Cheruvu: Sustainable Agriculture in India

With rapid deployment of reliable mobile data networks and rising smartphone adoption, there is a growing opportunity for digital delivery of agricultural extension services in rural India. This project worked with a company called Cheruvu which began as a provider of soil testing services in Telangana India. Cheruvu has developed a mobile application to convey the results and recommendations based on farmers’ soil tests. Through surveys and interviews with some Cheruvu’s customers, this project will give advice to Cheruvu about their next steps. Results show that the farming information is shared primarily through pre-existing social networks and that it is difficult to introduce other forms of information sharing. The greatest demand for information is related to emergent issues that occurred over the farming season such as pests or disease. The local fertilizer shops dominate as providers of both information and solutions for these emergent issues. According to the interviewees, the biggest barrier for adoption of smartphone applications was lack of education and access to smartphones by the farmers in the household. Our findings suggest that Cheruvu should continue to provide farmers with a paper form to ensure that farmers receive their advice. Cheruvu can also increase adoption at the village level by working with local influencers and offering solutions to problems as they arise during the cropping season.Master of Science (MS)School for Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of Michiganhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154866/1/352_Cheruvu_ Sustainable Agriculture in India.pd