When black patches began creeping up the stems of his mango saplings, Shiv Kumar Yadav knew something was wrong.

The four-acre nursery owner from Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi district watched as white fungal growth spread across the young plants and healthy leaves began dropping one after another. “I did not know what disease it was, but I knew I had to act quickly,” the farmer recalls.

Like countless farmers across India, his first instinct was to seek advice from local pesticide dealers and neighbouring farmers. But the advice was either delayed or too general to solve the problem. By the time farmers receive the right guidance, the damage is already done.

Shiv refused to leave it to chance.

Instead of trying another pesticide based on guesswork, he reached for his smartphone. He photographed the infected saplings, uploaded the image to an application, and described what he was seeing. Within seconds, he received a diagnosis along with clear instructions on how to tackle the problem. He removed the infected plant parts, improved drainage, avoided overwatering, and applied the recommended fungicide in the prescribed quantity.

“Within a few days, the spread of the disease was under control. It helped me save a large number of saplings and reduced my losses,” he says.

For India’s more than 150 million farmers, decisions like these cannot wait. A sudden pest attack, an unfamiliar disease or an unexpected spell of rain can alter the course of an entire season.

Recognising this gap nearly two decades ago, ‘Digital Green India’ has spent years trying to make sure that expert agricultural knowledge reaches farmers when they need it most. Its latest effort, a free artificial intelligence-powered application called ‘FarmerChat’, has already reached nearly one million users across the country, helping farmers make faster and more informed decisions in the field.

When information exists but never reaches the field

India has no shortage of agricultural knowledge.

Research institutions continuously develop improved farming practices. Agricultural universities study pests, diseases, and climate-resilient cultivation techniques. Government departments regularly issue advisories. Despite this vast pool of expertise, many smallholder farmers still struggle to access practical guidance when problems arise.

The challenge, says Digital Green India CEO Nidhi Bhasin, has always been about delivering information at the right moment.

“The gap in Indian agriculture was never just that information did not exist,” she tells The Better India. “The challenge was guaranteeing it reached farmers in the right language, at the right time and in a way they could actually use.”

Launched in March 2008, the organisation began by strengthening the country’s existing agricultural extension system rather than replacing it. The non-profit worked with state governments, State Rural Livelihood Missions, agricultural departments, and grassroots organisations to create farmer-to-farmer learning videos teaching practical farming techniques in local languages.

Over the years, those efforts expanded across Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Today, the organisation has produced more than 10,000 agricultural videos and reached around 6.5 million farmers and extension workers through its various initiatives, with women forming the majority of participants.

As internet access improved across rural India and smartphones became common, the organisation realised it could take the same trusted knowledge directly into farmers’ pockets.

That led to the launch of FarmerChat in October 2024.

A new chapter led by technology

Leading this progress is Nidhi Bhasin, who joined Digital Green India as chief executive officer in September 2024 after spending more than 25 years in the social development sector.

“I had spent years understanding social impact and years understanding how technology can create change,” she says. “This space allowed me to combine both and solve problems where they matter most. Agriculture supports millions of livelihoods, so even small improvements can create a very large impact.”

Why FarmerChat was created

The idea behind FarmerChat grew out of a simple observation.

Farmers need immediate advice. Whether deciding when........

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