Bengal plans App-based harvesting to make agri easier, faster & economical

Kolkata: The state government is considering the launch of App-based harvesting services to make agricultural work easier, faster and more economically viable for farmers. The initiative is significant at a time when the younger generation is showing diminishing interest in farming, even though vast tracts of agricultural land remain available across rural Bengal.

Experts warn that if agricultural activities decline further, the state could face a disruption in its future food supply chain.

“The future lies in the mechanisation of agriculture, and co-operatives can play a major role in it. The land will belong to the farmer, but the harvester machine will be operated by experts. The farmer will only inform about his requirement through the App, and the harvester will reach out to his land and do the needful. The model will be similar to that of Ola or Uber model,” said Pradip Majumder, state Co-Operation minister.

In 2019, the state government struggled to rope in a single harvester operator in an exhibition held during the Mati Utsav. However, things have changed rapidly over the years, and presently there are 4,500 harvesters operating in the state.

The farmer will only have to provide the mouza, the daag number and the area of land and the App system will search the person associated with operating of harvester at his nearest location.

The harvester will also get a notification from the farmer’s search. “This will not only save time but travel cost,” said an official of the state Agriculture department.

Majumder said that the convergence of the Cooperation and the Agriculture department will be necessary for making this initiative a reality.

“We are successfully executing a number of projects in the state through the convergence of different departments. So, we are hopeful of developing such an App and contributing to the socio-economic development in the state,” he added.

The state in the last few years has made significant progress in poultry and maize production, and farm mechanisation is also yielding good results. Hence development of an app through the convergence of cooperatives will further augment development in these sectors.