IIT Roorkee organized a regional farmers' awareness programme as part of the Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS) project and as part of the 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' series. Farmers from the districts of Haridwar, Dehradun, and Pauri Garhwal took part in the programme.
About KISAN App:
Farmers and other stakeholders were made aware of the Agromet Advisory Services offered jointly by the AMFU Roorkee and the India Meteorological Department (IMD). 'KISAN,' a mobile app, has been launched to provide farmers with easy access to these services via their mobile phones.
Dr. K K Singh, Additional Director General Meteorology, IMD, New Delhi, informed that the AMFU Roorkee regularly provides farmers with block-level weather forecasts and weather-based Agromet Advisory Bulletins for all six blocks of Haridwar district. Farmers can now easily access these bulletins on their phones via the 'Kisan' App.
He explained that the 'KISAN' App has a unique feature in that the weather forecast and advisory bulletins are only displayed for the farmer's selected block. Dr. Singh went on to say that farmers can provide feedback on these bulletins, which will help to improve the bulletin's quality based on farmers' needs.
Under the supervision of Dr. C S Jha, Outstanding Scientist and Chief General Manager at RRSC, NRSC, ISRO, Hyderabad, Dr. Khushboo Mirza, Senior Scientist, Regional Remote Sensing Centre (RRSC), National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), New Delhi, developed the 'KISAN' app.
Dr. Mirza stated that the App will be updated on a regular basis based on the needs of the users in order to meet the needs of the region's farmers. She used a PowerPoint presentation to demonstrate the operation of the 'KISAN' App.
"IIT Roorkee is actively involved in working with farmers for the adoption of better agricultural practices by using the benefits of modern technology," said Prof. A K Chaturvedi, Director of IIT Roorkee. “This is a small step toward assisting farmers in using the most up-to-date technologies to reduce the risk component of agriculture."
"Most farmers nowadays have smart mobile phones, so the mobile App is a better option for the dissemination of Agrometeorological Advisory Services," said Dr. C S Jha, Outstanding Scientist and Chief General Manager, RRSC, NRSC, ISRO, Hyderabad. In this sense, the 'Kisan' mobile app can meet farmers' meteorological needs.
A video prepared by AMFU Roorkee that describes the GKMS project in detail has also been launched in the programme. This video is available in Hindi and English on the project's YouTube channel and website. In addition, the dignitaries released a booklet in Hindi titled 'Agrometeorological Advisory Services for Cereal Crops, Horticultural Crops, and Livestock' during the inaugural session.
