E-thota what you sow

The Farmville app that released almost a decade ago revolutionised the gaming forum with budding agriculturists. And it helped many manage their very own farms, virtually of course! Now, it looks like virtual reality is spilling over into real life with this new app. The e-thota app will help real cultivators do exactly the same but in the real agricultural scenario, where land has to be tilled, crops have to be harvested, and soil needs enrichment in any ‘thota’ across the globe. The app is the brainchild of Bengaluru-based Ravi Narayana. 

A chance visit to a home-stay of a coffee planter led to this app becoming a reality. Ravi who has a passion for wildlife photography adds, “It was a surprise to see that this coffee planter managed his entire plantation on bulky ledger books that he had to go through to know what’s happening. If not around, the only way to get information was through Whatsapp or a call which could often be misused.” 

Therefore, Ravi who recently found a new passion for apiculture, used his knowledge of making apps to build something that can help the plantation industry. On what the app exactly enables, Ravi explains, “Plantation owners can manage their estates from anywhere. They will be able to find out things like the number of people who have come to work, the work being done and the quality of work done. In the long run, they will get weekly/monthly/yearly reports of what was the spend per block, per activity, the yield etc.” In short, owners will gain visibility, accountability, and traceability into all activities happening on their estates, from any place, any time. All one has to do is just download the app which can run with or without the Internet. “It has two user roles — manager and owner. The manager who is on the estate can record the day’s activity and submit it which can be checked by the owner.” An alumni of the National Institute of Engineering, Ravi also mentions that e-thota addresses issues like lack 
of visibility, accountability and traceability. 

This app is perfect for people with small/large plantations and also for owner who stay in a nearby city. On the response he has gotten so far he is happy, “The reaction till now has been great with a large number of people using the app to manage their plantations and giving feedback, which we plan to incorporate in the upcoming versions.” He is planning to add a number of features to make the app user-friendly. “We plan to add a local language support, an inventory module and also a customised weather bulletin with information on rain, temperature and humidity etc,” Ravi signs off. 

Therefore, Ravi who recently found a new passion for apiculture, used his knowledge of making apps to build something that can help the plantation industry. On what the app exactly enables, Ravi explains, “Plantation owners can manage their estates from anywhere. They will be able to find out things like the number of people who have come to work, the work being done and the quality of work done. In the long run, they will get weekly/monthly/yearly reports of what was spent per block, per activity, the yield etc.” In short, owners will gain visibility, accountability, and traceability into all activities happening on their estates, from any place, any time. All one has to do is download the app which can run with or without the Internet. “It has two user roles — manager and owner. The manager who is on the estate can record the day’s activity and submit it which can be checked by the owner.” An alumni of the National Institute of Engineering, Ravi also mentions that e-thota addresses issues like lack of visib
ility, accountability and traceability.

This app is perfect for people with small/large plantations and also for owner who stay in a nearby city. He is happy with the response he has gotten so far. He says, “The reaction till now has been great with a large number of people using the app to manage their plantations and giving feedback, which we plan to incorporate in the upcoming versions.” He is planning to add a number of features to make the app user-friendly. “We plan to add a local language support, an inventory module and also a customised weather bulletin with information on rain, temperature and humidity etc,” Ravi signs off.