Sohan Lal Commodity Management to Launch Mobile App to Test Crop Quality

SLCM (Sohan Lal Commodity Management) Pvt Ltd has created a mobile app that can quickly analyse different quality indicators of agricultural commodities, and it is expected to be released by the end of the month. 

“For India, this will be a game-changer and a defining moment. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are used to power the app. It is the outcome of almost four years of study carried out by us,”said Sandeep Sabharwal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SLCM group. 

 The company registered for a patent for the app in 2018. It will be accessible for download on smartphones and tablets by the end of the month. 

 In recent times, many Indian agri based apps were developed. Check the list here. 

Charges 

At first, the app will be accessible at no cost. It will then be subscription-based. 

In comparison to lab testing, the app will assess different quality criteria in a variety of food grains and pulses, besides guar, in a fraction of the time and give out results with 90% accuracy. The app's results will be automatically compared with pre-fed data in the firm's back-end system, which will update itself in real-time using machine learning, according to the SLCM CEO. 

 “To build the app's quality application for food grains and pulses, we obtained a technical assistance grant of €125,901 (Rs 1.111 crore) from the Technical Assistance Facility of Incofin agRIF fund and the Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling Programme (SSNUP) in Europe,” Sabharwal added. 

Benefits 

The application has an advantage over traditional quality labs or some of the new technologies that are on the way to assist deliver quality reports more rapidly in that it does not require any setup, labour, or power to scan the commodities. 

“The mobile phone is a device that operates independently of any mobile network. It will be part of our AgriReach program, which is an aggregator-based scientific warehousing strategy that can store any crop regardless of infrastructure, location, weather, or geography, according to Sabharwal. 

About AgriReach 

People were unaware of what crop was cultivated, when, and where because the nation had several crops and seasons. “Neither were they underpinned by adequate financial storage infrastructure,” The SLCM CEO explained. 

As a result, the company chose an algorithm-based software called AgriReach. "It is our exclusive method for which we have sought a patent," he added. AgriReach helps decrease post-harvest losses through smart infrastructure management. 

“To provide updates on which crops may be kept, where, and when, the software integrates a variety of procedures, audits, and real-time tracking of facilities. To prevent thefts or pilferage, it employs tactics such as geo-fencing, real-time tracking, bar-coded storage receipts, and internal audits with a maker and checker policy at each level of operation,”Sabharwal said. 

A Significant Footprint 

SLCM, located in New Delhi, now has 7,157 sites around the country, totaling 102.54 million sq ft of storage space, including cold storage. It has a total capacity of 1.75 billion tonnes. “In India, we handle 959 commodities. We incorporate various variations inside a crop by 959 commodities,” he explained. 

In Myanmar, the company also runs a network of 255 industrial zones, handles 525 commodities, has 6.91 million square feet of storage space, and has handled 11.64 million tonnes of agricultural goods. 

“We have improved the lives of over 3.86 crore individuals, in addition to another 19.34 crore. Every month, we run 10,000 trucks across our networks in India and Myanmar, transporting 7.5 million tonnes of agricultural commodities and other goods,” Sabharwal noted. 

“Our personnel ferried critical supplies throughout the nation to ensure timely delivery even during the Covid-19 shutdown,” he added. 

Quotes Source: The Hindu Businessline