Information Technology in Indian Agriculture: An Approach towards Developments and Perspectives

Information Technology (IT) plays an important role in Indian agriculture. IT can be defined as the use of information to enable or improve products or processes. This chapter examines various applications of information technology in agriculture and speculates on future prospects. Precision farming is a farm management system to use the crop inputs like fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation water in precise amounts to improve crop yield and quality without polluting the environment. Support and information systems can be developed to explore efficient cropping patterns to increase production per land unit and decrease the amount of waste, e.g., by not applying more nutrients than required by the crops. Climatic and flood forecast applications can be designed to deal with disasters in agriculture. Weather forecast information available at the right time can be highly beneficial for accessing disaster risks and preparing a risk management plan. India’s food production and productivity may be increased by the effective use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Several mobile-based projects have been launched to provide farmers with information and knowledge services around the clock. Many government and public organizations have been providing services to farmers and cooperative societies to use satellite- based remote sensing data. e-Learning plays a pivotal role in the extension component of agriculture to impart training regarding new advances in IT. Online discussions using chat facilities may be encouraged to resolve issues over the Internet. Critical decisions involving policy issues can be made in real time by utilising tools such as video conferencing. The objectives of this study are to describe various developments in IT in the context of Indian agriculture and propose the path forward.