About Meghalaya

Tucked away in the hills of eastern Sub-Himalayan region of North-East India, the state Meghalaya also known as “Abode of Clouds” is located between 20ᴼ1′ and 26ᴼ5′ N latitude and 85ᴼ49′ and 92ᴼ53′ E longitude with a total geographic area of 22,429 km2. It extends for about 300km and 100 km in length and breadth respectively. It is bounded by the Brahmaputra valley of Assam in the north and northwest and Cachar area of Assam in the east. The state has about 443 km of international border with the country Bangladesh in the south and southwest.
Three ethnic communities exist in the state – the Khasis, the Jaintias and the Garos, each having its own distinctive customs and cultural traditions. The state is divided into eleven administrative districts viz., (1) East Khasi Hills, (2) West Khasi Hills, (3) South-West Khasi Hills, (4) Ri-Bhoi, (5) East Jaintia Hills, (6) West Jaintia Hills, (7) North Garo Hills, (8) East Garo Hills, (9) South Garo Hills, (10) West Garo Hills, and (11) South-West Garo Hills. According to the census of India 2011, the population in the state is 29.66 lakh with a literacy rate of 75.48%. The economy of Meghalaya is basically agrarian as it is rural based with agriculture playing a predominant role in the state’s economy. It contributes around 22.00% to state gross domestic product. Since 70.00% of the state’s population depends on agriculture, employment and income generation also depends on agricultural developmental activities to a great extent.

Prime Focus

Enhancing the production and productivity of farm and empowerment of the registered farmers by providing evidence based agro-advisory services generated by UAV data through IIDS platform.

Implementing Partner

College of Post-Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Umiam, Ri-bhoi, Meghalaya

Proposed Information Services for Farmers

Broad area of evidence-based agro-advisory services include:

• Detail geotagged farm information apropos of field slope, source of water for irrigation, soil organic matter, and soil H2O, N & P content etc.
• Near real time précised Agro-Advisory Services generated by UAV data through IIDS 2.0 platform w.r.t. crop stress – diseases, insects, weed control measures and nutrient deficiencies.
• Quantification of stressed plants in farmers’ field, its location and its critical strategies for amelioration.
• Mitigative and adaptive measures in crop production after extreme weather events / natural calamities.
• Need-based demonstration, training and sensitization on scientific package of practices of crops.
• Yield forecasting of crops and identification of appropriate harvesting time.
• Market Linkage of farm produce.

Proposed Deployment in Meghalaya

Districts to be covered:

1. East Khasi Hills District
2. Ri-bhoi District
3. West Jaintia Hills District

Crops to be covered:

1. Cauliflower
2. Cabbage
3. Paddy
4. Ginger
5. Turmeric
6. Pineapple

Number of Farmers to be registered with detailed farm information

• Number of Farmers - 600 (100 farmers for each crop)

Types of Problem (Broad Category)

The inability of the agricultural research institutes and the state department of agriculture to acquire and provide near real-time geo-tagged coordinated evidence-based agro-advisory services to farmers, owing to time taking laboratory testing, standardization and validation, during the following important phases of a crop cycle:

• Preparatory Agronomic Practices (information on Soil Type, SOC, SMC, DEM etc.)
• During Cropping Periods (information on insects, diseases & pests, invasive weeds species, nutrient deficiency, yield estimation etc.)
• Post-Harvest Management (information on replenishment of field, plan for next cropping cycle etc.)

