Summary
Aravind’s app, titled ‘Golden Crop’, provides guidance to farmers on multiple aspects pertaining to growing crops including crop selection and the nature of a soil type
The teenager often noticed farmers in his largely agrarian town worrying about low crop yields which were often the result of either wrong crop selection or using the wrong variety of seeds
A 15-year-old boy from Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu has developed an app that can help farmers choose the right crop depending on climatic conditions and soil type – a support that can improve yields and cut down losses.
Aravind, the brain behind this app, often noticed farmers in his largely agrarian town worrying about low crop yields which were often the result of either wrong crop selection or using the wrong variety of seeds.
To help these farmers, the teenager decided to develop an app titled ‘Golden Crop’ which provides guidance to farmers on multiple aspects pertaining to growing crops including crop selection and the nature of a soil type.
The app recommends crops that could provide the user with a better yield for the selected month. It uses geolocation to identify the type of soil in the farmland and the local climatic conditions in the area.
Further, the app provides specific details including the days required to harvest a crop, the market price of the crop, and more, to help the user understand the true value of the yield.
Aravind, a WhiteHat Jr student, said, “Growing up watching farmers around me, I often heard them talk about the issues they faced. Golden Crop is a small attempt to aid them in the decision-making process so that they can get a better yield and lead a better life. I will keep working on this app by adding more features. I hope the farmers in the area where I live, for whom I am making this app, will find it useful.”
This app connects the user directly with local soil testing labs to help farmers make the right crop selection. Using the ‘Your Crop’ feature, farmers can keep a track of their crops and get notified about the next important event coming up. Farmers can also check their crop health by comparing their crop with a healthy crop image.
The app, while currently functional, is being further updated by Aravind as he continues to fine-tune the features. An in-built app feature allows Aravind to get feedback from the farmers directly which is aiding him in refining the app further. He soon hopes to make the app available to farmers in local and regional languages as well.
“It was always my dream to create a company which would solve as many problems as possible in our day-to-day life. I named my company ‘INBO’ which is inspired by India and Rainbow which highlights my idea about making India unique and attractive just like a rainbow,” added Aravind.
Aravind believes that technology can be used to solve a lot of real-life problems and apart from farmer problems, in future, he also wants to solve other major existing problems.
Neelakantan S, Aravind’s mentor at WhiteHat Jr, said “Aravind impressed me with his keen and insightful observations. His zeal to make a meaningful contribution and sheer commitment in learning React Native helped in making a very user-friendly yet complex application.”
What began as a coding project, soon turned into a problem-solving app for the farmers. Apart from technical challenges, Aravind faced obstacles in research work. Amidst the pandemic, it was very difficult for him to carry out field research and reach out to people for obtaining information.
Aravind’s father, Saravana Kumar, said, “We are very proud of Aravind's attempt to help the farming community. It is fascinating to see how beautifully he has married technology with his understanding of issues faced by the farmers. I hope this inspires other children and young people to create solutions to the problems they see around them in their community.”
Last updated on 17 Mar 2022
