Tech savvy and Net savvy.
Makes informed choices, be it decisions about what to grow, how to grow or what to use for growing.
Understands the implications of the use of particular fertilizers and pesticides/sprays.
Keeps short-term and long-term goals and targets.
Works like a corporate.
Gone are the days where the farmers used to follow the foot-steps of their parents, neighbors, etc. by thinking "this is how they used to do it and therefore I will also do it the same way". That may be outdated for a variety of reasons - different time, different place, different climate, different soil, different workers, different market, different economics, different dynamics.
Abundant information is available on the net. Of course making intelligent decisions is still important because all that is there in the net is not authentic or trust-worthy. The farmer should be able to filter out the garbage out of it. Social networking like facebook, whatsapp is a boon to the farmers as it is quite interactive. They can discuss things within their own closed groups before understanding what is right. There are also several mobile apps available these days which can provide generic, useful information.
Labor problem is a reality and the only option to get over it is to use machines. Take a step-by-step approach to mechanization. May be start with simple things like sprayers and then move on to weed-cutters, tillers, tractors and so on. New age farmer shall keep in mind that the machines also need good maintenance or else you will not have them available to you when you need.
Don't plan anything with subsidies in mind. If you get the subsidy amount that is a bonus! You will be tired of bribing different people from Village Account to Horticulture Officer to many other people and at the end you won't feel that whatever you got back was not worth all that effort.
