Innovation for crop quality certification using ICT

Abstract

The focus of Indian agriculture so far has been on meeting the national demand, however it is going through a steady transformation phase to address the global requirement and is being driven by consumers and markets. According to APEDA Agriexchange portal, every year our country suffers more than 17000 Cr losses because consignments get rejected [1]. There is a growing concern for the food quality and scrutiny of the food supply chain [2] due to increased use of pesticides and its impact on health [3]. As a result, awareness of the importance of safe food is rapidly increasing among the consumers worldwide. Global standards like Global GAP (Good Agriculture Practices) [4], Better Cotton Initiative, RTRS (Round Table Responsible Soy) etc. have evolved with the collaborative efforts of growers, industry experts, researchers and retailers around the globe. These certifications contain standardized processes for producing fresh food resulting in good quality and environment sustainability. These mostly involve audit and documentation processes, in English, with Site Inspectors and Auditors visiting the field and recording their observations on paper. Hence the scalability is a challenge and the adoption is low.