In Andhra Pradesh, India, we provide actionable weather forecasts - weekly, village-level forecasts paired with specific advisories for groundnut farmers, especially critical for farmers in dryland areas. Although some farmers were receiving SMS-based weather forecasts, they typically didn’t know what the forecasts meant for their crops, or what action they should take in their fields. High listen and call-back rates show strong demand, and we’re exploring offering similar services in other geographies.
This is an Android app developed by Digital Green for farmers to capture, analyse and control their financial data and manage their farming and household expenses better. This first-of-its-kind personal utility app made specifically for farmers provides a free, safe and secure service in 4 languages. The app provides crop and time-based profit/loss analysis. It has seen over 1800 installations.
A video-based mobile courseware developed keeping in mind the training needs of frontline workers is made available in 6 languages. The android app developed by Microsoft Research hosts content related to agriculture and nutrition with quizzes to help keep track of the learning curve.
To improve income gains from production gains, smallholder farmers need to sell their produce as efficiently as possible, for the best possible price, without having to take time away from farming or their families. To make this possible Digital Green piloted a mobile app based logistics service to sell farmer’s fresh produce in Bihar and Bangladesh.
Digital Green complements its video approach of disseminating information by integrating other technology channels to its program. One of them is Interactive Voice Response (IVR). IVR helps establish direct contact with our beneficiaries who can now be reached anytime, anywhere, in a cost effective manner using even a feature phone.
Our app-based logistics service for farmers called Loop, explores potential models for farm to market linkages that can be made sustainable, with farmers willing to pay for the increased convenience and better prices. It is currently being spun off as an independent social enterprise.
Digital Green has historically focused on physically visiting and observing practices adopted by farmers. We are running a feasibility study which will test whether satellite-based yield estimations are a viable tool for assessing yield, by validating it against our in-person verifications in partnership with Stanford University’s Dr. David Lobell.
VideoKheti is a responsive web application that provides access to our video library through an easy-to-navigate interface for low-literate farmers and extension workers on any device. The navigational layer uses graphics, audio, and touch interaction to make simple choices in crop, crop phase and activity to reach the desired video.
Farmerbook is an open-access platform that displays detailed timeline-based activities of farmers we have worked with, along with villages plotted on Google Maps. The application stimulates healthy competition among partners, village facilitators, and community members through the sharing of performance data and community feedback.
Our Facebook game, WonderVillage, allows external audiences to learn about and engage in issues related to rural development. Players set up a simulated village economy. Placed in a resource-constrained setting, players pursue quests like setting up small farms of paddy and maize and supplying raw materials to farmers' markets.
Our technology-enabled approach has reached over 2.3 million of the world’s poorest people. And we’re just getting started.