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Mruthunjaya
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P. Adhiguru
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Effective utilisation of ICT has the potential to make the rural communities in India prosperous. Failure to exploit the benefits of ICT would make them isolated, victims of the vicious cycle of poverty and widen the gap between the haves and have nots, thereby affecting social equality and livelihood security.
Introduction
The contribution of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to national development has been steadily increasing since early 1990s. For instance, Indias software exports have grown by 30 per cent in the 2004-2005 fiscal and the country today is the worlds largest exporter of trained technical ICT personnel (News.com, 2005). Special efforts are being made to exploit the potential of ICT for agricultural development and rural livelihood security so as to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. This paper examines the role and applications of ICT in promoting rural livelihood security.
Information is crucial
Notwithstanding the series of revolutions leading to national food security and increased availability of milk, fruits, vegetables, fish and other produce, the agricultural sector is facing the challenges of diminishing land resources, increasing biotic and abiotic stresses, indications of factor productivity decline, threatened loss of bio-diversity, natural resource shrinkage and degradation, climate change, new IPR regime, intensifying competition (costs and quality) in international trade, widening economic inequality etc. Further, Indian agriculture has come under significant adjustment pressure from market liberalisation and globalisation. Changing consumer preferences and emphasis on food quality and safety have added to the complexities of adjustment.
Recent evidence shows that farmers, including smallholders are gradually shifting their production portfolios in favour of high-value commodities, and are willing to take high risks. But they are confronted with a host of constraints like high transaction costs in acquiring resources, marketing of tiny marketable surplus and inadequate information (Joshi et al. 2003, Ballabh and Sharma, 1989, and Hiremath and Ballabh 1996). Farmers need reliable and timely information about best practices of production, processing, marketing, input and output prices, financial markets and risk-covering institutions. It is comprehensible that on the one hand agriculture is becoming highly science driven and knowledge intensive, but on the other hand the existing public extension system, has become outdated and ineffective in spite of the fact that it has been a catalyst in successfully heralding the Green Revolution in the country. This is partly due to an inadequate use of new means of information dissemination and also due to inadequate resources. The public extension system follows a top-down approach and has become less interactive, more time-consuming and costly and fails to meet the expectations of those involved in the agricultural production and others involved in the value chain.
To fill this gap, private initiatives have come up but largely with commercial interests. Therefore, a new extension system re-oriented to meet the information needs of the farmers should be put in place across the country. The new information-intensive extension system has to be more diversified, technology-friendly and demand-driven, to encourage the integration of enterprises like livestock, horticulture, and fisheries in the farming systems. To perform this broad based role, various information channels are being tried to reach farmers and rural poor.
ICTs vital role in improving livelihood
ICT is emerging as an effective and efficient tool to support the agrarian based livelihood of the rural people as outlined below:
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More subject matter coverage: Able to disseminate knowledge-intensive information like market intelligence, weather forecast, post-harvest processing, etc.
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Decision support: Can provide alternative solutions to a set of problematic situations/ scenarios and thereby improve the quality of decision-making.
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Direct access to information: Help overcoming the problems of multi-step distortions.
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Minimise time and distance barriers: Can virtually link the national and global knowledge systems and can break organisational working-hour barriers.
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Empower rural intermediary organisations: Enhance the capacity of local governments, local extension services centres, farmers unions/associations, NGOs, community radio stations, agro-processors, agricultural input providers, rural credit organisations, etc.
ICT for technology dissemination in public sector
There is an increasing realisation about the potentialities of ICT in agricultural technology dissemination in India. The National Agriculture Policy of India has emphasised a need to revitalise the Agricultural Extension Services and make them innovative, and farmer-friendly. The policy framework for agricultural extension prepared by the Directorate of Extension, Ministry of Agriculture states, Harnessing information technology for agricultural extension will receive high priority in the new policy agenda.
Extensive use of modern information technology will be promoted for communication between researchers, extension workers and farmers to transfer technologies and information in a cost effective manner. The tenth five-year plan states that the use of ICT is an important pillar of agricultural extension. Accordingly, 25 per cent of the funds allocated to State Extension Work Plan are meant for augmenting ICT for information4 dissemination. The Working Group on Information Technology for the Masses states, It is a firm view of the government that if any technology can create new opportunities to bridge the gap between haves and have-nots in the present time, it is IT (Directorate of Extension, 2002). The ten-point agenda of the Union Ministry of
Communication and Information Technology has claimed ICTs to be of extreme importance for bringing about an all round economic development. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices has also supported ICT and recommended in 2001 that the Centre may set up a website so that the farmers could get information on market trends, governments contingency plans, availability of seeds and other inputs. The Directorate of Extension under Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Informatics Division, under National Informatics Center, Department of Information Technology have jointly started the VISTARNET initiative, a concept towards cyber extension in India. It will bring new information services to farmers, who will have a greater control on this channel as compared to the traditional ones.
