During the prevalent pan-India lockdown, farmers, who were looking for answers on their queries and other agriculture-related information, will get all the essential information without going to the nearest Krishi Vigyan Kendra. The farmers will get connected to expert scientists of various disciplines related to agriculture over WhatsApp as they will tell give answers to their queries. Agricultural scientists will suggest ways to diagnose problems over WhatsApp. This will be an interactive communication as farmers will ask their queries on WhatsApp contact numbers of agricultural scientists and the scientists will be available online 24X7 to help solve their problems.
Dr. Sunita Kushwaha, the Project Coordinator of Krishi Vigyan Kendra - Khodavandpur, said, “There is a lockdown situation across the country to save lives from the rising outbreak of Coronavirus. In such a situation, farmers can harvest the crop in their fields by maintaining social distancing and covering their mouths with face masks to prevent infection. Cleanliness is very important here. In such a situation, farmers need not wander somewhere to find answers to their problems.” You can also receive all the information connecting with the agricultural scientists listed in Krishi Vigyan Kendra over call or WhatsApp, added Dr. Kushwaha.
Role of Social Media Platforms like WhatsApp in Agriculture World
Social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp could be a boon to the agriculture sector in many ways. Being one of the cheapest ways to share information, there are many agro information-based WhatsApp groups all across India that are helping farmers in obtaining information about the latest happenings in the field of agriculture. These groups consist of a broad range – from crop health to seed availability, soil health, animal health, feed quality, fodder, fertilizers and pesticides, bank loans, development schemes, and so forth.
It’s high time for farmers in India to be aggressively involved in the interaction on WhatsApp, now more than ever. There is a prevalent pandemic across the world, which is ruining lives, every minute. Feeding the needy amid the lockdown situation is of utmost importance and that’s where the role of agriculture comes into play. Being modern and progressive farmers in today’s time, connecting agricultural experts via WhatsApp could help transform the agriculture sector in India like never before.
