The app, which would help farmers by providing vital information to help them make the right decisions right from sowing to harvest is the first of its kinds launched by a public sector bank, bank officials said.

Bank of Baroda on Saturday held the nationwide launch of a mobile application, ‘Baroda Kisan’, in Bardoli, Surat. The app, which would help farmers by providing vital information to help them make the right decisions right from sowing to harvest is the first of its kinds launched by a public sector bank, bank officials said.

“We have launched Baroda Kisan smart mobile application to cater to various needs of farmers, today nationally,” BoB Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer P S Jayakumar said, adding that they selected Bardoli for the launch because of its historical significance in the Indian freedom struggle, as Vallabhbhai Patel was given the moniker ‘Sardar’ there.

“The mobile platform will use the existing feature of the M Connect Plus mobile application. The app provides notifications on weather forecasts, crop conditions, soil moisture, information on crop worms, market prices of crops, special crop-related consultations, inputs for purchase of fertilisers, pesticides, seeds, agricultural equipment on rent, consultancy services and innovative financing options for the sale of agricultural products, etc,” he said. “Other services linked with this application include advance prediction, advance analysis, grading of crops based on image sensing, advance information about the pests etc. Many farmers will benefit from this application.”

The bank also launched a system for centralised processing of agricultural proposals, which the bank has set up nationally in two places, Gandhinagar in Gujarat Hyderabad in Telangana.

Those applying for agricultural loans can submit their applications to the nearby branch office, from where it will be uploaded to the server and accessed by an authority seated in the Gandhinagar or Hyderabad central processing offices, where they will take a decision immediately. This will reduce the time taken, said B R Patel, Head of Agriculture and Financial Inclusion, Bank of Baroda. Loans for construction or renovation of toilets and domestic drinking water facilities and loans for houses in rural areas will also be processed.