Agricultural Science Digest

Agricultural Mobile Apps used in India: Current Status and Gap Analysis

DOI: 10.18805/ag.D-5140    | Article Id: D-5140 | Page : 1-12
Citation :- Agricultural Mobile Apps used in India: Current Status and Gap Analysis.Agricultural Science Digest.2021.(41):1-12
A. Balkrishna, J. Sharma, H. Sharma, S. Mishra, S. Singh, S. Verma, V. Arya vedpriya.arya@prft.co.in
Address : Patanjali Herbal Research Department, Patanjali Research Institute, Haridwar-249 405, Uttarakhand, India.
Submitted Date : 27-01-2020
Accepted Date : 29-05-2020
First Online:

Abstract

Background: Agriculture plays a significant role in economic and social development in India. With the rapid development of Information and Communication Technologies, information and data can be effectively generated, stored and used by farmers to improve agricultural productivity. For this, smart farming technologies using mobile applications (apps) that help reduce costs, maximize yields and increase profits are being employed. Here, we present an overview of several mobile apps available for traceability in agricultural sectors, discuss their features, functions and how they are lacking in some domains.
Methods: In this study during Aug 2019-Sep 2019, several online databases were used for the survey according to the guidelines for Transparent Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. 73 agriculture mobile apps were selected based upon the hits using keywords like “mobile apps, agriculture mobile app, animal husbandry, etc. and with the inclusion criteria of a good review and proper up to date information. These apps were found to be used in different agriculture allied sectors in India.
Result: Among these 73 mobile apps used by Indian farmers in various agricultural sectors viz. farm management, fisheries, poultry, livestock and animal husbandry, food traceability and pure agriculture sectors; the respective availability percentage of apps were 12, 14, 14, 23, 23 and 14%. These apps are discussed here in detail along with their gap analysis and a new traceability mechanism has been proposed as well. 

Keywords

Agricultural traceability Farmers Information and communication technologies Mobile apps Smart farming technologies Sustainable agriculture.