Some innovative ICT-based initiatives in agriculture
The governments supportive policy has contributed to the emergence of a pluralistic extension system in India with emphasis on application of ICT in agriculture also. Public sector institutions (e.g. Department of Agriculture, research institutes, State Agricultural Universities), NGOs, cooperatives and various private farm-related input marketing firms, are actively venturing into ICT-based initiatives for providing information in the areas of agricultural technology, production, processing, marketing and other farm related aspects. (Some examples of such initiatives are listed in Table 1.).
These initiatives vary in purpose, type and nature of information, funding agencies, facilitation, methodologies and modes of implementation. Some innovative projects involve setting up of information centres at the village level, which provide facilities of using computer with access to the Internet and offer several other multipurpose services. Some other initiatives involve developing networks, connecting research and extension organisations for effective and need-based information.
| Table 1. Some innovative ICT-based
initiatives in Indian agriculture |
|
Initiatives
|
Sponsor (organization) |
Important features |
Subject matter focus |
|
Public Sector:
Cyber extension project |
National
Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad |
Village
information centers, institutional support to other ICT projects |
Post
harvest processing, women and child welfare
|
| Agricultural
Technology Information Centers(ATICs) |
Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) |
Call
centers, expert system, researchers-farmers linkage |
Agronomic
practices, technologies, inputs |
| Agricultural
Gateway of India |
National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM)
(ICAR), Hyderabad |
Portal,
links to other sites/ portals on agriculture |
Profile
of agricultural research and extension organizations |
| Help-line
service |
Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology (CSAUAT), Kanpur |
Helpline
service through telephone, researcher-farmers linkage |
Cultivation
practices, plant protection, new technologies |
| Warna
Wired Village Project |
NIC.
Warna Cooperative Complex, Warna (Maharashtra) |
Wide
area network, Computer booths |
Cultivation
practices, pests and diseases, marketing, processing |
| Gyandoot
project |
Grama
Panchayat, Community, Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh |
Soochanalayas,
Portals, Partial recovery, Panchayat-community partnership |
Agriculture
produce, market intelligence, auction rates, land records |
|
Private Sector :
E-Choupal |
Indian
Tobacco Company, Madhya Pradesh |
e-choupal,
crop specific intranet |
Market
price, cultivation practice, weather |
| Rural
Information Kiosks |
EID
Parry, Tamil Nadu |
Farmers
managed kiosks, portals, public-private partnership in applying ICT
innovations & content development |
Farm
practices, Farm advisory, market intelligence, weather |
| I-kisan
portal |
Nagarjuna
group, Andhra Pradesh |
Portal
in regional languages |
Agricultural
practices, plant protection, animal husbandry, weather |
|
NGOs:
Village Knowledge Center |
M
S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai |
Knowledge
center, pro-poor, pro-nature, pro-women, community ownership |
Agronomic
practices, cattle, feed, weather, schemes |
| Computer
on wheels |
Pingali
Rajeswari-entrepreneur, Andhra Pradesh |
Internet
on motor bikes, portals, remote area, resource poor |
Market,
weather, plant protection, animal health |
Impact of ICT initiatives
Some of these selected initiatives were studied for their role in influencing livelihood security through yield enhancement, reducing transaction costs, increased sale value, time saving, etc. which has bearing on both food security and livelihood. In this section, a few of the cases have been illustrated. The impact of some of the initiatives is presented below based on the experiences of farmers, as reported by them (Adhiguru et al 2003). Segregating the exclusive impact of ICT is difficult but it broadly indicates how ICT can be one of the significant inputs in the development paradigm in Indian agriculture
Yield gain and reduction in cost of cultivation
It has been found that both I-kisan and Helpline initiatives improved the access to information for farmers and they could use improved varieties, adopt innovative pest and nutrient management practices at critical stages of crop growth and reduce frequency of application of agro-chemicals. As a result, crop yield gain was realised to the tune of 4-5 per cent(Figure 1) . Additionally, there was reduction in cost of cultivation by 14 per cent and three per cent in the case of I-kisan and Helpline initiatives respectively(Figure 1) .
