Agritech to help enhance crop yields, ensure food security
At the time of arrival of the new crop, the country would be left with stocks of 3.3 million tons, which could meet its needs without any additional imports, the food ministry told the ECC. photo: AFP
Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja has said that agritech has been playing an important role in ensuring the country’s food security.
As part of such efforts, Syngenta Pakistan has launched the mega version of its “Cropwise Grower” mobile application.
Appreciating the efforts being made for bringing digital technologies closer to farmers and sharing groundbreaking initiatives of the government, the state minister at an event said, “Agritech has an essential role to play in enhancing Pakistan’s agricultural productivity, promoting the economic wellbeing of farmers and ensuring the country’s food security.”
In this regard, she said, digitalisation and agriculture were among the top priorities of the government and they were planning strategic initiatives and policy frameworks to facilitate all stakeholders, especially farmers, so they could benefit from the emerging technological solutions.
“It is good to see that Syngenta Pakistan is investing in digitalisation of the agriculture sector to bring useful offerings closer to farmers in the form of the Cropwise application and e-commerce facility,” she remarked.
Cropwise Grower app is a free-of-cost, highly innovative digital solution to engage and advise Pakistani farmers to enhance their farm productivity, offering multiple features including the instant detection and diagnosis of crop diseases, pest and other threats to crops, according to a statement issued on Saturday.
Covering over three million acres of farmland, the app’s “Scan, Detect and Diagnose” feature called Crop Doctor is powered by the most advanced artificial intelligence (AI)-based mechanism, which provides a one-stop solution to farmers to identify crop problems and address them efficiently. Cropwise Grower offers several other facilities such as an e-commerce module for online ordering of products, ‘Naya Savera’ franchise locations and a deeper understanding of spraying windows, based on the localised weather information and the evolving environment.
Besides recommending products suitable for various crop growth stages, it provides crop management information and tutorials on the timely identification of pests and diseases.
Syngenta Pakistan General Manager Zeeshan Baig said the company’s core strength lay in its close relationship with growers.
“To further strengthen this connection with our growers, we are delighted to share the Cropwise Grower app, which brings smart solutions closer to farmers and enables them to be more self-sufficient.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 5th, 2024.
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