References

  1. ABALOBI, (2019). Abalobi Fisher. ICT4 Fisheries.
  2. Agriculture Training Institute, (2019). DA strengthens connectivity with farmers thru farm app, Government of India.
  3. Agrovistaprofits, (2019). 20 best agriculture apps for Indian farming community worth downloading.
  4. Akinbobola A. (2019). Top 3 should-have android apps for poultry farmers. Livestocking. 
  5. Amrita, C.M. and Karthickumar, P. (2016). Need for mobile application in fishing. International Journal of Science, Environment and Technology. 5: 2818-2822. 
  6. APKPure, (2019). Android genieappskhetibadi. App Store, (2019). Apps. Apple Inc. 
  7. Barh, A. and Balakrishnan, M. (2018). Smart phone applications: Role in agri-information dissemination. Agricultural Reviews. 39: 82-85. 
  8. Belaker, P., Prasad, C.K., Bajantri, S., Mahantesh, M.T., Maruthi, S.T., Rudresh, G.N. (2017). Trends of mobile applications in farming. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences. 6: 2499-2512. 
  9. Bentley, J.W., Van Mele, P., Barres, N.F., Okry, F., Wanvoeke, J. (2019). Smallholders download and share videos from the Internet to learn about sustainable agriculture. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 17: 92-107.
  10. Bhaskar, G., Murthy, L., Sharma, V.P. (2017). Mobile apps empowering farmers. Extension Digest. 1: 1-40. 
  11. Claro, (2015). Top 10 apps revolutionizing Indian agriculture. Claro Energy.
  12. Cropin, (2019). Our solutions. Cropin Technology Solution Private Limited.
  13. Down To Earth, (2019). How useful really are mobile apps for farmers. 
  14. Farmers’ portal, (2019). Agriculture and horticulture. Government of India. 
  15. Finjanmobile, (2019). Mobile Geo-Tagging. 
  16. FAO, (2019). KARLO launches 14 mobile apps to transform agriculture. Food and agricultural organization of the United Nations.
  17. Food quality and safety, (2019). 6 apps for food professionals. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
  18. Foodtank, (2019). 23 Mobile apps changing the food system.
  19. FSSAI, (2017). FSSAI pushes for an enhanced consumer grievance redress system through integration with ‘Smart Consumer’ app. Government of India. 
  20. Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Award, (2015). Farm-o-pedia-A multilingual android application. Gandhian young technological innovation.
  21. Google play, (2019). Apps. Google.
  22. Government of India-Press Information Bureau, (2015). ICAR-Indian institute of soil science Bhopal develops ‘Mridaparikshak’, a minilab for soil testing. Government of India.
  23. Growing solutions, (2014). Smartphone apps for smart farmers V2. Ag Excellence Alliance Inc.
  24. Hobby farms, (2019). 5 apps to make you a better chicken keeper. EG Media Investments LLC.
  25. ICAR, (2017). Mobile apps. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, DKMA, Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
  26. ICAR-CCARI, (2019). Soil test based fertilizer recommendations. Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute. India.
  27. ICAR-NRRI, (2019). RiceXpert. National Rice Research Institute. Government of India.
  28. International Trade Centre, (2015). Traceability in food and agricultural products (bulletin no. 91). 
  29. IVRI, (2019). IVRI designed pashu prajanan (animal reproduction) android app. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.
  30. JKUAT, (2019). Top 10 mobile apps in Africa. Department of Information Technology, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
  31. Klipinterest, (2016). ,xzhdYpj ,Il ls lh[kks [ksrh&ckM+h- Allen Career Institute.
  32. KrishiJagran, (2019). 10 mobile apps for the farmers. Krishi Jagran Media Group.
  33. Linklabs, (2017). An in-depth look at IoT in agriculture and smart farming solutions. Link Labs.
  34. Livemint, (2019). How useful is the new KisanSuvidha app for farmers? 
  35. mKisan, (2019). Brief overview of the mKisan portal. Government of India.
  36. Mobile Seva Appstore, (2019). Soil testing. Government of India.
  37. Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D.G. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS Medicine. 6. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097.
  38. Opara, L.U. (2003). Traceability in agriculture and food supply chain: a review of basic concepts, technological implications and future prospects. Journal of Food Agriculture and Environment. 1: 101-106. 
  39. Panda, S., Devi, Y.L., Das, L., Mondal, S., Pradhan, K., Pal, P.K. (2019). Socio-personal determinants of farmers’ attitude towards Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Agricultural Science Digest. 39: 328-331.
  40. Plantix, (2019). Best agriculture app: The mobile crop doctor for your pocket. 
  41. Predictive Analytics Today, (2020). Top 8 livestock management software. Pat Research.
  42. Sarkariyojana, (2019). Android apps for farmers launched by Narendra Modi government. 
  43. Sharma, S., Patodkar, V., Simant, S., Shah, C., Godse, S. (2015). E-Agro android application (Integrated farming management systems for sustainable development of farmers). International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science. 3: 458-465. 
  44. Soft112 Goa, (2019). Fertilizer calculator. Softland.
  45. Soil Health Card, (2019). Soil health card mobile apps launch. DAC, Government of India.
  46. Sourcetrace, (2019). How mobile apps are helping agriculture in achieving sustainable development? Datagreen Solutions.
  47. Sunstar Philippines, (2019). Mobile apps to improve agriculture. SunStar Publishing Inc.
  48. The Hindu, (2019). Agriculture 2.0.- With drones, analytics and mobile apps, agri-tech startups are tackling India’s farming problems. THG Publishing Pvt Ltd.
  49. Trimble, (2019). Connected farm scout. Trimble, Inc.
  50. Vennila, S., Tomar, A., Bhatt, M.M., Murari, K., Yadav, S.K., Nisar, S., Mehta, N., Yadav, H.L. (2018). Android based mobile apps for improved crop protection. Bhartiya Krishi Anusandhan Patrika. 33: 301-303.
  51. Vikaspedia, (2019). Kisansuvidha App. ICT applications in Agriculture. C-DAC, Government of India.
  52. Vota, W. (2019). What are your favorite M4D interventions? ICT works.
  53. Wired.com, (2018). Food traceability-The Harvest Mark App. Condé Nast.
  54. Yu, Q., Shi, Y., Tang, H., Yang, P., Xie, A., Liu, B., Wu, W. (2017). eFarm: A tool for better observing agricultural land systems. Sensors. 17: 453. DOI: 10.3390/s17030453.
  55. Zhang, Y. and Zou, T. (2017). A review of food traceability in food supply chain. Proceedings of the International Multi Conference of Engineers and Computer Scientists. 2.

Global Footprints