The ICT enabled farm management advisory by I-kisan i.e. visits by agricultural expert to fields and technical recommendations to farmers based on soil testing enhanced the knowledge utilisation level of farmers.
Reduction in transaction cost
Generally, for receiving information or any technical knowledge on crop cultivation, farmers go to a nearby taluka headquarters where they can meet officials in the Department of Agriculture or get advice on purchasing agro-inputs from private dealers.
Usually, private dealers do not spend time in offering technical advice to a farmer unless he/she actually purchases a product. In other words, it is product-oriented advice rather than farmer/farm oriented advice. That is the primary reason why farmers have failed to increase the overall efficiency in production. The ICT-enabled initiatives could change this scenario and the farmers could get technical advice by visiting kiosks located in their village or nearby village and save on transaction costs as well. The transaction cost incurred by the farmers was worked by computing variables like distance travelled, labour hours involved per visit, cost equivalent of labour hours, and travelling cost per visit. It is very clear from Table 2 that through ICT enabled services, a farmer could save his travelling time and transaction costs by more than 80-90 per cent.
Table
2:
Reduction in transaction cost for accessing information
|
| Particulars |
e-choupal
|
I-kisan
|
Helpline |
| Without ICT |
With
ICT |
Reduction
(%) |
Without ICT |
With
ICT |
Reduction
(%) |
Without ICT |
With
ICT |
Reduction
(%) |
| Labour
cost per visit* (A). Rs. |
34.12 |
6.18 |
81.89
|
41.56
|
3.28
|
92.10
|
35
|
2.59
|
92.60
|
| Travel
cost per visit (B). Rs. |
13.87 |
0 |
100
|
9.25
|
0
|
100
|
5.88
|
0
|
92.58
|
| Total
expenditure per visit (A+B). Rs |
47.99 |
6.18 |
87.12
|
50.81
|
3.28
|
93.54
|
40.88
|
2.59
|
93.66
|
| Source: Adhiguru et al. (2003) |
| *Note: Imputed value of labour hours |
For marketing the produce as well, the farmers used to spend considerable time and money for price discovery and later for selling the produce. Most of the time, they got a price disproportionate to the quality of the farm produce. The e-Choupal (soyachoupal) concept is a live example of how ICT can help overcome these difficulties. By using soyachoupal, the farmers could save 68 per cent of the transaction costs due to information-led decision making on when and where to sell their farm produce (Soyabean) while the processing company could save about 36 per cent on account of saving charges towards freight to processing factory (Table 3).
Table 3: How e-choupal saves costs (Soybean
trading)
|
|
Nature of cost |
Mandi |
e-choupal |
| Cost incurred by farmer
(Rs./tonne) |
Trolley freight |
120 |
120 |
|
Labour |
50 |
Nil |
|
Middlemen |
150 |
Nil |
|
Handling loss |
50 |
Nil |
|
Total |
370 |
120 |
| Cost incurred by processor
(Rs/ tonne) |
Commission
|
100 |
50 |
|
Gunny bags |
75 |
75 |
|
Freight to factory |
120 |
Nil |
|
Storage and handling |
40 |
40 |
|
Disbursement cost |
Nil |
50 |
|
Total |
335 |
215 |
|
Total chain |
705 |
335 |
| Source: Saran, 2004. |
Also, the farmers reported that they had registered an increase in the sale value for their soyabean produce by around two per cent due to the premium price offered by soyachoupal for their quality farm produce (Adhiguru and Mruthyunjaya, 2004). Farmers, especially smallholders could minimise the difficulties and the costs involved in the process of price discovery and the purchase of farm inputs by availing another distinct service offered by soyachoupal. Farmers could place their requirement of inputs to the Sanchalak, who placed bulk demand with the ITC. ITC arranged to deliver the products, ensuring quality farm inputs at reduced transaction costs.
One-fourth of the respondents contacted under the study reported that they could reduce the cost of procurement of inputs by 4 per cent. Through Gyandoot kiosks, farmers could get the land records in village itself and save transaction costs by 66 per cent. They could save on time, travel charges and avoid unnecessary administrative hurdles (Adhiguru and Mruthyunjaya, 2004). Through Gyandoot, the farmers, particularly smallholders, have been getting higher returns on the basis of the timely access to market information. In one specific case, the smallholders could get Rs 4000 per ton in a nearby market for the potatoes they were earlier selling at Rs 3000 per ton through the local middleman (Economic Times, 2002).
