farmer has to register the mobile number, choose a language from English, Hindi or Punjabi and enter details of the state, district and block or sub-district.
A tab on the weather button shows details of temperature, humidity, wind and rainfall for the current day and the forecast for the next five days. Additionally, a farmer can get extreme weather alerts like hailstorms or unseasonal rains—a useful tool for farmers. For instance, after harvesting, farmers often leave their cereal crops in the field to dry. Prior information on freak rains can help them save their crop.
The market price button shows latest price of all crops traded in a mandi or registered agriculture market of the particular district a farmer belongs to. Additionally, he gets to see the maximum price in the district, state and the entire country on a particular day.For small farmers, who often sell their produce to local traders, this could be an important bargaining tool. Also, farmers can decide on whether to take their produce to the mandi or delay it based on information on current prices.Other information points are useful too. The plant protection button gives pest, weed and disease-related information as well as management practices for each stage of crop development—from nursery to harvesting. The agro advisory section shows messages for farmers from district agriculture officials and state universities in their local language. These primarily deal with crop management practices based on the prevailing conditions; say a remedy for a widespread pest attack or imminent showers.Farmers can also access names and mobile numbers of input dealers selling pesticides, seeds, fertiliser and machinery. This is a handy tool—farmers can now make a call and compare prices and availability before they actually head out to purchase these inputs, the spokesperson added.Prominent amongst others who were present in the meeting included Agriculture Minister Jathedar Tota Singh, Additional Chief Secretary Development Mr. NS Kalsi, Agriculture Commissioner Dr. BS Sidhu and Director Agriculture Mr. Jasbir Singh Bains.