Digitally-Enabled Crop Disorder Management Process Based on Farmer Empowerment for Improved Outcomes: A Case Study from Sri Lanka

Janagan Sivagnanasundaram, Jeevani Goonetillake, Rifana Buhary, Thushara Dharmawardhana, Renuka Weerakkody, Rukmali Gunapala and Athula Ginige
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Janagan Sivagnanasundaram: School of Computing, Data and Mathematical Sciences, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, NSW 2150, Australia
Jeevani Goonetillake: School of Computing, University of Colombo, Colombo 00700, Sri Lanka
Rifana Buhary: Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Colombo 00700, Sri Lanka
Thushara Dharmawardhana: Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Colombo 00700, Sri Lanka
Renuka Weerakkody: Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Colombo 00700, Sri Lanka
Rukmali Gunapala: Rice Research and Development Institute, Bathalagoda 60500, Sri Lanka
Athula Ginige: School of Computing, Data and Mathematical Sciences, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, NSW 2150, Australia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 14, 1-28

Abstract: We have developed a system facilitated by a mobile artefact to effectively identify crop disorder incidents and manage them using recommended control measures. This work overcomes the limitations of the existing attempts by using digital technology to empower farmers to identify crop disorders rather than replace them with automated techniques. Our approach empowers farmers by providing the information in context for them to identify crop disorders. The developed solution can identify most of the crop disorders instantaneously, irrespective of the crop or other factors that make crop disorder identification complicated. For the rest, it provides a mechanism to carry out a manual identification with the help of subject experts. The solution was deployed among paddy farmers in Sri Lanka to understand how well this could assist them in identifying and managing crop disorders. The system was able to identify 70.8% of the crop disorder incidents reported by the farmers and provided them with the relevant control measures. Farmers’ perceptions of various usability aspects of the solution revealed that the application of agrochemicals and expenses associated with agrochemicals were significantly reduced. It was also observed that the yield quality and quantity and overall revenue have increased compared to the previous seasons.

Keywords: pest and disease incidents; agriculture sustainability; smart farming; farmer empowerment; ICTs for sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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