Google Earth

WhatsApp

pre-budget meeting

chief minister Siddaramaiah

maize

cotton

onion

green chillies

Krishna Byre Gowda

The farmer wanted to know why the govt wasn’t usingandto help the farming community and stop rampant corruptionwith members from the farming community literally leftstumped when a 69-year-old agriculturist from North Karnataka spoke on the use of Google Earth’s [latitude and longitude] coordinates and WhatsApp to determine and expedite crop insurance claims. While the CM was baffled, his US-educated cabinet colleague, agriculture minister C Krishna Byregowda, reportedly simplified it by saying "Sir, what the farmer is saying is correct and is highly helpful!"The farmer who gave the CM a schooling was B M Hanasi, owner of a seven-acre plot of land in Shirol village of Navalgund taluk in Dharwad (430 km from Bengaluru). He was one of over 100 farmers handpicked from across the state to interact with the CM and suggest agriculture-related solutions that can be incorporated into the upcoming state budget. While the other green-shawl-clad farmers demanded waiver of loans and desilting of tanks, Hanasi emphasised the use of technology with regards to accurately assessing the extent of crop damage and releasing insurance amount in quickest possible time.Hanasi who growsandon his land has personally experienced problems and seen officials misguiding farmers to smartly ‘pocket’ the crop damage compensation money.“Sometimes, officials and agents take pictures of four or five farmers in the same crop-damaged field by making them stand in different corners. Even if you have not grown the damaged crop, they will project that you have grown it and lost it due to a calamity. The money pocketed through fraudulent claims is huge,” Hanasi explained.This apart, the actual assessment process is also tardy. “Currently, to assess the damage, agents and officials have to harvest damaged crop at six different fields across the hobli, take note of last seven-year yield for the same crop and then calculate the damage. Awarding compensation is prolonged as the amount is first sent to the insurance company, which in turn sends it to the Deputy Commissioner, making it a lengthy affair.”Hanasi says there are several technological tools that would not only make the procedure simple but accurate. “By making use of Google Earth and WhatsApp applications the government can see which farmer has grown what and obtain all relevant information from field officers through e-mail. Using latitude and longitude coordinates on Google Earth the government can map the exact survey number of the farmers’ fields and local officers equipped with mobile data can send the photograph of the crop on WhatsApp to their senior officials.Neither agents can cheat the government and farmers nor does the process drag on. It is a win-win situation for all. Once the claim is settled through electronic communication, the government must directly transfer the compensation to farmers’ accounts,” Hanasi suggested.Siddaramaiah, who heard him out, was confused by the tech-speak. But Hanasi maintained: “The CM looked dazed initially, maybe because the hall was noisy. But he appeared to be convinced when the agriculture ministersaid it was a good suggestion.”Even the bureaucrats were stunned. A senior official told BM: “It was a pleasant surprise when this farmer ended up talking about Google Earth and WhatsApp with regards to agricultural development.”Hanasi explained the reason behind his tech savvy: “I used to travel by bus from my village to Hubli or Dharwad at least three times a month to make purchases. On the bus I used to find a lot of college students using their low-end smartphones to explore their current location and travel route. They also used to exchange photographs with their friends through WhatsApp. Curious to know how everything worked I used to engage the youngsters in conversations and request them to explain the technology to me. On returning home, I used to take my son’s smartphone and experiment with whatever I learned on the bus. Gradually I learnt to locate our village and farm using Google Earth. I learnt how to locate places based on longitude and latitude.”When the agriculture department officials came to assess crop damage around his village, Hanasi pondered the integration of Google Earth and WhatsApp to simplify the procedure, which otherwise is lengthy and done manually.“All officials have to do is locate the land using latitude and longitude coordinates, take photographs using a smartphone and transmit the data through WhatsApp. Farmers are also becoming smart these days and they would lap up technology with ease. I think the government should apply technology in agriculture and help farmers.”