NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

??We propose to collect data from 25 Agromet centres, under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) present across the country and 83 centres of NCMRWF and link them to the Virtual Academy for Semi-Arid Tropics (VASAT) of ICRISAT, krishi channels and Crop Weather Watch group. The first pilot project is expected to come up soon at Mehboobnagar district in Andhra Pradesh state, ?? Dr Ramakrishna said.

The information needs of the farmer include some general information like weather, crop demand-supply information, market prices, credit-related information; pre-sowing information like best practices in soil and tillage, choice of crops, source of seed materials, time to sowing; crop production and protection measures from pests, adverse weather conditions and post-harvest practices like time to harvest, storage facilities, current pricing and offtake at local markets.

Interestingly, the benefit ratio for the farmers after using these agromet services is surprising. On an average, a farmer is able to save about Rs 4,000-10,000 as the awareness on weather, crop protection, sowing and harvest time are well-calculated, he said.
Story found here.