Agriculture will achieve new heights in India as a result of digitalization.

The entire globe is transitioning to digital, and India is following suit. Many Indian industries, like as banking, education, commerce, tickets and will payments, have gone completely digital. The agricultural industry is gradually spreading its feet in this series. While the government is contributing to the digitization of the agriculture sector, numerous private sector companies are also interested.

In general, agriculture in India is conducted in the same old conventional manner that has been practised for millennia. Although technology has brought revolutionary improvements to the agriculture industry in recent decades and while these innovations have helped certain farmers, they have not benefited farmers on a broad scale. The main reason for this is a lack of awareness of these practises among farmers in remote rural areas. Agriculture digitization could be a crucial step in overcoming this lack of understanding.

India is the world's second-largest internet user country.
After China, India has the world's second-largest internet user population. In India, 56 crore people utilise the Internet, according to statistics. However, let us point out that while the majority of the 56 crore Indian Internet users are urban consumers, a sizable portion of the rural population is gradually becoming digital by connecting to the Internet. The majority of farmers are from these rural areas, and the data above show that they are now using the internet as well. Farmers access to the internet could be highly helpful in making Indian traditional agriculture digital and technology-oriented.

What is agriculture digitization?
The goal of digitalization or digitization is to eliminate the use of paper in any process and to ensure that everything reaches consumers electronically. However, if we're talking about agriculture digitization, you might argue that paper isn't utilised in agriculture at all. You are, nevertheless, correct! Not only does digitization provide paperless systems, but it also makes other services more available to customers. Farmers are provided with all forms of agriculture related information at one click, as well as sophisticated types of agricultural related goods such as fertilisers, seeds and medications in remote rural locations, among other services relevant to the agriculture sector.

Why is 'Digital Agriculture' so important in India?
India has always been an agricultural country, but the pace of technological advancement in the agriculture sector has been slow in comparison to other large countries around the world, preventing us from becoming a major agricultural force. We all know that India has the world's second biggest population, making it extremely tough to contact every farmer and educate them about technology. The 'digitization of agriculture' can help us address this problem. Almost every second Indian now owns a smartphone, which allows him to access a wealth of information in real time. Farmers will benefit from the same facility as a result of agriculture's digitalization, and they will remain informed of global technology.

Agriculture-friendly digital media
Farmers can now use social media sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and a variety of other mediums to solve a variety of agricultural problems, learn new agricultural processes and stay informed about agricultural experiments taking place around the world thanks to the digitalization of agriculture. Not only are social media sites being developed, but smartphone apps are also being developed with agriculture and farmers in mind, which are directly assisting in agriculture improvement. The use of digital media for agricultural activity is rising, including agricultural portals, websites, mobile apps, digital instruments and television channels.

Going digital in agriculture has advantages for farmers.

1. Farmers should have easy access to knowledge about new technologies for planting, sowing, and other agricultural activities.
2. Farmers should be informed about crucial agro-climatic information, such as suitable weather for farming.
3. To provide data on all forms of agricultural demand and supply. Farmers can use this data to focus their efforts on crops that have a high demand but limited supply.
4. To offer farmers with correct information on soil treatment, seed treatment, fertiliser management and other aspects of crop production from planting to harvesting.
5. Farmers also receive precise information on the rate at which their crops should be sold after harvesting.
6. Apart from that, many farmers who are unable to read can benefit from these mediums by viewing and listening to videos that contain all of the above-mentioned farming information.

Apps for Digital Agriculture
Many mobile apps have also been developed to assist farmers in digitising Indian agriculture, allowing them to access all forms of agricultural information with a single click. Learn about some of these mobile apps.

Kisan Suvidha App
The 'Kisan Suvidha App,' as the name suggests, was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, with the goal of improving farmer convenience. This allows all types of agricultural information to reach the farmers. This includes information on the weather prediction for the current and next five days, as well as market prices for agricultural-related commodities such as fertilisers, seeds, machinery, crops and so on in the nearest city.

Fasal Beema App
The Fasal Beema App assists farmers in calculating the correct insurance premium for designated crops under the Prime Minister's Fasal Bima Yojana. This app also provides information on general insurance amounts and extended sums insured, as well as premium information and subsidies for notified crops in notified areas.

BookMyCrop App
BookMyCrop is an agriculture app in India that shows real market prices for farmers and buyers. It's an innovative Agritech platform that links farmers and their customers. Buyers can choose their location with relation to the crop and the farmer they want to contact. This allows buyers to better comprehend the location, crop availability, quantity, land size and harvesting date in order to make the best possible purchasing selection. Among other things, this will save petroleum, extend the shelf life of food, increase farmer income and minimise transportation food miles, time, cost and crop rates!

IFFCO Kisan App
Farmers benefit from the IFFCO kisan app because it provides key agricultural information such as weather forecasts, current market circumstances, fresh agricultural advice, accurate market pricing information, agriculture expert advice and solutions and crop production related information. Apart from that, through phone discussions and agricultural news, this app stimulates connection among farmers.