Time saving
According to a study (UNESCO, 2001), the users in the three knowledge centres of MSSRF, Pondicherry have saved a travel distance of around 100,000 kms, and 4000 hours amounting to imputed value of Rs.16, 000 (Table 4). Time is a valuable commodity for the landless labourers and women in the rural areas (particularly during working seasons) and therefore time saved means money-earned.
| Table 4: Time and
money saved through village knowledge centers |
| Group/Category |
Number |
Distance saved
(kms.)
|
Time saved
(hours)
|
Money saved
(Rs.) |
| Total number of users |
2518 |
74304 |
2477 |
12384 |
| Men |
2064 |
61560 |
2052 |
10260 |
| Women |
354 |
12744 |
425 |
2124 |
| Below poverty line |
85 |
3060 |
66 |
66 |
| Illiterates |
20 |
720 |
24 |
120 |
| First times users |
625 |
22500 |
750 |
3750 |
| Men |
425 |
15300 |
510 |
2550 |
| Women |
200 |
7200 |
240 |
1200 |
| Source: UNESCO, 2001. |
Awareness and utilisation of entitlements
Through the village knowledge centre, Panchali, a farm-woman living in Kizhoor village, of Pondicherry came to know about the availability of subsidised seeds at PASIC (Pondicherry Agro-Service and Industries Corporation Limited) and procured 40kg of white ponny paddy variety seeds at the rate of Rs 10.50 per kg. This timely availability of information saved her both time and money (Rs.80, subsidy for 40 kg seeds) (UNESCO, 2001). Thus, it should be noted that the asset-less, ultra-poor families are among the major users of the village knowledge centre. Access to and control of information by poor women is a step towards empowerment.
Facilitating factors and constraints in the use of ICT
The study results (Adhiguru et al 2003) indicate that certain unique features of the initiatives have contributed to their success and sustainability. For instance, the e-Choupal initiative has drawn strength by involving existing rural institution, the choupal, and redefining the role of traditional intermediaries for facilitation and information gathering so as to help both the farmers and ITC. Though this initiative is supply-driven, by supplementing the information service with correct weighing of the produce and immediate payment of dues at the ITC collection unit, it is encouraging higher participation of farmers. In the case of the Village Knowledge Centres of MSSRF, a memorandum of understanding between the organisation and the villagers for providing
infrastructure and identifying local volunteers has encouraged a community partnership.
Gender sensitivity orientation and involvement of women volunteers has resulted in active participation of women and their empowerment. The proportion of women users varies from 34-50 per cent. Creating the content locally and disseminating it in a user-friendly mode, with state-of the-art ICT, has led to extensive use of the initiative and a strong sense of ownership among the villagers.
In India, the utilisation of ICT in agriculture and rural development is in the takeoff stage and obviously it is facing many field problems (Table 5) . For instance, among the various constraints reported by the beneficiaries in different initiatives, subject matter inadequacy and lack of content in local language were found to be prominent constraints. The facilitators co-operation and his/her subject matter knowledge was perceived to be a major factor as well. About half of the respondents expressed irregular internet connectivity as one of the major constraints, except in the case of initiatives like e-Choupal and Computer on Wheels (COW). These two initiatives use solar cell and battery back up for the regular power supply and the e-Choupal has VSAT connectivity whereas COW had GPRS (General Package Radio System) connectivity. Farmers faced problems in using the helplines due to very low teledensity in rural Uttar Pradesh (0.56 phones per 100 people by March 2003) (India infoline, 2003).
Table 5: Constraints experienced
by the beneficiaries
|
| Constraints |
Organisation / Percentage |
|
E-C |
IK |
HL |
COW |
GD |
MAN |
| Insufficient
regional specific information |
25 |
55 |
- |
40 |
- |
50 |
| Inadequate
subject matter |
25 |
10 |
37.5 |
62.5 |
- |
45 |
| Not
suitable to all kinds of information |
20 |
- |
30 |
- |
- |
- |
| Inadequate
support from facilitator |
10 |
35 |
- |
- |
- |
37.5 |
| Inadequate
facilitators knowledge |
52.5 |
30 |
- |
25 |
- |
35 |
| Facilitator
is not available |
- |
- |
50 |
- |
- |
- |
| Lack
of infrastructure facility |
- |
62.5 |
- |
- |
55 |
30 |
| Inadequate
internet/phone connectivity |
- |
50 |
50 |
- |
50 |
47.5 |
E-C:E-choupal, IK: I-kisan. HL:
Helpline service, COW: Computer on Wheels, GD: Gyandoot, MAN: MANAGE
|
| Source: Adhiguru et al. 2004 |
Suggested strategies for effective utilisation of ICT
Multi-pronged strategy in deploying ICT is required if it is to make a real dent in the upliftment of the poor. Some points are enumerated below.
