Despite being a predominantly agricultural country, Pakistan still lacks in best practices in farming and agriculture. However, if one considers the reasons for this being so, i.e. lack of education and awareness, untapped and underdeveloped modes of communication, limited mobility, vast distances and low funding, it makes sense why we have lagged and continue to produce below average yields.
With the right technology and awareness, the average farm yield can be improved by 30%-40%, bringing up the country’s agricultural production substantially. In these times especially, to face challenges such as climate change and acceleration in population growth, it has become even more imperative that Pakistan adopts precision agriculture and applies innovative technologies to improve agricultural production.
With Bakhabar Kissan (BKK), all the stakeholders of the agricultural supply chain come together under one umbrella and operate interdependently to share and spread information, use machinery and technology and utilize resources intelligently to produce optimum yield. BKK brings together research institutes and universities, financial institutions and insurance companies, pesticides, fertilizers and seeds suppliers, equipment vendors, and smart devices in the form of drones, mini weather stations, soil testing kits, etc.
At present, BKK is already providing advisory services employing various platforms like SMS, VMS, IVR, call centers, mobile apps and social media, etc. With over 1.35 million farmers registered over the last 18 months since its inception, the project has proven to be successful in its objective and is further looking to expand its operations with more features and resources.
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