The e-crop based smart farming ( e-CBSF), an IoT-enabled and crop model-based smart farming technology developed by ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), Thiruvananthapuram, has won recognition at the national level.
It was recognised as one of five best technologies developed for the horticultural sector in 2022-23 at the 95th Foundation Day Ceremony of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) held in New Delhi.
e-CBSF is an IoT device that calculates nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and water requirements of field crops with the aim of minimising the yield gap.
The technology has been applied to cassava, sweet potato, elephant foot yam, and banana, reducing yield gap to 5% from 50% in traditional farming, according to the CTCRI. Additionally, there is a saving of nutrients and water by 25-50%, it says, adding that the technology can be adapted to other field crops by integrating suitable crop models.
Santhosh Mithra, principal scientist and lead developer of the technology, received a certificate in the presence of Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister Parshottam Rupala, Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Chowdhury, and ICAR Director General Himanshu Pathak. CTCRI scientists G. Byju, J. Sreekumar, and D. Jaganathan, are the associate developers of this technology.
