Farmers ask a variety of questions on Avaaj Otalo. Below we will peek at some data and content to give a sense for what’s been on farmer’s minds recently.
All questions that come into AO are categorized by the community manager. Below is a breakdown of questions by crop and topic over the last 3 months. It’s interesting to see the trends based on the season. Since this time frame covers the rabi season in Gujarat, most of the questions are related to common winter crops in the region: cotton, cumin, castor, and wheat. There are two main growing seasons in India. The rabi season goes roughly from autumn to spring, and the main kharif season goes from summer (monsoon time) to autumn.
Question topics on AO reflect the time of season. At the beginning, crop planning and seed questions dominate. Later, it’s disease, pest, and weather-related questions. At the end, it’s harvesting and market related questions. Here’s a breakdown of questions by crop and topic on AO during this past season (trimming off the smaller categories for readability):
We’ve posted a few questions to give a sense for typical question content and style, straight from the farmers. Every once in a while a farmer asks a question a bit off the beaten path, like the final one. Enjoy!
Question 1: Dealing with dried tobacco crop in cold weather
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Question 2: Choosing millet seed type and fertilizer
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Question 3: Choosing cumin seed type and scheduling planting
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Question 4: Seeking info on exotic crops
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