Bareilly
Noida-based agritech company Leads Connect Services launched the Seamless Digital Implementation & Ground Monitoring Platform for Delivering End-to-End AgriTech Analytics Services to Farmers (SIGMAA) pilot study here in Uttar Pradesh (UP) for the benefit of the farmers. The SIGMAA study aims to identify and develop regions for high-value and high-quality crops such as Basmati rice, wheat and mustard. An additional objective is to double the farmers' income using sustainable farm practices and technological interventions. The study will be conducted for four seasons, starting from Kharif 2022–23 (June 2022) and ending in Rabi 2023-2024 (April 2024).
The study was launched in the Tulia village by Santosh Gangwar, Member of Parliament (MP). The farmers of Tulia and Jogither villages were advised on the usage of sustainable farm practices and technological interventions. A demonstration of Kisan Drones and fertilizer sprays was also conducted to make the farmers aware of the usage.
Leads Connect chose Bareilly to conduct the pilot study for its potential to be a market linkage hub as the city is not only in proximity to the commercial nodal centres of India but also a thriving urban cluster itself, an indispensable requirement for building a sustainable value chain.
For the pilot study, 150 farmers will be onboarded from these two villages of Bareilly, using a field app and platform. After calculating the Agricultural Credit Score (ACS) for each farm and farmer, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides will be distributed based on expert advisory. The study would also utilize a technology-based crop suitability analysis report to determine the best crop for the region.
During the crop cycle, real-time monitoring will be conducted in situ and through the one-stop digital platform. Satellite and IOT/UAV will be leveraged for continuous data collection. The learnings from the study will be used to develop and implement models across Uttar Pradesh.
The launch also saw the presence of top executives of Leads Connect Services - Ghanshyam Khandelwal, Navneet Ravikar, Richa Khandelwal, Yogesh Kumar Singh, Syed Irshad Haider, Puneet Pandey, Deepak Srivastava, Dr Alok B Mukherjee and Nitesh Awasthi.
Ravikar, CMD, Leads Connect, said, “The organization is looking forward to SIGMAA because of its ground-level impact. The study will be able to give farmers crucial information about which crop and its variety are most suitable for sowing with just a click. Furthermore, they’ll have access to real-time agronomic intelligence, forecasting and support throughout the crop cycle to drastically improve yield.”
“We’re even giving Drone Analytics as a Service (DraaS) to farmers to assess crop health, fertilizer/pesticide spraying, and crop loss. The pilot also solves one of the hardest challenges for farmers: market linkages. LeadsConnect will lend them the appropriate support to sell their produce at fair and profitable prices,” Ravikar added.
Chief guest Gangwar said, “Technology and data when used right can help improve revenue for farmers, provide better value to the consumers and also reduce food wastage. I would like to congratulate the entire team of LeadsConnect Services for creating such a technologically advanced system that can help improve agri processes and help farmers achieve the highest potential for their produce.”
“Technological interventions and studies like SIGMAA can help all market stakeholders with the right data to ensure efficiency in their processes. Such a platform does not only benefit the farmer with insights essential to farming but also provides stakeholders, risk managers and decision-makers with the right data crucial for efficient planning and policy making,” said Ghanshyam Khandelwal, Director and Mentor, Leads Connect.