When 38-year-old sugarcane farmer Kala Devi from Pudukottai first saw a smartphone, she thought it was a toy for city children. Today, she’s learning to use one to track crop prices, access weather forecasts, and connect with agricultural experts—thanks to a new digital literacy drive that’s quietly transforming rural Tamil Nadu. The M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), in partnership with the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), has launched a six-month programme to equip 2,000 farmers and women’s self-help group (SHG) members with essential digital skills, bridging the technological divide that has long held back rural prosperity.
In a region where farming families rely on monsoon rains and fluctuating market prices, access to real-time information can mean the difference between profit and loss. Yet, despite the abundance of agri-tech apps and online resources, many farmers remain locked out—not by lack of interest, but by lack of digital literacy. "We have noticed that though many agri-tech applications and online resources are available to farmers and women’s self-help groups, they lack basic literacy to utilise them," says R. Rajkumar, principal scientist at MSSRF, Pudukottai. This programme, running from June to November 2026, aims to close that gap by training participants aged 18 to 50 in smartphone navigation, internet safety, digital payments, and agricultural information platforms.
The initiative is being delivered through a cascading model of knowledge transfer: 15 key resource persons will train 50 master trainers, who in turn will guide 100 community volunteers. These volunteers will work directly with farmers and SHG members across Pudukottai’s villages, ensuring that learning is local, accessible, and culturally relevant. The programme was officially inaugurated on June 9, 2026, in the presence of Manju Thakur, crop health advisor at CABI, and acclaimed Tamil poet M. Geetha, whose presence underscored the intersection of technology, agriculture, and culture in rural empowerment.
Digital inclusion is no longer a luxury—it’s a lifeline. For women in self-help groups, who often manage household finances and small-scale farming, digital literacy opens doors to microloans, e-commerce, and government schemes. For farmers, it means timely pest alerts, soil health data, and fair market access. Early pilot sessions have already shown increased confidence among participants in using apps like Kisan Suvidha and PM Kisan, and in conducting mobile banking transactions.
As the programme unfolds over the coming months, its impact could ripple far beyond Pudukottai. If successful, it may serve as a blueprint for digital empowerment in rural India, where over 80 million farming households still face barriers to technology. In a world racing toward digital agriculture, this initiative ensures that smallholder farmers aren’t left behind—but are instead, finally, connected.