Vodafone India Foundation, the CSR arm of Vi, has announced that they have deployed a Smart Agri (Smart Agriculture) pilot that aims to improve the productivity of Indian farmers. 

 

The pilot project is being implemented in 100 locations in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and will benefit over 50,000 farmers in the region by enhancing their productivity and income. 

 

The smart agriculture-as-a-service solution utilizes Nokia’s Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) solution, will ensure that precise and practical data is sent to farmers enabling them to enhance productivity. The unique CSR initiative will be showcased at Vi booth (Hall #3) at India Mobile Congress 2020 from 8-10 December.

 

Over 400 sensors have been deployed over 100,000 hectares of farmland to collect various data points which are then analysed by a cloud-based and localized Smart Agriculture app. The app provides local language support as well as weather forecast and irrigation management information. The sensors generate insights that help to improve soy and cotton crop yields. 

 

Crop management through WING can include smart irrigation, smart pesticide control, proactive information sharing frameworks on crops and weather, as well as a platform for commodity exchange. The use case can also employ Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) technology or drones instead of traditional sensors for crop management.

 

P. Balaji, Chief Regulatory & Corporate Affairs Officer, Vodafone Idea said, “Our SmartAgri project is unique as it brings an entire ecosystem of stakeholders such as Nokia for its innovative technology, Solidaridad for project management, and also green experts and researchers from University - all under one roof, to positively impact the lives of farmers in India.”

 

Ankur Bhan, Head of Nokia WING Business at Nokia said, “Our mission for WING is to shape the future of agriculture and other industries, to create a smarter and more connected world. 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.”