Pune: Farmers may soon find it easier to document crop losses and access insurance and govt compensation, with Pune-based Share Croppers Pvt Ltd (SCPL) set to launch three digital platforms that will consolidate key agricultural records in one place.The platforms will bring together information on landholdings, plots, sowing, crops, farm inputs, labour costs, irrigation, machinery, production, sales and farm income and expenditure. The digital records are expected to help farmers maintain evidence of agricultural activities and crop damage, potentially simplifying insurance claims and applications for govt relief.SCPL founders Krishna Bhat, Sudha Jyoti, Dipika Khatri and Sanjay Khatri shared details of the initiative at a news conference in Pune.“After every natural disaster, collecting crop-loss data, conducting assessments, verifying documents and preparing lists of eligible beneficiaries involve several stages. Farmers often have to visit government offices repeatedly to check whether their names have been included in the beneficiary lists. Digitising and consolidating agricultural records can make this process simpler,” Bhat said.The system will also enable farmers to track expenditure on seeds, fertilisers, labour, spraying, machinery and irrigation, along with production, sales and profits or losses. The information could help them manage costs, make informed crop-management decisions and streamline access to credit and insurance services, she added.Khatri said the first phase would comprise three platforms. The Swayampurna Gaon Vikas Prakalp Portal will serve as a central platform connecting farmers, farmer facilitators, farmer-producer organisations (FPOs), institutions and service partners.The Khet Nayak mobile application will allow farmers to access information about their farms, expenditure, production and available services. The Kisan Nayak application, designed for farmer facilitators working at the village level, will help them create and verify records and upload photographs and supporting documents. It will also feature an artificial intelligence-powered smart inbox.Farmer facilitators will assist cultivators in maintaining digital records, including crop photographs, location and date details, sowing information, crop-stage updates, and expenditure histories. In the event of crop damage, photographs and other records can be added to the digital file and used as supporting evidence during insurance claims or applications for govt assistance, subject to the requirements of the relevant authorities.Khatri said the initiative would eventually expand to support sustainable village development. He added that better access to information and systematic farm records could help address some of the challenges faced by farmers, including financial distress.The three platforms will be formally launched by farmer leader Anil Ghanwat at 11 am on Oct 19 at Patrakar Bhavan in Navi Peth, Pune.As part of the Machinery on Fuel Cost initiative, five tractors will also be handed over to FPO partners. Those expected to attend include Seema Narode, state president of the women’s wing of the Swatantra Bharat Party; Virendra Jamdade, founder of Vrutti Group; Deepak Shukla, founder of Finso; Ramesh Jadhav, editor of Agrowon; agricultural management expert Dr Yashwant Sale; and Rahul Patil.The programme aims to familiarise farmers, FPOs, agricultural experts and other stakeholders with the digital platforms and encourage wider adoption of technology in farm management.
