Vodafone Idea Foundation, the CSR (corporate social responsibility) arm of Vodafone Idea (Vi) has announced that its SmartAgri project has been expanded to more states including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Assam. The SmartAgri program was launched in 2020 and is focused on bringing together advanced technology interventions for helping farmers improve their livelihood and adopt sustainable farming methods.
SmartAgri project helps farmers leverage things such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and real-time technology solutions to get information on critical elements of farming such as air and soil quality, presence of pests and insects, and crop growth.
Farmers Receive Real-Time Data Under the SmartAgri Project
Farmers can receive localised advisories and real-time information around critical agri-inputs for their crops along with agricultural news on markets, schemes, and government policies, etc. To help the farmers understand all the information accurately, the project offers all the information to the farmers in their local language via mobile phones with audio options in case reading is a challenge.
The CSR project from Vodafone Idea Foundation was initially launched for two states – Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. But now, the company is expanding it to four more states which will empower over 2.8 lakh farmers to gain 8% to 12% higher yield and reduce costs by 15% to 20% (claimed by the company).
P Balaji, Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs officer, VIL and Director of Vodafone Idea Foundation said the SmartAgri project is transforming farming practices in India and instilling confidence in the farmers to use technology and intelligent solutions for improving productivity.
Vodafone Idea Foundation will now extend the technology interventions in farming to farmers in Uttar Pradesh (Hardoi, Lakshimpur), Rajasthan (Bundi, Kota, Tonk, Baran), Assam (Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tinsukia, Udalguri) and Telangana (Adilabad).
From the info provided by the company, farmers are going to benefit a lot because of the SmartAgri project of Vodafone Idea Foundation.