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Content development: Generic and indigenous knowledge, success stories in local language to meet local needs.
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Unified dissemination: Research and development institutes to develop synergy in content development and delivery (e.g. interlinking of websites).
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Capacity development programmes: Regional/intermediary institutions may identify emerging training needs and impart training for various stakeholders.
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Bridging the divide: Strategic deployment of ICT to address socio-economic dividers (age, gender, land holding, geography) is essential.
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Every village a knowledge centre: Improve connectivity by using wireless, low-cost technologies, low-power alternatives.
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Enable intermediary organisations: Better e-linkage among rural institutions, extension agents, local NGOs, and producer associations to improve their delivery efficiency.
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Emphasis on gender equity: Providing women-oriented content, easy access, capacity building, and involvement in indigenous knowledge acquisition and management.
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Strengthen monitoring and feedback: Deploy ICT in community knowledge gathering and eliciting peoples feedback for research/development projects and democratic governance.
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Attract private investments: Create a congenial environment for higher investments by private sector in telecommunications and information kiosks.
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Sensitisation on smallholders needs: Assessing needs and constraints to be prerequisite for content development and designing services.
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Low-cost training institutes: Schools and panchayat offices can impart ICT trainings. Students can be effective no cost trainers.
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Location specific knowledge bank: Document the most common sets of questions, and create a library of responses, as well as provide a mechanism to identify key issues that smallholders-friendly agricultural research agenda should address.
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Socio-cultural sensitivity: Government and societies should observe technological and social changes taking place due to ICT and must exercise their moral authority by framing appropriate policies and rules.
Conclusion
The use of ICT in agriculture in general and rural livelihood security in particular remains restricted in India. Effective utilisation of ICT has the potential to make the rural communities in India prosperous. Failure to exploit the benefits of ICT would make them isolated, victims of the vicious cycle of poverty and widen the gap between the haves and have nots, thereby affecting social equality and livelihood security. The use of ICT should not be restricted to simply establishing information flow channels; rather we should find a way to integrate it with the various livelihood needs (natural, social, human, physical and financial) of the rural community. The narrow ICT coverage is found to be financially non-viable. Further, no single agency can effectively deliver this critical input. Besides the public sector, the need for a proactive participation by the private sector, NGOs and other civil society organisations is being increasingly felt. For ICT initiatives to be successful and sustainable in the long run, collaborative efforts are indispensable .
References
Adhiguru, P, Mruthyunjaya, and P.S. Birthal. 2003. Project on Innovative Institutions for Agricultural Technology Dissemination: Role of Information and Communication Technology, National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi.
Adhiguru, P, and Mruthyunjaya, 2004. Institutional innovations for using Information and Communication Technology, Policy Brief 18, National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi.
Ballabh, V. and B.M. Sharma. 1989. HYV Adoption: Production Adjustment Mechanisms in Flood-prone Areas of Uttar Pradesh: A Synthesis Research paper No. 5, Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat, India.
Directorate of Extension. 2002. Background paper for National Workshop on Information and Communication Technology in Agriculture Extension, Directorate of Extension, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi.
Hiremath, B.N. and V. Ballabh. 1996. Integrating small farmers with market problems and prospects, In: Small Farm Diversification: Problems and Prospects. Ed. T. Haque, Workshop proceedings 1, New Delhi: National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research.
Joshi, P.K., Ashok Gulati, P.S. Birthal and Laxmi Tewari. 2003. Agriculture diversification in South Asia: Patterns, Determinants, and Policy Implications, MSSD Discussion Paper No. 57, Market and Structural Studies Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, USA.
News.com. 2005. Indias software exports booming, http://news.com.com/Indias+software+exports+booming/ 2100-1014_3-5363201.html
Saran, R. 2004. To boldly go where, India Today, December 13. UNESCO. 2001.www.unesco.or.id/apgest/pdf/india/india-bp-it.pdf
USAID. 2003. Future Directions in Agriculture and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) , Background paper.
Authors: Mruthyunjaya is the National Director, National Agricultural Technology Project, and P. Adhiguru is Scientist (Senior Scale) at the National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi.
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