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Welcome to Inside KisanHub, a selection of interviews with the talented people behind the KisanHub software. This month we caught up (virtually) with Dr Harshal Galgale, a Senior Software Engineer at KisanHub.
Hi Harshal! To kick things off please can you tell us a little bit about yourself and explain your role at KisanHub?
I am an Indian and moved to the UK in 2002 to do a PhD. I have been with KisanHub for the last 5 years and played various roles during this period. Currently, I am working as a Senior Software Engineer with a focus on bringing Crop intelligence services to the platform.
What are you working on right now and what will this mean for our customers?
I am focusing on enhancing the crop insight services such as Pest and Disease forecasting and Water management. Recently we have made some important changes to KisanHub’s Potato Dashboard functionality through, which it will become easy to collect the necessary information related to Potato crop easily.
We have also incorporated auto subscriptions to Potato Late Blight forecasting service (pictured left) and auto submission of data to NIAB Cuf Potato Yield Model service. This will help growers get early notifications for Late Blight Risk, so that growers can take appropriate preventive measures accordingly. With Potato Yield Model service both the growers and enterprise users will be able to understand production quantities, so that they can plan the supply chain accordingly.
You’ve previously worked in the Environmental Consultancy industry, what motivated you to move to a tech startup?
Before joining KisanHub I was Senior Consultant (Geospatial Data and Modelling) working on several projects from Offshore Oil and Gas, Renewable energy, and Bathing waters. Then I had a chat with our CEO, Dr Sachin Shende who is also a friend, and he inspired me to move to KisanHub; where I have been able to apply my skill set to support the Agri-food industry, especially in regards to efforts to improve environmental sustainability.
The agricultural knowledge from my graduate, postgraduate, and PhD studies, has helped my understanding of industry practices in both developing and developed countries. This alongside my knowledge of software development, has allowed me to first understand key pain points and then to deliver quick agile solutions to resolve them. The adoption of these solutions helps us to refine the product and our service offering; we are constantly listening to our customer’s feedback.
What do you most enjoy about being part of the KisanHub team?
Problem-solving, whether it is of growers or enterprises. I believe growers are already doing their bit in the ground, but it’s great to see our team’s drive to put themselves in their shoes constantly. I enjoy building a solution that can be easy to use and provide meaningful insights at people’s fingertips.
Do you have a work mantra that you go by?
To resolve customers’ problems first.
What three words would you use to describe KisanHub?
Passionate, Responsible and Empathetic
Finally, as a tech startup working in the Agri-food industry, do you have a favourite fruit or vegetable?
Mangoes both raw and ripped, it’s such a versatile fruit! It can be processed pulp, juice, slices and pickled. They are grown in many places in the world but led by India, with many varieties but I would always recommend the Totapur Mango (pictured left).
Growers and Enterprises around the world work really hard to bring good quality food to our plate. We should be thanking them and respect every bit of food on our plate - taste it - don’t waste it.
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