Farm Tech

Farm Tech is an integrated model of agri-tech and agri-extension techniques designed for small and marginal farmers which can improve their access to low-cost precision technologies and modern farming methods. Bridging the critical gap of knowledge, access and capacity between agri-tech advancement and small farm holders, we leverage upon open source, low-cost technologies and methods and integrate them on a single mobile-based platform to make agriculture a profitable livelihood for farmers. Our effort lies in assessing the targeted region; hand picking the most appropriate and low-cost agri-technologies for farmers in that region; and conduct intensive training & awareness for farmers on the same

Every year there are new agri-tech advancements which provide innovative, cost effective and sustainable solutions for agricultural issues. But small and marginal farmers, especially in developing countries, with no access to knowledge or resources, are devoid of these advancements and still follow subsistence farming – pushing millions of them into extreme poverty and debt. In India, 86.2% farmers are small & marginal farmers with average land holding size of just 0.6 ha (10th Agriculture Census, 2016) which is absolutely insufficient to sustain their families. This scenario is worse in states like Jharkhand, which has >20 million or 80% of its rural population people depending upon agriculture. Ranking second highest on national hunger index with very high prevalence of nutritional insecurity, Jharkhand has 40% of its population living under extreme poverty. While the cultivable area is 41.80 lakh ha, only 18.08 lakh ha is net sown area due to high dependence on nature, low investment and productivity, mono-cropping with paddy as dominant crop, inadequate irrigation facilities and small land holdings (70% are less than 1 ha). Climate change impacts like droughts and highly unpredictable rains result in 88% of total cultivated area remaining un-irrigated due to high rate of water run-off. 

Farm Tech integrates agri-tech with agriculture extension to bridge the critical gap between technology and small farmers. We plan to integrate the following technologies in one stop-solution for farmers which can run on a mobile-based platform. This will be an integrated channel which can include information and learning modules on farming technologies such as:

• Promote low-cost precision tools like tensiometer for water consuming crops such as paddy
• Open source Decision Support System (DSS) tools for monitoring health and growth of major crops
• Real time weather information with agro-met advisory services
• Modern farming practices such as System of Rice Intensification (SRI), line sowing method, wadi method and agroforestry

These technical tools will be coupled with on-farm trainings for farmers and intensive awareness activities for their successful adoption and results in terms of increased farm productivity.

Our primary target population are the small and marginalised farmers in Jharkhand, India including both tribal and non-tribal living in kachcha or mud huts. Their average Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE) is INR 920 (about 12 USD). Our engagement with the local community started through a short training programme during which we realised that they need an urgent and much bigger solution. We then started with a more systematic approach to understand their issues i.e. a technical assessment of regional demography and issues such as farming practices, crops, irrigation facilities, machinery, market access, farm finance, agricultural credit and so on, done through secondary data review and field group discussions with both men and women. We have also started engaging with local government departments to map existing knowledge and financial resources. Farm Tech will address the crucial access gap between agricultural technology and farmers in terms of knowledge, skills and availability. We will focus on increasing farm productivity by use of technology-enabled solutions such as low-cost precision farming tools, crop health monitoring and agro-met advisories. This will be coupled with on-ground training and technical assistance for farmers. We aim to address challenges of irrigation, sowing, cropping and climate change. 

With Farm Tech we propose to improve lives of small and marginal farmers in a sustainable manner. Our proposal relate to the Sustainable Food Systems Challenge in a number of ways:

• Targeted for small-scale, vulnerable food producers of Jharkhand who are devoid of farming technological advancement
• Designed to improve knowledge, access and capacity on technologies and farming methods of farmers
• Increased agricultural productivity will address food security issues in the region
• Based on regional ecology, hence deploys environmental friendly methods and tools which can harness natural resources sustainably
• Can be easily replicated and scaled up for other regions

Farm Tech is an innovative solution because:

• Both process-based and tech-based innovation
• Brings different agricultural technologies together as part of one solution
• It integrates farming technology and agricultural extension principles together
• Offers scope to include technologies from around the world
• Easily replicable since it is a process-based innovation First of its kind in India 

Farm Tech is a both process-based and tech-based innovation. The technology component includes a mobile-based platform where information on wide range of technologies can be included in form of audio-visual communication format. This toolkit can also function on both java phones and smartphones. The second layer of technologies which will be part of this larger toolkit will include:

• Precision tools like tensiometer
• Real time weather forecast and agro-met advisories
• Single crop-based Decision Support System (DSS) apps embedded within Farm Tech

Farm Tech will include technology as both hardware and software. Software- app based components and hardware- tools like tensiometer 

All the technologies chosen for this proposed solution have already been implemented at a considerable scale with successful results. Please see the details:

