An SMS portal for farmers soon

An SMS portal for farmers that will enable them to plan farming operations and taking the best suited action to deal with adverse weather conditions will be launched on July 16 by President Pranab Mukherjee.

The Kisaan Portal aims at reaching information, advisories and services through SMS to more than 12 crore farmers across the country, said officials of the agriculture ministry.

Farmers will need to register for this service by calling Kisaan Call Centre on the toll free number 1800-180-1551 or through the web portal.

Being an instant and non-intrusive medium of communication, the SMS advisories and alerts will enable farmers to take informed decisions relating to different aspects of farming including crop production and marketing, animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries.

"They can also opt to receive SMS messages customised to their specific requirements," he said.

SMS advisories will include soil test results, selection of fertilizer and its dosage, and also information on various programmes so that farmers can make the best use of assistance and know-how being made available by the government.

"Timely market information provided through SMS will give the farmer better bargaining power and they will be in a position to take better decisions about sale of produce," he said.

Officers of various departments, experts and scientists in research institution and in the field will use this portal for disseminating information, giving topical and seasonal advisories to farmers in their local languages.