Agri-Vibrant an Agri Business Portal

Abstract

The agricultural sector is marked by highly fragmented markets, information asymmetry, and limited access to expert advisory services, which limit farmers\' productivity and profitability. This study recommends the development of an integrated digital platform to fill such gaps by bundling essential farm services into one web-based solution. The platform is split into three modules: (1) an e-commerce portal to facilitate easy sale of farm produce, (2) a digital auction platform to facilitate direct transactions between farmers and wholesalers, and (3) an AI-based advisory service connecting farmers with farm experts to offer real-time best-practice advice. The e-commerce module is instituted with a simple interface to ensure ease of use, particularly by low-digital-literacy farmers. The auction module has secure payment processes and order management to ensure transparency and trust among the stakeholders. The platform also does away with intermediaries to maximize farmers\' margins while providing fair pricing mechanisms. The advisory module offers data-driven suggestions on sustainable agricultural methods, crop management, and pest control using AI given advice. According to preliminary results, the platform significantly affects market efficiency by lowering transaction costs and giving farmers useful information. The study concludes that integrating e-commerce, digital auctions, and advisory services in one platform can trigger agricultural productivity, facilitate fair trade, and promote long-term sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. Subsequent work will involve real-world deployment and impact assessment across different agricultural districts.

Introduction

The agricultural sector, especially in developing countries, faces critical inefficiencies such as limited market access, pricing opacity, and lack of expert advisory services. These challenges lead to reduced farmer incomes, unsustainable practices, and a reliance on exploitative intermediaries.

To address these issues, the paper proposes Agri-Vibrant, a holistic digital platform under the Digital India initiative. This platform integrates several modules:

• Digital Marketplace: Enables direct transactions between farmers and buyers, removing middlemen.

• Online Auction System: Ensures fair pricing and transparency through real-time competitive bidding.

• AI-Powered Advisory (via Gemini API): Offers multilingual, real-time expert advice on crop management, pest control, and weather using a chatbot.

• E-commerce Interface: Allows farmers to sell directly to urban and retail consumers, increasing their market reach.

• Robust Technical Architecture: Built with React, Node.js, TypeScript, MongoDB, and Tailwind CSS, ensuring scalability, responsiveness, and ease of use on both mobile and desktop.

Key Issues Identified

1. Market Fragmentation: Farmers rely heavily on intermediaries due to the lack of direct access to high-margin markets.

2. Hidden Pricing: A lack of transparency in price discovery mechanisms leads to unfair payments.

3. Knowledge Gaps: Most farmers lack timely, accurate expert guidance, resulting in lower yields and unsustainable practices.

Literature Insights

• Digital platforms improve price visibility, access to broader markets, and trust.

• E-commerce helps connect farmers with urban demand for fresh and organic produce.

• Auction systems promote pricing fairness and reduce dependence on middlemen.

• Advisory services, especially mobile-based, can bridge knowledge gaps in rural areas.

• Technologies like AI, predictive analytics, and mobile-first design are revolutionizing farming by providing real-time, localized, and data-driven solutions.

References

[1] Singh, M., & Kumar, A. (2019). \"AI and Data Analytics in Indian Agriculture: Emerging Trends.\" Journal of Agricultural Informatics, 10(2), 45-58. [2] S. Patel et al., \"Digital Platforms for Agricultural Market Access,\" IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 11234-11245, 2021. [3] L. Zhang and M. Li, \"E-Commerce Adoption in Agri-Supply Chains,\" Journal of Rural Development, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 78-92, 2022. [4] T. Nguyen and H. Wang, \"Mobile Payment Systems in Agriculture,\" IEEE Transactions on Agri-Informatics, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 23-35, 2021. [5] Agricultural Economics Society, \"Impact of Electronic Auctions on Farmer Incomes,\" AES Report, 2021. [6] J. Extension Education, \"Digital Advisory Services for Farmers,\" JEE, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 101-115, 2021. [7] M. Rao and P. Reddy, \"AI in Precision Agriculture,\" Agricultural Systems, vol. 187, 2022. [8] K. Sharma et al., \"Mobile Apps for Rural Farming Communities,\" IEEE Journal on Rural Computing, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 56-68, 2020. [9] Sharma, N. (2019). Adoption of E-Commerce by Farmers in Rural India: Challenges and Prospects (Master\'s thesis). University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. Available through the university repository. [10] Kumar, S. (2018). Role of ICT in Enhancing Agricultural Productivity: A Study in Maharashtra (PhD thesis). Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Available via Shodhganga: https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/ [11] Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), \"Digital Platforms for Smallholder Market Access,\" UN Tech Report, 2022. [12] G. Singh and R. Singh, \"Middleman Elimination in Agri-Supply Chains,\" IEEE Trans. on Agri-Informatics, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 45–58, 2022

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Satyaki Mukherjee, Sridip Golui, Prof. Krishnadas Saha. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.