Nokia, Vodafone India Foundation deploy more than 400 sensors as part of SmartAgri solution

Nokia and Vodafone India Foundation, the CSR arm of Vi, have deployed a Smart Agriculture (SmartAgri) solution as part of a pilot that is being implemented in 100 locations in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and will benefit more than 50,000 Indian farmers.

The solution utilizes Nokia’s Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) solution and involves the use of more than 400 sensors that cover more than 100,000 hectares of farmland to collect various data points which are then analyzed by a cloud-based and localized Smart Agriculture app.

The idea is that this level of precise and practical data collection will lead to enhance productivity and increased income for the farmers in the region. By managing crops through WING, farmers can take advantage of smart irrigation, smart pesticide control, proactive information sharing frameworks on crops and weather, as well as a platform for commodity exchange, according to Nokia.

The associated app provides additional SmartAgri services, such as local language support and weather forecast and irrigation management information.

“Our mission for WING is to shape the future of agriculture and other industries, to create a smarter and more connected world,” commented Ankur Bhan, head of Nokia’s WING Business. “Together with the Vodafone Foundation, our managed service offering will help an initial 50,000 farmers and their families, with the aim of rolling out the solution across India.”

All over the world, 5G is expected to have a big impact on how farms are managed. India is no exception, as smart agriculture is being heavily explored as a critical use case for 5G, and according to Michele Mackenzie, principal analyst, IoT and M2M Services at Analysys Mason, there is a growing demand in the region for technologies that increase productivity and crop yields, while addressing the impacts of climate change.

“Farmers and producers require end to end solutions and seek flexible business models so that they can focus on their core business,” Mackenzie said. “The cooperation between Nokia WING and Vodafone Idea is an innovative example for rebalancing the needs of the society and the environment by introducing sustainable farming practices in India.”

“Smart crop management using smart IoT and AI-based solutions is transforming the prevalent agricultural practices into more ‘intelligent’ ones enabling farmers with smart decision making and helping them improve production and crop quality through better utilization of resources,” said P. Balaji, chief regulatory & corporate affairs officer at Vodafone Idea Limited.