Common Insects & Diseases in each Category

1. Cauliflower (Insects – Cauliflower Head Borer, Cauliflower Leaf webber, Cauliflower Butterfly etc.
   Diseases - Damping Off, Club rot of Crucifers, Downey Mildew, Powdery Mildew etc.)
2. Cabbage (Insects –Cabbage Aphids, Cabbage Looper, Cutworms, Cabbage Head Borer, Cabbage Leaf webber etc.
   Diseases – Damping Off, Black Rot, Downey Mildew, Powdery Mildew, White Rust etc.)
3. Paddy (Insects – Case Worm, Leaf Folder, Stem borer, Grasshopper, Brown Plant Hopper, Gundhi Bug etc.
   Diseases – Blast, Brown Spot, Bacterial Blight, Neck Blast, Brown Spot etc.)
4. Ginger (Insects – Rhizome Scale, Rhizome Shoot Borer, Rhizome Fly etc.
   Diseases - Phyllosticta Leaf Spot, Soft Rot/Rhizome Rot, Bacterial Wilt etc.)
5. Turmeric (Insects – Rhizome Scale, Shoot Borer, Leaf roller and Thrips
   Diseases – Rhizome Rot, Leaf Spot, Leaf Blotch, Dry Rot & Bacterial Wilt)
6. Pineapple (Insects – Mealybug, Pineapple Scale, Thrips, Pineapple Fruit Borer, Pineapple Weevil etc.
   Diseases – Phytophthora Heart (Top) Rot, Fusariosis, Inter-fruitlet Corking, Water Blister, Yellow Spot etc.)

Current Status of Extension

Broad based Ex-post Facto extension services by the State Department of Agriculture and KVK East Khasi Hills District.

Need for Evidence Based Agro-Advisory Services through IIDS 2.0 and its Benefits to the Farmers

• Near Real Time Précised Agro-Advisory Services w.r.t. crop stress – diseases, insects, weed control measures and nutrient deficiencies.
• Yield forecasting of crops, identification of appropriate harvesting time & Yield Gap
• Mitigative and adaptive measures in crop production after extreme weather events / natural calamities.
• Enable to reduce requirement of farm labour / farm drudgery.
• Development and execution of profitable Farm Business Plan.
• Market Linkage of produce.

 Need for Evidence Based Agro-Advisory Services through IIDS 2.0 to Subject Matter Specialists

• Effective in Monitoring, Scouting and Control of Pest & Diseases of crops.
• High Resolution 3D UAV imageries provide accurate farm data.
• Precise analytics for prompt actions on scientific package of practices of crops.

Training and Workshops to be held in 2 years

• Training of farmer: 20–25 Nos.
• Training of project staff: 10–15 Nos.
• Project Awareness/Sensitization Programme: 35–40 Nos.

Methodology

1. UAV Data Acquisition: Respondents of study and their farm details are identified by the Field-Coordinator along with assistance of Agro-Associates. The phases of cropping calendar of the identified crop is corroborated with the flight plan of the UAV. Deployment of UAV for aerial survey is performed in all the important phases of crop cycle to acquire data related to both biotic and abiotic factors.
2. Data Analysis & Interpretation: The algorithms for examination and interpretation of different imageries captured by UAV is developed in order to derive actionable information/insights in form of cartography, digital surface models, georeferenced orthomosaic etc.
3. Data Integration with IIDS: The UAV based actionable information/outputs are integrated to IIDS 2.0 platform. The Expert Support System of IIDS 2.0 takes informed decision to assist faculties/scientific staff in providing evidence based agro-advisory services to the registered farmers.
4. Application at Farmers’ Field: The registered farmers receive highly tailored near real time agro-advisory services right from preparatory agronomic practices, during cropping period and post-harvest management of the crop.

Content (Available)

• Print and digital extension materials viz., pamphlets, leaflets, folders, bulletins, training manuals etc. on different aspects of scientific crop cultivation practices of six identified agricultural crops namely Cauliflower, Cabbage, Paddy, Ginger, Turmeric and Pineapple.

Development of Content (Proposed) – Short Videos, Voice, Text & Image Messages etc. in local languages.

• Short videos on different aspects of recommended package of practices of six identified agricultural crops namely Cauliflower, Cabbage, Paddy, Ginger, Turmeric and Pineapple.
• SMS/MMS on different aspects of recommended package of practices of six identified agricultural crops namely Cauliflower, Cabbage, Paddy, Ginger, Turmeric and Pineapple.
• Crop Calendar

Status of Mobile Availability with Farmers (Feature Phones/Smart Phones)

• All the registered farmers have either a smart or feature mobile phone.