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AgroStar: Leveraging Google Cloud to Empower Small Farmers in India
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Machine Learning
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Agriculture
- Equipment & Machinery
Applicable Functions
- Logistics & Transportation
- Product Research & Development
Use Cases
- Agriculture Disease & Pest Management
- Farm Monitoring & Precision Farming
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
AgroStar, an ecommerce platform selling farm supplies, was facing challenges in expanding its services to small farmers in India. The company aimed to provide a full-service platform that combines agronomy, data science, machine learning, and analytics to boost crop yields and improve income for these farmers. However, the lack of access to new, higher yield seeds and improved soil analyses for small farmers, who had to rely on traditional methods, was a significant hurdle. Additionally, the dissemination of innovative information from universities to small, grassroots farmers was slow and inefficient. The company also faced the challenge of providing timely advice in five languages on various aspects of farming, including seed optimization, crop rotation, soil nutrition, and pest control.
About The Customer
AgroStar's customers are small farmers in India, particularly those operating in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Orissa, Bihar, and Karnataka. These farmers, who cultivate fewer than three acres, often face challenges such as crop damage due to unforeseen weather and pests, and lack access to farming-related information. They also have limited access to new, higher yield seeds and improved soil analyses, and often have to rely on traditional farming methods. AgroStar's mobile app, AgroStar Agri-Doctor, is designed to help these farmers by providing them with timely advice in five languages on various aspects of farming, including seed optimization, crop rotation, soil nutrition, and pest control.
The Solution
AgroStar turned to Google Cloud to expand its offering and launched a cloud-based mobile app to help boost crop yields and encourage best practices for small farmers in India. The app, AgroStar Agri-Doctor, provides access to the firm's knowledge base hosted on Google Cloud, a Q&A forum that connects farmers to each other, and information about innovative practices and products. It also provides links to purchase and track the delivery of farm tools and supplies. AgroStar used Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) for crop advice management and Compute Engine for its production application services. The company also used Firebase to implement its Agri-Doctor app, which shares knowledge base updates with one million users in near real time. AgroStar is also developing a variety of machine learning components to improve responsiveness and extend its platform offerings.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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