A new app enables farmers plan agricultural activities during a drought
An application called "Crops Drought" has been launched to allow farmers to plan their cultivation and water reserves during a drought, the Department of Agricultural Extension said on Sunday.
Department deputy director-general Anchalee Suvachittanont said that drought triggered by climate change had caused a severe impact on agricultural output and the economy.
"Creating awareness among farmers and enabling them to be ready for drought would help mitigate loss," she said.
The Crops Drought application allows farmers to follow the drought situation, damage to crop, soil moisture, weather forecast and drought-prone areas up to four months in advance. Drought risk assessment can be shown in provinces, river basins and irrigation areas.
The model offers a 92.9% accurate forecast for sugarcane, 81.9% for rice, 77.7% for corn and 73.7% for cassava and 75% accuracy in overall agricultural crop damage forecast.
The application improves on a previous model to assess areas at risk of drought and damage to agricultural crops, which was introduced in a collaboration between the department and relevant agencies, Anchalee explained.
As a part of the department's policies to create digital literacy among farmers, the application has been offered to 450 agriculture volunteers, young farmers and community leaders in nine provinces – Uthai Thani, Surin, Nakhon Ratchasima, Roi Et, Sakon Nakhon, Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit, Suphan Buri and Nakhon Sawan.
Interested farmers can download the Crops Drought application via iOS App Store and Google Play Store, as well as website cropsdrought.gistda.or.th.
