PUNE: Syngenta – a leading science-based global agtech company – today announced the introduction of the Crop Doctor feature in its Cropwise Grower App, an AI-powered tool offering swift, simple and effective solutions for farmers to identify pest or disease attacks and get an instant remedy. Syngenta also completed the Drone Yatra in 13 states completing a milestone of 17,000 Km to create awareness of drone spraying among farmers.

Announcing Crop Doctor Susheel Kumar, MD, and Country Head, Syngenta India Pvt Ltd said that globally farmers are facing challenges including climate change, soil erosion, and biodiversity loss, as well as having to manage to change consumer expectations. “We work on supporting farmers by further improving the way crops are grown and protected, and work with partners to find solutions that address environmental, societal, and economic challenges. The newly added Crop Doctor feature in the Cropwise Grower App will be very helpful for the farmers,” he added.

The Cropwise Grower App, with this unique feature, assumes critical significance in view of the growing need to check crop losses as the world is going to have projected two billion more people to feed by 2050, while India will have 1.66 billion people to feed said Susheel Kumar, Managing Director, and Country Head Syngenta India Pvt Ltd.

“Using the Crop Doctor feature, all a farmer needs to do is click a photo from the Cropwise Grower app; Crop Doctor will help identify pests or diseases, and details of which Syngenta products are to be used. The App is available in 10 major languages including Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Telugu, Gujarati, Bengali, Odia, Tamil, Kannada, and English and promises to add tremendous value to farmers”, Sachin Kamra, Head, Farmer Centric Ecosystem, Syngenta India Pvt Ltd.

Adoption of productivity-boosting technologies, innovations, and enabling interventions will not only transform agriculture in a sustainable manner but will also empower farmers by helping and guiding them on how to irrigate, fertilize and apply crop protection products to their crops. “The App features 10 major crops Paddy, Tomato, Corn, Watermelon, Cotton, Soybean, Hot pepper, Sugarcane, Potato, and Sweet Corn with more crops to be added soon,” added Kamra.

Cropwise Grower App, which was launched in August this year, has received a tremendous response from farmers across the country. “Our app has been installed by more than three lakh farmers in just 75 days,” informed Kamra.

The use of the latest technology to make agriculture profitable for farmers has been Syngenta’s priority. Syngenta has extensively worked with various state governments on the demonstration of the use of drones in agriculture, especially for spraying which can help farmers save time and money. Syngenta has already received Drone-use label claims for some of the products, while other products are in the pipeline. Drone services are being expanded across India in a DAAS (Drone as a Service) model. “Currently, our commercial spray operations are live in five states – Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana,” said Kamra.

A unique Drone Yatra, which was flagged off from Syngenta India headquarters on July 15 this year, traveled to 13 Indian States, making over 15,000 farmers aware of best practices in spraying agrochemicals with the use of drones, which will save their time and cost – thus increasing income in the long run. Shri Kamal Patel, Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Minister, Shri Surya Pratap Shahi, Agriculture Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Culture joined the Drone Yatra in their respective states.

“During Syngenta Drone Yatra, over 130 demonstrations were made to farmers, with the focus on highlighting the value of drone spraying in agriculture. The Drone Yatra covered over 17,000 km across India, passing through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka and has returned to Pune today to complete the journey,” said Dr. KC Ravi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Syngenta India Pvt Ltd. As many as 10 mega events were conducted during the Yatra with excellent support from the state governments and local administrations.

“The Drone Yatra is a part of our efforts to make farming profitable and sustainable so that farmers are motivated to pursue agriculture as it is not only becoming more complex but also the return on investment is not attractive,” added Kumar.

“Our service charges are in line with what farmers invest in spraying through other mediums, but with many additional benefits like water saving of up to 90 percent as compared to manual sprays, uniform coverage and reach for the entire field crops, better residual control and reduction in the human exposure, assuring farmer and operator safety”, informed Kumar.

The post Syngenta Introduces ‘Crop Doctor’ Feature In Its Cropwise Grower App For Instant Solution For Pest And Disease Attack appeared first on NRI News.

MUMBAI: Bank of Baroda (Bank), one of India’s leading public sector banks, today announced the launch of the 5th Edition of the Baroda Kisan Pakhwada. The annual farmer engagement program commences on November 15, 2022, and concludes on November 30, 2022, with the Baroda Kisan Diwas celebrations. During the 2-week agri festival, the Bank will connect with 4.5 lakh farmers through a number of outreach events. The Bank’s network of ~5,000 semi-urban and rural branches across the country that predominantly serve the agri customer segment will actively participate in ‘Baroda Kisan Pakhwada’.

‘Baroda Kisan Pakhwada’ has been designed to help the Bank boost engagement with the farming community and create awareness about various agri products, schemes & delivery channels offered by Bank of Baroda and initiatives taken by the Government for the benefit of farmers.

Through outreach programmes such as farmer meetings, choupals, kisan melas etc, the Bank will provide detailed information about various agricultural lending products like the Baroda Kisan Credit Card, tractor loan, gold loan, financing to Self Help Groups (SHGs)/ Joint Liability Groups (JLGs), credit for agriculture allied activities etc and offers available to farmers. The Bank has also introduced digital banking services specifically for the agri segment to enable them to conveniently apply for agriculture loans. 

The event will also promote various Government agri initiatives such as lending schemes under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Package viz. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF), Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PM-FME), etc.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Sanjiv Chadha, Managing Director & CEO, of Bank of Baroda said, “As a leading public sector bank, Bank of Baroda has a strong legacy and deep roots with the Indian farming community. We connect rural and semi-urban India to mainstream banking, enabling them to scale up their agri operations with a range of lending products and banking services. ‘Baroda Kisan Pakhwada’ is a unique and truly one-of-its-kind initiative in the banking industry, an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with our agri customers and acknowledge their contribution to the nation.”

The earlier four editions of the Pakhwada received an enthusiastic response from customers and were appreciated at various levels. In 2018, the inaugural edition of the Baroda Kisan Pakhwada was acknowledged by the “Limca Book of Records” as the largest farmer engagement program of this nature in the country.

This year, the Bank is aiming to increase the reach of the event and bring more farmers into the banking fold by offering a range of products including Baroda Kisan Credit Card (BKCC), Tractor Loan, Gold Loan, Financing to SHGs/JLGs, agriculture allied activities, Farmer Producer Organisations/ Company (FPO/FPCs), Food & Agro Processing Units etc.

Bank of Baroda’s lending to the agriculture sector stands at Rs 1,14,964 crore as on September 30, 2022, recording a 14.1% year-on-year growth.

The post Bank of Baroda Inaugurates The 5th Edition Of The Baroda Kisan Pakhwada – An Annual Outreach Program For Indian Farmers appeared first on NRI News.