Mains Practice Questions

Introduction

Agriculture 4.0 represents the fourth major revolution in agricultural practices. It integrates cutting-edge technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, and precision farming techniques into traditional agricultural practices.

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Potential Role in Ensuring Food Security in India:

• Increasing Crop Yields: A study by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences suggests that widespread adoption of precision farming techniques could increase India's food grain production by 10-15%.
  • The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has developed PUSA-KRISHI, an Android app that provides farm-level advisories based on weather forecasts and soil health data.
• Reducing Post-Harvest Losses: IoT-enabled supply chain management and blockchain technology can minimize post-harvest losses, which currently account for 40% of India's agricultural produce.
  • The eNAM (Electronic National Agriculture Market) platform, which leverages digital technology to connect farmers with buyers across the country.
• Climate Resilience: AI-powered predictive models can help farmers adapt to changing climate patterns, ensuring consistent food production despite environmental challenges.
  • The CRIDA's 'Meghdoot' app provides location, crop, and livestock-specific weather-based agro-advisories.
• Resource Efficiency: Smart irrigation systems and precision application of inputs can conserve water and reduce chemical usage, ensuring sustainable food production.
  • The Tamil Nadu Precision Farming Project demonstrated water savings of 40-50%.
  • The India agricultural robots market is estimated to project a CAGR of 20.99% and is set to register a revenue of USD 555.22 million by 2028.
• Improving Nutritional Security: Vertical farming can produce up to 10 times more crop yield per unit area compared to traditional farming methods.
  • In Mumbai, Kheyti's "greenhouse-in-a-box" technology has helped small farmers increase yields by 50-60% while using 80-90% less water.

Challenges and Way Forward:

Despite its potential, the implementation of Agriculture 4.0 in India faces challenges such as limited digital infrastructure, small landholdings, and low digital literacy among farmers. Addressing these challenges requires:

• Public-private partnerships to improve rural digital infrastructure
• Promoting Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) for collective adoption of technologies
• Customized financial products and digital literacy programs for farmers
• Standardization of agricultural data and creation of open data platforms
• Integrating Agriculture 4.0 concepts into agricultural education and extension services

Conclusion

Agriculture 4.0 presents a transformative opportunity for India to address its food security challenges. However, realizing this potential requires a concerted effort from government, private sector, and farming communities to overcome existing barriers and create an enabling ecosystem for the widespread adoption of smart farming practices.