NICE SSM – Digital consulting to improve the soil quality
In recent years, India has been increasingly affected by climate change. The delayed onset of the monsoon causes a large part of the harvest to dry up on the fields. And when the rains begin, water is pooring down in such quantities that another part of the harvest is destroyed and the fertile soil is washed away. Lower crop yields come with greater insecurity of supply. As a result, the livelihood of many Indians is at risk since 70 percent of the population depends on rainwater-fed agriculture. But it is not only drought that has a negative impact on crop yields. The intensive cultivation of the fields leads to soil depletion. Around 120 million hectares of land are already affected by soil degradation. This is a vicious circle in a country where over 23 percent of the world's starving population lives.
Sustainable land management is an important approach to strengthening the resilience of small farmers and thus increasing their food security. Digitisation opens up great potential in this context, as around 35 percent of the population in India use the Internet and this figure is rising rapidly. In rural areas, too, many people own an Internet-capable mobile phone. This is where the digital advisory platform NiceSSM comes in. NiceSSM is a network for climate-relevant information and sustainable soil management (SSM). The platform uses weather data, seasonal conditions and soil health parameters to calculate which measures for sustainable soil management are particularly well adapted to the respective location. This information can be accessed via PC or tablets and smartphones. Farmers who have the appropriate IT equipment can access this vital data and the resulting recommendations directly. In addition, experts are also available to provide personalized advice tailored to individual needs via the platform. Farmers thus have access to relevant knowledge and to tailored, comprehensible and timely advice. In this way, they improve the ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change by being able to plan and secure their harvest.
