S Sivakumar, Group Head (Agri and IT businesses) of ITC Limited
When you buy a car at a showroom, you get end-to-end solutions – from getting the best price for your old car to securing a new loan and insurance cover, all under one roof. This hassle-free, seamless experience makes it so convenient to own a car. But a farmer doesn’t have this luxury. They have to run from pillar to post to access a variety of services – from accessing credit to agricultural inputs.
They are at a disadvantage, often buying inputs at retail prices at the end of a long chain and selling their produce at wholesale prices at the beginning of a long chain. Digital technology can link up all these different players and activities,” S Sivakumar, Group Head (Agri and IT businesses) of ITC Limited, has said.
Digital as the connector
“Digital makes it possible to bring suppliers, users, producers, and consumers together seamlessly, integrating different industries and activities to create a continuum for the farmer, contributing to both productivity and sustainability objectives,” he said.
Addressing the valedictory of a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conference on ‘Digital agriculture for enhancing productivity and sustainability’ on Tuesday evening, he said that the conventional agricultural extension services (advisory on crops, fertilisers and pesticides) were generic.
A call for personalisation
“A one-size-fits all approach isn’t effective. Farmers are asking for the right practice, and not the best practice, based on their specific context – their cash flow, labour availability, risk capacity, marketing linkages. What is considered ‘best practice’ might not be the ideal practice for an individual farmer,” he said.
Likening the customised search results that one gets on Google based one’s past searches and location, he said digital technologies can address this challenge by providing the personalised advisory.
“It’s not physically possible for extension workers, lead farmers, or scientists to be with every farmer who needs to know. Digital platforms can bridge this gap and deliver personalised insights,” he said.
Digital technologies, specifically artificial intelligence, can help improve the probability and accuracy of climate forecasts regarding parameters like temperature ranges, rainfall extent, wind flow, potential hailstorms, or sudden bursts of rain.
“Better forecasting, even within a range, helps move farmers from helplessness to hope and is an integral part of resilience building,” he said.
Boosting research through digital tools
Digital solutions can also enhance agricultural research output. They can help create resilient seed varieties and better agronomic practices.
“For instance, understanding and engineering root architecture to improve climate resilience, which conventionally required intensive methods, can be enhanced with digital tools like new imaging equipment and methods for reorganising research,” he said.
Published on April 30, 2025
