Smart farming in the digital age: Skymet CEO, Yogesh Patil

 

Digital agriculture refers to tools that digitally collect, store, analyze, and share electronic data and/or information along the agricultural value chain. Digital agriculture involves using a range of technologies, channels, and analytic capabilities to make farming more precise, productive, and profitable.

 

At Skymet Weather, we are working with USAID in creating farmers that not only work for their farm but also work for creating awareness that land, water and air are scarce resources. The land across the world is fast eroding due to many aspects, one of them is climate change. India is one of the few countries that in the past few days has been ravaged by twin threats of floods and droughts, India’s water woes are of a paradoxical nature.

 

 

We have created an ecosystem wherein an Indian farmer is no less than a farmer in Ghana or Colombia. Thanks to the combined efforts, a marginalized farmer can benefit from 'Smart Farming' or 'Digital Agriculture' available to him right at his fingertips.

 

Skymet has a network of 7000+ Automated Weather Stations across India and with the data gathered from these AWS', we help the farmer make informed decisions. For example, advisories combining market and climate information is provided to farmers on their mobile phones. This information enables farmers in making better-informed decisions.

 

 

On the other hand, data collected from farmers can be aggregated and analysed, to inform adaptation planning across landscapes and regions. The data collected from the farmers is saved and used for implementing Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning on top it so that farmers pan India can benefit from it.

 

USAID & Skymet have a unique partnership in India, farmers are using a heady mix of data, math, hardware and software, sensors and analysis to go beyond what the eye can see. Digital agriculture thus provides an opportunity to drive systemic change in the sector. We have reached out to small and marginalized farmers across 9 states and 31 districts in India. These farmers in the hinterland had no way of knowing what advances other farmers have witnessed across the globe. Skymet has touching lives and helping in making a change.