The Potential Impact of Mobile Devices on Income Security of Small Farmers in India

This paper deals with increasing the agricultural income of the small farmers in India through mobile devices. Indian agriculture home of small and marginal farmers and average land holding fell from 2.06 ha to 0.98 ha during 1960 to 2013 (NSSO, 2014). Around 98 million out of 120 million farm holdings are small and marginal farmers. Therefore, improving the livelihood of small farmers have imperative for social and economic development of the country. The small farmers in India are typically managed by limited technical and mechanical support with poor access to finance, marketing of their produce and weather with combination of climate change, and water scarcity to overcome these problem the mobile devices have huge potential according to Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, has described the mobile phone as the ‘single most transformative tool for development ’because a mobile phone does not have the same barriers to access as other forms of technology and is simple, inexpensive and convenient to use. The small farmers can use the mobile phone in covering the insurance for crop damage by plant disease, pest attack, unpredictable weather and access to subsidies without travelling to long distance and financial service helps the farmer in improving the agricultural productivity by purchasing the tools, machinery, quality seeds, and other inputs to increase the agricultural production of crops. Meanwhile, mobile information platforms open up significant additional routes to potential markets, relaying information on prices for inputs and produce sales, as well as information on how to grow and respond to a context of climate change through the dissemination of reliable seasonal weather forecasts. These benefits are also likely to extend to the wider community as increased agricultural income helps rural families afford education, healthcare and other services.