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Our Bureau The IIL Foundation, the CSR wing of agrochemical company Insecticides (India), has tied up with Foundation for Agriculture Sustainability and Transformation (FAST) to offer extension advice over a digital platform, which uses digital avenues like WhatsApp and YouTube.
The Digital Reach platform provides weather and pest infestation information regularly through a WhatsApp window. Besides, it will provide suggestions based on the information.
“The platform is up for use by Telugu-speaking farmers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Karnataka,” an IIL Foundation spokesperson said. The WhatsApp group includes agricultural officers, input dealers, input company’s representatives, non-governmental organisations, farmer producer companies and farmers.
It also disseminates a fortnightly e-Agri newsletter, a package of farm practices. The beneficiaries can also access YouTube Live programmes on key crops such as cotton, rice, chilli and mango.
“Covid-19 has forced us to suspend physical extension activities. We have collaborated with FAST to reach out the farmers in a digital way and share the latest advice to farmers based on the current situation,” VK Garg, Vice-President for southern region of Insecticides (India) Limited.
“Our maiden step in reaching farmers digitally in these unprecedented pandemic situation was received well and paved the way for transformational changes in farming,” P Ramachandra Murthy, President FAST, said.
The Digital Reach project ropes in representatives of government, industry and other stakeholders.
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