Sustainable Agriculture
Need For Sustainable Agriculture in India
In spite of being an Agrarian economy since time immemorial, India is yet to come to terms with its share of challenges in respect of Food Security. According to the data provided by the Food and Agriculture Organisation for the year 2018, over 190 million of the population goes without food every single day. The solution to the problem lies in kindling greater awareness about modern farming technology especially among the farmers, in order to empower them to realise higher and improved yield for their efforts.
In simple terms, Sustainable Agriculture can be understood as a system of agriculture which is capable of sustaining itself for a long-term without damaging the land, people or the environment. The focus is essentially on economic viability (it must be profitable), social responsibility (it must enhance the quality of life of the farmers and their families) and ecological accountability (it must preserve the nature and its resources that support and nurture all forms of life). Over-dependence on monsoons which are irregular and uncertain, and waning agricultural land owing to increased urbanisation necessitate optimal utilisation of modern farming techniques in order that food security is restored in a nation which has been grappling with yet another challenge of over-population.
Sustainable agricultural techniques facilitate superior resource efficiency by ensuring greater agricultural yield and profitability to the farmers with comparatively lesser use of available resources i.e., land, water and energy. Availability of water for agricultural activities has been a constant challenge to farmers, traditional water-conservation techniques followed by them notwithstanding. The modern techniques of irrigation not only help in optimal usage and management of water but also enhance the sustainability of agricultural land. Treatment of seeds with enhancements facilitates absorption of water more efficiently by improving their root systems.
Thus, professional management of soil and water along with seed- treatment will ensure healthy crops and higher productivity for every single crop. Efficient water-management backed by an ingenious irrigation system could possibly be a crucial element to overcome the deficiencies in production due to over-dependence of rainwater for agricultural activities.
Fertigation — Meaning and Significance
The term Fertigation is the combination of Fertilization and Irrigation. Traditionally Fertilization and Irrigation were two distinct activities, in modern methods, both are combined into a single activity performed everyday in smaller quantities. In effect, it refers to the process of supplying fertilizers to the crops through irrigation water. As proficient water-management and sustainability become essential elements to stay in business, more and more farmers are exploring the prospects of combining the application of water and plant nutrients in their farms to realise higher yield of superior quality crops. Precise Fertigation focuses on supplying the right quantity of plant nutrients/fertilizers at the right time which will not only sustain the quality of soil but also increases productivity by enhancing the efficiency of nutrients in the soil. Healthy plants also mean higher ability to fight against pests and diseases.
To enable the farms and all stake holders to communicate in real-time efficiently, Grotron — World’s most advanced Irrigation, Fertigation and Climate Management System was envisaged, designed and developed by Farmagain — an organisation devoted to making agriculture profitable and attractive, by bringing together profound knowledge of agriculture domain and technology into a single platform. The three main systems — Grotron CropSense, Grotron WaterSense and Grotron Nutrisense provide comprehensive solutions for automated management of farms and provide real-time status of farms and crops along with their irrigation and fertigation status.
Of the aforementioned systems, Grotron WaterSense has been designed and developed with the objective of providing automated water management solution to the farmers. Grotron WaterSense controls the operation of water pumps based on real-time soil and weather parameters. It is capable of operating industry standard pumps used in agriculture. WaterSense can identify several problems such as dry run (and of course will shut down the motor), clogged pipes, broken pipes among others ensuring accurate troubleshooting, hence quicker resolution.
The main function of Grotron NutriSense is precise fertigation of crops based on cultivation method adopted and the type of crop cultivated in the farms. The system regulates the fertigation unit through farm input tanks. It has been devised to manage fertigation of crops in accordance with crop specific fertigation schedule and weather conditions. With the aid of NutriSense, fertilizer solution is evenly distributed among the crops through Drip Irrigation thereby improving crop productivity and concurrently preventing depletion of soil health which often arises due to superfluous application of fertilizers.
The concept of Micro-irrigation has become a policy priority in India as a result of recurrent droughts in the years 2012, 2015 and 2016 (National Water Policy- 2012, and Ministry of Water Resources). “Per drop more crop” is the new Mantra of the Central Government Scheme — Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana ( PMKSY or Prime Minister’s Agriculture Irrigation Programme, 2015) as the eventual shift to micro-irrigation is believed to conserve water and improve the crop yield as against the practise of conventional irrigation methods.
In accordance, the farms managed under Grotron follow Drip irrigation method to counter the challenges of growing water scarcity, soil erosion, optimal usage of available water and preventing wastage of water. A close network of pipes is used to supply irrigation water and plant nutrients in accurate quantities and at regular intervals directly to the plant roots with the help of drippers or emitters.
Besides reducing water-usage by 30–60%, Drip Irrigation method followed by Grotron regulates labour cost and promotes savings in fertilizer cost up to 30% and improves the yield by 20–60 %. As observed from the savings potential of Grotron, continuous sensing of water and crop-nutrient requirements will give an edge to the clients/farm owners over others, to monitor and manage their water resources more efficiently to achieve superior crop yield.
