The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), in partnership with the e-extension centre of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), launched the advancing agricultural practice portal 'advanceagripractice.in' for the ICICI Knowledge Park (IKP), at Centre for Advancement in Agricultural Practice (ICAAP), a subsidiary of IKP Trust, in Chennai on Wednesday.

It aims to improve agricultural productivity and farm income for smallholder farmers across India through improvements in agricultural practice.

Designed to respond to the information needs of local knowledge intermediaries such as research scientists, extension professionals, farmers associations, NGO staff, and agricultural entrepreneurs, the portal provides information that will benefit both small and marginal farmers directly through improved extension services, and indirectly through the improved use of information by intermediary organizations.

The portal currently provides data on rice, pulses (black gram and green gram), sugarcane, banana, and coconut in the delta region of Tamil Nadu (Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts). It will be scaled up in the coming year to include data on some of the major commodities, fodder crops, animal husbandry topics, poultry farming and tribal agriculture.

The data available on the portal includes: region specific information such as soil fertility status, potential hydrogen (PH), land use patterns and cropping patterns; availability of high quality agricultural inputs such as certified seeds and fertilizers; news regarding agriculture-related government schemes and agri-credit institutions; and information on procurement centers, traders and markets.

Sandeep Saxena, Tamil Nadu agricultural production commissioner and secretary, appreciated the efforts of the IKP trust, IFPRI, and TNAU in developing the portal and suggested strategies for promoting this portal on national level. Saxena urged the need for ICT information on agriculture, and the necessity of reaching all farmers with instant agricultural advice.

C. V. Krishnan, president of the Institute of Financial Management and Research described the portal as a “one-stop source of information from inputs to credit, markets, and prices.”

“We are trying to bridge the gap,” said E. Vadivel, project officer at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. “And increasing the use of ICT in reaching out to the farmers will be effective in providing knowledge and information and thus a useful tool to support extension.”