About the project

The “Farmers’ Advisory Portal” project aims to create a comprehensive digital platform to assist farmers in Odisha. Spearheaded by the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC) in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment, the portal will integrate a web-based system and mobile applications to provide personalized agronomic advisories. This project focuses on designing, building, and maintaining a user-friendly platform that gives farmers the information they need, whenever they need it.

Goals and Objectives

The primary goal is to establish a centralized knowledge base and advisory system to support farmers in optimizing productivity and enhancing their satisfaction. The objectives include boosting farmer productivity and income through accurate and timely information, providing 24/7 support for farming-related questions and decision-making, and delivering real-time data on crop management, weather conditions, farming techniques, and market trends.

My Role

I led the design project, collaborating with business analysts to understand requirements while conducting user and competitor research. I facilitated brainstorming and ideation sessions to address major UI and UX challenges, guiding the team in creating wireframes, interactive prototypes, and presenting proposals to stakeholders. Developed high-level design solutions and ensured a smooth handoff of designs and final assets to developers. Throughout the project, I prioritized iterative improvements based on feedback to deliver a user-focused solution.

The Process

Wireframes

Designs

Challenges

Challenge 1

Challenge: The app’s language switcher was initially limited to the onboarding flow and settings. Feedback revealed that farmers often relied on tech-savvy individuals at local stores or cybercafés to complete onboarding in English. Later, when farmers used the app independently, they found it inaccessible due to the default English language and their inability to navigate to settings to switch to Hindi or Odia.
Solution: To enhance accessibility, a persistent language toggle was introduced in the app’s header. This allowed farmers to easily switch languages at any point without needing external assistance or navigating through settings.

Challenge 2

Challenge: The client requested integrating detailed farmer data from the Krushak Odisha web portal into the FUP mobile app. This data spanned demographic details, bank information, cropping patterns, plot ownership, seasonal cultivation, and involvement in areas like animal production, fishing, and forestry. With only the API response provided, the challenge was to present this extensive information in a mobile-friendly format that farmers could easily navigate and understand.
Solution: We designed a clear, logical structure to categorize and prioritize the data into intuitive sections. By leveraging visual hierarchy and a farmer-centric approach, the mobile app presented complex information in an accessible and easily comprehensible manner, eliminating confusion.

Challenge 3

Challenge: The client wanted to display year-wise crop survey data for all plots owned by a farmer in a single, tabular view, including details like crop types, current cultivations, and survey images. However, this approach risked compromising usability due to the volume of information.
Solution: We proposed a modular and navigable structure with a clear information hierarchy. Farmers would first select a plot to view its survey data, with the latest year’s details shown by default. A horizontal scroll selector was introduced at the top, allowing users to effortlessly switch between years. This design ensured usability while meeting client requirements.