JFarm Services
Agriculture, with its allied sectors, is the largest source of livelihood in India. 70% of India’s rural households still depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihood, with 82% of farmers being small and marginal. These small and marginal farmers have limited access to farm mechanization as ownership of farm equipment is highly unviable for them. They are completely dependent on the farm machinery available nearby and the conditions imposed by the rental service providers. The small, dispersed landholdings further hinders the accessibility of farm machinery and serves as a deterrent to the economies of scale for the service providers. Thereby, majority of the small and marginal farmers are compelled to follow inefficient farming practices. To enhance the access to farm mechanization for the small and marginal farmers, in 2018 TAFE launched a unique phygital farmer-to-farmer platform through the CSR initiative – JFarm Services. With estimated 85 lakhs tractors available in India, JFarm Services intends to provide a channel for all farmers across India to access mechanized farming practices. Being a brand agnostic platform, farm machinery from all manufacturers across the world can be listed in JFarm Services. Farmers in need of farm equipment on rent can conveniently book the rental order through any suitable channel- a mobile app or toll free call-center. Also, machinery owners interested to become entrepreneurs can list their tractors and implements, which will be available for hiring by farmers. As per the modus operandi, the rental orders booked by farmers are broadcasted to entrepreneurs nearby through our backend engine. The renter entrepreneurs accepting to service the rental orders are then connected with the concerned farmers. Being a CSR initiative, no listing fee or commissions are charged from the users. The respective rental amount should be paid by the farmer to service provider directly. Through this intervention, farmers have easy access to the required farm equipment resulting in improved yield, thereby taking the farmers forward towards enhancing their income as envisioned by the Government of India. Further, the aggregated demand for mechanization provides immense entrepreneurship scope in rural space for shared economy business models. To provide a comprehensive solution to farmers to enable better income realization, customized training programs are organized for farmers through JFarm Services platform on crop management and machinery maintenance. Further, JFarm Services platform support the farmers to decide the preferred channel of selling their farm produce.
Platforms And End-to-End Solutions For Government And Public Administration
Digitalization of services and service ecosystems for citizens
JFarm Services platform inclusive of mobile app and multi-lingual toll-free helpline was launched in 2018 across India.
JFarm Services is operational in 230 districts having significant agricultural activity across the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Collaborative outreach through partnerships with Governments: 9 State Governments have officially joined hands with JFarm Services to collaboratively promote farm mechanization among farmers. These partnerships are instrumental in creating awareness and training farmers across villages to use digital platform, through the network of agriculture extension officers. Further, as a stellar example of Digital India initiative, JFarm Services platform was integrated with Uzhavan – farmer app of Government of Tamil Nadu. Farmers can book farm implement on rent from Uzhavan app for which JFarm Services solution provides the back-end algorithm for linking rental order with suitable service providers. 800 k+ farmers from Tamil Nadu have availed the service rendered by JFarm Services through Uzhavan app. Ground level engagement with local influencers and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs): Joint efforts are taken at the grass roots along with the following stakeholders for effective farmer engagement in all the operational states: Krishi Vigyaan Kendra (KVKs), Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA), Co-operative Societies, NABARD, State Livelihood Mission, Cluster Based Business Organizations promoting FPOs Digital Interventions: Complementing the physical engagements mentioned above, timely farmer-focused digital interventions contributed immensely towards trust-building and adoption of the digital platform. Through a ‘lite’ Progressive Web App having robust back end algorithm, farmers are able to conveniently book rental orders which are broadcasted to service providers in the vicinity. Focus on specialised machinery More than 4.8 Mn farm implements are available for hiring from JFarm Services platform, across the various stages of cultivation from land preparation to harvest. Specialized equipment such as balers, drone sprayers, harvesters, paddy transplanters and zero-till seed drill is demonstrated to farmers jointly with relevant Government agencies to encourage adoption of advanced mechanization processes. Value added services To compliment the support in farm mechanization, training sessions on crop management and machinery maintenance are organized for farmers through JFarm Services platform. Virtual training programs are organised for farmers on efficient agriculture practices and farm machinery maintenance. 84,500+ farmer hours of training was conducted for farmers through JFarm Services digital platform. JFarm Services platform provides tools for market access for farmers thereby supporting them to decide the preferred channel for selling their produce. Farmers can explore relevant markets and discover the procurement prices of their farm produce.
Best CSR Initiative – Indian Tractor of the Year (ITOTY) - 2022, 2023 & 2024 Best CSR Impact Initiative – Asian CSR Leadership Awards – 2022 Best CSR Initiative – Apollo Farm Power Summit & Awards – 2022 Outstanding Sustainable Farmer Income Enhancement – FICCI – 2022 Best Campaign in Agriculture & Agri-Tech – ET Brand Equity – 2020 Most Admired Activity for Sustainable Development – Asian Customer Engagement Forum – 2019 Agriculture Initiative of the Year – Rural Marketing Forum – 2019
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