Fishermen will now get farming advice through mKrishi mobile app

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), A government agency under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has launched a new mobile app -mKrishi to guide fishermen with their farming activities.

This app will provide an easy tool for book keeping, advisory services and weather information. It will also help in resolving to farmer’s issues quickly on a more personalized approach. This is pilot project running in Gujarat and will be extended all over India soon.

It is an Android mobile application which has been developed by MPEDA and TCS Innovation Lab, Mumbai (as part of its CSR initiative). Farmer will require an android mobile handset (post 2013 models) with a data/GPRS connection (2G, 3G or WiFi).

Aquaculture of shrimp is a complex set of activities wherein huge amount of data is to be captured, analyzed and decisions are to be taken on a dynamic basis. Currently farmers are keeping the records in manual form on a sheet of paper which may not provide them with on growth and trend of the aquaculture operations.

By entering the basic information regarding his farming activities in the app, the farmer will get expert guidance for all operations to make the operations both economical and profitable. The reports can be seen in the graphical format. An option to view the trends or reports in the computer is also provided to give seamless data entry and visualization.

MPEDA is also providing price related market information of Vannamei shrimp and BT shrimp to farmers over SMS. Giving a missed call to a predetermined number, farmers will get information on price of Vannamei shrimp and BT shrimp for different grades in major markets like Japan, USA and EU through SMS.

Farmers can also dial +918590100800 for getting price information on Vannamei shrimp and call  +918590200800 for getting price information on BT shrimp.

The price information to farmers will provide them the current market trends enabling them to make an informed decision on harvest of their produce. The service is provided free of cost to farmers.