Nokia and Vi CSR deploy SmartAgri solution to enhance productivity of 50,000 farmers in India

Nokia and Vodafone India Foundation, the CSR arm of Vi, have today announced that they have deployed a Smart Agriculture solution that aims to improve the productivity of farmers in India. The pilot project is being implemented in 100 locations in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and will benefit over 50,000 farmers in the region by enhancing their productivity and income. The smart agriculture-as-a-service solution, which utilizes Nokia’s Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) solution, will ensure that precise and practical data is sent to farmers enabling them to enhance productivity. The unique CSR initiative will be showcased at Vi booth (Hall #3) at India Mobile Congress 2020 from 8-10 December.

Over 400 sensors have been deployed over 100,000 hectares of farmland to collect various data points which are then analysed by a cloud-based and localized Smart Agriculture app. The app provides local language support as well as weather forecast and irrigation management information. The sensors generate insights that helps to improve soy and cotton crop yields. Crop management through WING can include smart irrigation, smart pesticide control, proactive information sharing frameworks on crops and weather, as well as a platform for commodity exchange. The use case can also employ Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) technology or drones instead of traditional sensors for crop management.

Smart Agriculture is a leading use case that India is exploring in the 5G era. The complete end-to-end solution from Nokia WING is supported by deep domain expertise and an agriculture partner eco-system. Combined, it will help Vi CSR improve agricultural practices by introducing IoT-based solutions.

P. Balaji, Chief Regulatory & Corporate Affairs Officer, Vodafone Idea Limited said “Vi CSR is committed to leveraging technology strengths to create social impact through sustainable solutions. Smart crop management using Smart IoT and AI based solutions is transforming the prevalent agricultural practices into more ‘intelligent’ ones enabling farmers with smart decision making and helping them improve production and crop quality through better utilization of resources. Our SmartAgri project is unique as it brings an entire ecosystem of stakeholders such as Nokia for its innovative technology, Solidaridad for project management, and also green experts and researchers from University – all under one roof, to positively impact the lives of farmers in India.”

Ankur Bhan, Head of Nokia WING Business at Nokia, said : “Our mission for WING is to shape the future of agriculture and other industries, to create a smarter and more connected world. Together with the Vodafone Foundation, our managed service offering will help an initial 50,000 farmers and their families, with the aim of rolling out the solution across India.”

Michele Mackenzie, Principal Analyst, IoT and M2M Services at Analysys Mason, said: “We see a growing demand for new technologies that increase productivity and yields in the agricultural sector, while mitigating the impacts of climate change. Farmers and producers require end to end solutions and seek flexible business models so that they can focus on their core business. The cooperation between Nokia WING and Vodafone Idea is an innovative example for rebalancing the needs of the society and the environment by introducing sustainable farming practices in India.”

Nokia is committed to driving technology innovations that play a key role in achieving a more sustainable planet. Last year, they delivered zero-emission products to over 150 customers worldwide and committed to decreasing emissions from its operations by 41 percent by 2030. Nokia is also helping to Connect the Unconnected*. For example, in Brazil, Nokia is helping to bring connectivity to some of the 93 percent of Brazilian farmers who currently have no access to broadband services on their farms, while in Kenya, Nokia will upgrade the fiber network to provide higher capacity for expanded broadband services in East Africa.
CT Bureau