E-agriculture and AGIS (Agriculture GIS) are the emerging concepts aimed at integrating different ICT

These are just some basic uses of ICT through smartphone. Other more advanced means for using ICT in agriculture include mapping through Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographical Information System (GIS), which are helpful in giving information about a whole area as required. For example, GIS mapping can be used for precision agriculture, predict the harvest based on mapping of area under a crop, control pest attacks and much more and informing situation of food security.

approaches to tackle problems related to agriculture. The role of ICT in future is boundless and beyond comprehension. As food for thought, consider use of ‘drones’ and ‘food printers’.

Drones have made inroads in the agriculture sector. Very recently, the Government of Philippine in association with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has started using unmanned aerial drones to assess where farmlands are most at-risk from natural disasters and quickly assess damages.

NETRA, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was used to track damage and marooned people in devastating Uttarakhand floods. It can bring a big change in the agriculture sector too. The application of space technology and remote sensing data taken from drones can bring a revolution in the agricultural practices. The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is already providing remote sensing data for agriculture sector. The Satellite images are going to play critical role in implementation of newly launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana of Government of India.

To make agriculture remunerative, government as well as private sector agencies need to come together to bring such kind of technological advancements. These developments can change the fate of the more than half of the population of the country dependent on agriculture and will be a major driver for economic growth.