Information Technology in Agriculture: Some Developments and Perspectives in India

Select Volume / Issue:

• Volume 2,Issue 1, Jan. 2014

Year:

2014

Type of Publication:

Article

Keywords:

Decision Support Systems, e-Learning, Geographical Information Systems, Global Positioning System, Information and Communication Technology, Information Dissemination System, Precision Agriculture, Remote Sensing

Authors:

Harpreet Kaur; O. P. Gupta; B. K. Sawhney

Journal:

IJISM

Volume:

2

Number:

1

Pages:

68-73

Month:

January

Abstract:

Information Technology (IT) has a vital role to play in indian agriculture. IT can be defined as the use of information to enable or improve products or processes. This paper reviews various applications of IT in agriculture and suggests future prospects. Precision agriculture gives farmers the ability to use crop inputs more effectively including fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation water. More effective use of inputs means greater crop yield and better quality, without polluting the environment. Precision Farming is defined as information and technology based farm management system to identify, analyze and manage variability within fields. In this mode of farming, new information technologies can be used to make better decisions about many aspects of crop production. An important technology used in precision agriculture is GPS (Global Positioning System). Support Systems & Information Systems can be developed to explore efficient cropping patterns to increase production per land unit and decrease the amount of waste, e.g. by not applying more nutrients than required by the crops. Climatic and flood forecast applications can be designed to deal with disasters in agriculture. Skilful and timely weather forecast information can be incorporated for accessing disaster risks and preparing a risk management plan. India’s food production and productivity may be increased by an effective use of Information and Communication Technology. Different mobile-based projects have been initiated which will provide information and knowledge services to the farmers round the clock. Many organizations have been providing IT based services to farmers and Cooperative Societies to utilize satellite based Remote Sensing data and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to improve the quality of soil and hence yield of crops. e-Learning becomes necessity of agricultural extension to train the human resources that are working in extension centers throughout the country and have direct interaction with farmers. Online discussions may be encouraged to sort out issues over the Internet using chat facilities. Critical decisions involving policy issues can be taken instantaneously by using facilities like video conferencing.

Full text: IJISM_15_Final.pdf [Bibtex]