Weather Forecast for Farmers
How Weather is forecasted?
The farmers
require regular accurate weather forecast for making well-informed decision
with regard to giving enough water to the crops and do farming as per the
actual status of weather. With advancement in technology, the technological
equipment based on remote sensing are capable enough to forecast the weather.
The Government facilitates farmers to receive the weather forecast on their
mobile through SMS service with accurate information of latitudes, temperature,
and moisture in the atmosphere. The latest forecasting also detects the storms
and accordingly advisories are issued to the farmers through SMS service.
Use of Fertilizers and Pesticide:
In rainy
days, if there are chances of heavy rain fall, the farmers may postpone the use
of fertilizers and pesticide as the same will be washed away by the rain. The
cost of farming reduced significantly with proper use of fertilizers and
pesticides keeping in view the accurate prediction of the weather. Before
cultivation of crops, the weather can be estimated and based on the nature of soil,
the farmers select and cultivates right type of crop.
India Meteorological Department:
There are a
large number of automated weather stations through which the India
Meteorological Department collects the data and based on the information
retrieved from the data, the advisories are issued with regard to rainfall,
status of temperature, humidity etc. With wide internet connectivity, the forecasts
are now reliable and trustable and through SMS service, the agriculture expert’s
advisories are also issued as per the nature of information gathered from the automated
water stations.
Long term benefits to Farmers:
The farmers
especially the small scale farmers have limited access to the internet
connectivity, therefore, the Government decided to send weather forecast
directly on the mobiles through SMS service. This initiative is supporting
farmers to mitigate the risk of losing crops due to lack of information about
the weather. With constant efforts of Government, the food security is
improving in India and there is enough control over the losses due to pests,
diseases and weeds in the farms.
Technological Support to Farmers:
In Haryana,
the CCS Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar launched the SMS service for the
farmers. The registration form is available on the web portal of CCSHAU, Hisar
and anyone can apply for such information to receive through SMS.
Even an app
is also available on the Google Play Store i.e. “Indian Weather” and it can be
downloaded by anyone to get the status of the weather.