• Tensiometer-one of the key research papers proving its success https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322341583_Assessing_the_economic_impact_of_a_low-cost_water-saving_irrigation_technology_in_Indian_Punjab_the_tensiometer
• Agro-met advisories- provided extensively by various open source platforms along with Indian Met Dept. Jharkhand http://amsskolkata.gov.in/mc/ranchi/ and https://welthungerhilfeindia.org/local-agro-advisory-mechanism-developed-in-jharkhand/
• Decision Support System in regional language https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.cipt.wheatdss

• Current number of people: 100
• Number of people in a year: 3000
• Number of people in five years: 5 lakh

• Short term goal (1 year): Streamline and stabilise functioning of Farm tech for a small region with measurable and successful results
• Long term goal (5 years): Replicate Farm Tech in at least 5 more regions with high number of small & marginal farmers and high dependence on agriculture as livelihood. Our estimated reach is at least 5 lakh farmers in 5 different regions

This/ next year: Our major challenge presently is lack of seed capital needed to build the integrative mobile-based platform. We have assessed the local situation and issues; selected well-verified and implemented farming technologies and also designed the process- but we need seed capital to kick start our process.

Next five years: The next major challenge would be to identify and partner with the right technology solution providers which provide open-source, low-cost agriculture technologies

• Funds: We are applying to various funding opportunities and also trying to find ways of leveraging existing resources. We have identified the technical skeleton which will be adopted for building Farm Tech’s technical platform and also the partnerships required. With our partners’ in-principle agreement we are proposing this solution for funding.
• Technology partners: We plan to reach out to technology innovators through different platforms such as MIT Solver and other similar forums where we can invite tech providers for partnerships 

Total-7. We have a core team of 5 people working together on this particular solution- an agricultural expert, a technology innovation expert, a development communication expert and two community representatives from Jharkhand who provide practical inputs in our thinking. Besides this, our ground team includes two trainers also. 

We are well-equipped to carry out this solution because we have a collaborated team with the right mix of skills and experience required in terms of technology, community process, communication and agricultural expertise. The team members’ experience ranges from 8 years to over 15 years of working on development issues at the community level. Coming from different backgrounds, we want to use our experience to design this new and innovative solution for those suffering the most. Details of our team’s skills and experiences are:

• Shweta Prajapati- Development communication expert working on climate change and agriculture issues for last 9 years with farmers in most remote, rural regions of India
• Atul Vikram Singh- Agricultural expert with 10+ years of experience of working in various agro-climatic zones of India. Has worked on several successful initiatives of increasing farm productivity
• Hilmi Quraishi- Ashoka Fellow and Co-founder of ZMQ Development with an experience of 15+ years of working on technology-based solutions on development issues
• Two community trainers skilled in designing and delivering farmer trainings using audio-visual modes
• Two community representatives from the target region who have been engaged in farming through generations and provide critical inputs about local socio-ecological issues 

Our present agreed partners include:

• ZMQ Development- for technology development
• Birsa Agricultural University- as local agricultural experts 

Being a non-profit organisation, our goal is not to generate profits from this solution but sustain it with a viable financial plan. This solution actually majorly needs a one-time capital and has a very low operational cost (mostly field trainings and content updation). 

Three key reasons for applying to Solve Challenge:

• MIT Solve’s wide network of tech providers and innovators can help us in reaching out to the right partners
• The prize grant will boost our efforts in establishing and testing our solution
• Solve’s evaluation process will accredit us with recognition and trust which is highly needed when we look for additional funding or partnerships

Potential partners:

1. Technology innovators, which can provide open-source, low-cost agricultural technologies (can be both software or hardware)
2. Local grassroots organisations, which can help us reach out to and build a bond with the local farmer communities and can also act as local training partners
3. Buyer companies, which can be business clients for bulk buying the increased agricultural produce
4. Government agencies, which can adopt the entire platform and implement it at a larger scale within their respective region or country 

Food security and poverty are two of the gravest challenges faced globally, especially in developing nations. While the national governments struggle to advance their countries with development solutions, their endeavours to meet these core issues have been proven in sufficient. Taking the case of India, our focus as a growing nation is divulged from renewable energy and space programmes to basic health and food security needs. In this race of receiving maximum benefits, the most vulnerable such as small and marginal farmers of remote, rural regions remain the most deprived section. Thus, there is a need to intervene with a focused intervention for this section of community. This section of small and marginalised farmers categorically suffers from extreme poverty, non-profitable livelihoods, food insecurity and resulting issues of lack of basic health and education services. It urgently needs a solution which can solve their most basic struggle of attaining a dignified and profitable livelihoods and self-reliance. Therefore, improving agriculture in this context becomes the best approach which can serve dual purpose of ensuring food security in the country as well as securing profitable livelihoods for these farmers. However, given the wide cultural and ethnographic variability in regions, one solution cannot fit all.

Farm Tech is a perfectly scalable solution for any country and any geography which has a potential to solve at least three key challenges faced globally which makes us eligible for Future Planet Capital Prize:

• Food security
• Poverty
• Sustainable agriculture without depleting natural resources