Grape and pomegranate farmers in the Indian state of Maharashtra will soon have access to an SMS service that will alert them on weather forecasts and pests, as well as which chemicals overseas markets allow them to use on their crops.
Maharashtra is responsible for 90 per cent of India’s table grape exports, which equated to 40,000 tonnes last year. The state also exported 37,000 tonnes of pomegranates, mostly into the European market.
As guidelines for the export of fruit in to the European Union can vary from year to year, getting this information to farmers is a time sensitive issue.
The SMS service hopes to address this problem by compiling all of the pertinent export information at a central location and then transmitting it to farmers via text message direct to their mobile phones, the Times of India reported.
“Once we finalise the documents and guidelines for farmers, agriculture officers from Pune will send the text messages to farmers all across the state,” said Govind Hoye, phytosanitary inspector at India’s Department of Horticulture.
Weather forecasts are another crucial element of the scheme, with farmers dependent on up to date information.
Last week grape and pomegranate farmers across Maharashtra had their crops damaged by heavy rains.
For the purposes of the SMS program, grape growers are required to register each acre of their farms separately and, with registration closing on 25 November, 19,000 units have already been registered.
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