Punjabi GPS system to boost farming in India

Agriculture in Punjab will get a major boost with a Canadian company introducing its GPS guidance system in the Punjabi language. The system will offer guidance in farming applications, including spraying, spreading, broad-acre tillage and seeding methods, the Calgary-based Hemisphere GPS company said Monday.

"The Punjabi Outback S-Lite recognises the Gurmukhi script (in which Punjabi is written) and is targeted at the Punjab state in the northern agriculture region, which is known for its larger farms compared to the rest of India," the Canadian company said.

Punjab has 46 million acres in cultivated land and India's largest farming tractor population. The state, which ushered the Green Revolution in India, produces about one percent of the world's rice and two percent of the world's wheat and cotton. It also has the highest per hectare fertilizer consumption in India, accounting for more than nine percent of the total fertilizer consumption in the country.

"The Outback S-Lite (in Punjabi) has both the features and the price point to compete in India's growing marketplace," said Mohamed Abousalem, vice president for marketing, Hemisphere GPS. "We acknowledge the tremendous opportunity that exists in India with the largest arable land after the US. We will continue to adapt our products to meet the needs of this and other growing markets," he said.

Apart from the Punjabi language, the Outback S-Lite guidance system also supports 20 other international languages.