Pant Agri Smart: A Digital Livestock Advisory Platform for Improving Access to Information and Decision-Making

Abstract

Livestock farming plays an important role in strengthening rural livelihoods and household income, particularly among small and marginal farmers. However, limited access to timely and reliable livestock information often affects farmers’ ability to manage animal health, nutrition, breeding, and disease prevention effectively. In this context, the Pant Agri Smart application was developed as a digital livestock information and advisory platform to provide farmers with timely, need-based and expert-supported information. The present study was undertaken to assess the types and relative importance of livestock information provided through Pant Agri Smart. Information was collected from livestock farmers using a structured interview schedule, and the responses were analysed using mean score, standard deviation and mean rank. The findings revealed substantial improvement across all the assessed indicators after exposure to Pant Agri Smart. Overall, the proportion of respondents demonstrating the assessed livestock knowledge, access and decision-making indicators increased from 22.1 per cent before using the platform to 74.2 per cent after its use, showing an improvement of 52.1 percentage points. The highest improvement was observed in access to expert livestock advisory services (57.0 percentage points), followed by the use of mobile phones for livestock-related information (54.5 percentage points). Knowledge of scientific livestock management, balanced feeding practices, vaccination and disease prevention also showed considerable improvement. Confidence in making livestock management decisions increased by 49.5 percentage points. Image-based livestock problem reporting, emergency/first-level information, breeding and reproductive management, and housing and sanitation information also received favourable responses. The findings indicate that Pant Agri Smart provides information covering major dimensions of livestock management, with greater emphasis on animal health and preventive care. The study highlights the potential of digital platforms such as Pant Agri Smart in improving farmers’ access to timely livestock information, supporting informed decision-making, and contributing to improved livestock management and productivity.