PRDIS-RMSI Project

Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management to support and create Livelihoods for Rural Communities through digital agriculture initiative was launched in April 2022 by Risk Management Solutions Inc (RMSI), and implemented by Participatory Rural Development Initiatives Society (PRDIS), a -A digital Agricultural Technology Initiative. The goal of the initiative was to provide smallholder farmers with access to information on farming techniques, location specific practices, weather forecasts and market prices via their mobile phones.

The Initiative used a variety of approaches to disseminate information, including SMS messages in collaboration with Agriculture Universities, KVKs and department of Agriculture, training of farmers by trained field facilitators, field visits by regional coordinators and lead farmers and PINCER mobile application. The SMS messages provided farmers with weather based agromet practices on crop management, pest control, harvest, post harvest and forecast on market. The registered farmers have access to what’s app groups and kissan call centres to ask questions and share information with each other.

The initiative was highly successful, reaching over 25000 farmers in its first year of operation. Farmers who used the service reported increased yields, improved crop quality, and better access to markets. The initiative also helped to reduce the information gap between smallholder farmers and larger commercial farms, as well as improving the efficiency of agricultural extension services.