Study of Role and Awareness of Information Technology in Agriculture in State of Maharashtra

Abstract

Today, Agriculture is considered the most important but highly deprived sector. Most of the farming community belongs to the rural part of the country. Though the Farming domain of Agriculture sector is supported by number of Government schemes and initiatives, there are many challenges faced by farmers in order to produce a good harvest and enjoy a descent living. These challenges begin from the point of selection of the right crop, buying the required seeds and fertilizers, ensuring healthy and market ready crop, till the point of finding the right market to ascertain that the produce is sold in the market at the best price. It is difficult for a farmer to predict the climatic changes as this is the most important factor in ensuring the proper growth of the crop. Also, at any given point in time, most of the farmers are unaware about alternate crop solutions to deal with the erratic climate changes. Getting proper good quality seeds and fertilizers at reasonable rates is also a challenge. Once the crop is ready for market, selling the produce directly to the customer, or through a path least handled by middle men will require substantial hard-work from the farmers end. The method of least handling by middle-men would permit the farmers to sell their produce at a price that will be appreciated by the customer and beneficial to the farmer. To add to the challenge most of the farmers are less educated.

However, to minimize these challenges in order to help the farmers to produce profitable harvest Information Technology can be applied in a big and systematic way. The much needed role and use of Information Technology for this Agriculture sector would be done through the use of easily available technology options, without hindering the normal working of the farming community. The seamless application of Information Technology would help the less educated and to some extent technologically un-savvy Farming community to produce the needed economically beneficial crop.

The study attempts to understand the role of Information Technology in the current scenario of the Farming domain in Agriculture for the State of Maharashtra. The level of awareness amongst the farmers about the various Government schemes available for farmers in general and those through the use of Information Technology will also be studied. The research proposes to understand and analyze the barriers if any in implementation of the Information Technology schemes and how these barriers can be resolved. The research involves study of various ways and means of seamless use of Information Technology for a technology un-savvy farming community.