NEW DELHI: Indian farmers will soon start receiving personalized alerts on weather, soil health, crop growth and risks such as pest attacks or hailstorms as the agriculture ministry plans to roll out a new advisory feature on a geospatial platform — Krishi Decision Support System (Krishi-DSS) — to provide real-time data-based recommendations, two people with knowledge of the matter told Mint.
The module will use advanced analytics to integrate field-level data with predictive insights, helping farmers make informed decisions, improve yields and reduce losses, they said.
Alerts will be sent through SMS and voice calls in local languages, making them accessible even to farmers with basic feature phones.
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Inquiries sent to the Department of Agriculture remained unanswered as of press time.
An integrated data ecosystem
Krishi-DSS is a first-of-its-kind digital geospatial platform designed for Indian agriculture. It collects satellite imagery, weather data, groundwater and reservoir levels, and soil condition information on one dashboard.
“There are 16 modules in Krishi-DSS. Of these, 13 are already operational and we hope to launch the remaining three – agriculture and forestry and horticulture modules, farm advisory module and custom scripting environment – soon,” said a senior official from the agriculture department.
“Among the three, the farmer advisory module is very important as farmers will get customized alerts,” the official added.
Data-driven precision agriculture
One of the existing tools, the Crop Mapping and Monitoring Module, helps the government analyze crop patterns by studying plot-level crop maps over the years. This enables a better understanding of crop rotation practices and promotes sustainable agriculture.
Similarly, the Drought Watch module tracks indicators such as soil moisture, crop condition and drought in real time, while the Crop Weather Watch module informs officials about weather impacts, crop status and crop residue burning.
Farmers also have access to detailed soil data – including soil type, pH and health indicators – to plan crop suitability and take water conservation measures.
According to the second official, the idea is to provide farmers with a holistic solution and also use available information for policy formulation.
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“By integrating various data sources into Krishi-DSS, several farmer-centric solutions such as one-to-one guidance and early warning of pest attacks, heavy rains or hailstorms can be developed,” said a second official.
“It will also help the government understand crop patterns by analyzing plot-level crop maps in different years,” the official added.
However, the success of the initiative will depend on its availability and applicability to farmers.
“This is a laudable initiative by the agriculture department; however, implementation will depend on its user-friendliness,” said Puneet Singh Thind, a farmer from Ambala, Haryana.
Mobile connectivity in rural India continues to improve. As of September 30, the rural mobile phone density was 59% with 530.27 million subscribers across the country.
Cross-agency collaboration
Krishi-DSS combines data from multiple departments. The Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) provides satellite imagery and geospatial data on soil moisture and floods, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) supplies weather forecasts, the Soil and Land Use Survey of India (SLUSI) monitors soil conditions, and the Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors water resources for irrigation. International remote sensing inputs complement real-time information on crop health and environmental conditions.
Together, these datasets enable precision agriculture, risk management and sustainable practices across agro-climatic zones.
Farmers also need market-related information to guide crop planning, experts say.
“There are many apps for farmers and the field is very competitive. But farmers continue to struggle with marketing their produce. They need a market research app that can forecast crop prices three to four months in advance,” said Ajay Vir Jakhar, Chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj.
The existing digital ecosystem
India already has several digital initiatives aimed at farmers that provide information on weather and agriculture. About 1.8 million farmers have downloaded IMD’s weather apps like Mausam, Meghdoot and Damini, according to government data.
While IMD apps offer general weather information and agro-advisory – Mausam provides comprehensive meteorological services, Meghdoot provides regional advisories in local languages and Damini focuses on lightning warnings – Krishi-DSS will go a step further by providing customized, location-specific advisories based on real-time data on soil health, crop conditions and potential hazards such as pests or hail.
In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture runs the Kisan Suvidha mobile application, which provides information to farmers on weather forecasts, crop insurance, soil condition cards and government schemes. According to an agriculture official, the app currently has around one million users.
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Private players have also joined the ecosystem. Mahindra & Mahindra, for example, runs Mera Swaraj and mPragati apps for its customers, which offer tractor service scheduling, dealer ratings and product information. Its Krish-e Farming Services platform provides comprehensive app-based agronomic and advisory support, including easy access to nearby mandi prices.
