Building the database, monitoring, and information-sharing system for

the Action Platform

March 2013

Table of contents

I. Results Monitoring System

A. Key indicators for value chain and input companies with ICT

B. Key indicators for input companies without ICT

C. Key indicators for financial institutions

II. ICT Providers for Results Monitoring

D. FrontalRain

E. CropIn

F. Nokia Life

III. Using ICT to Monitor Results—Godrej Agrovet

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Executive summary

The first section of this report outlines potential indicators on farmer characteristics, company inputs and farmer outcomes for three sets of companies: Value chain and input companies which are using ICT systems to

monitor participating farmers, company inputs, and farmer outcomes. Companies which are not using ICT systems to track farmers served,

inputs provided and results achieved. Financial institutions which are doing appraisal based lending of

farmers, with the ability to capture key indicators on farmer clients, financial services provided and changes in farmer incomes.

We have worked to create a results monitoring system for company initiatives, collaborations and PPPs for the Action Platform to Create Shared Value in Agribusiness.

First section

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Executive summary

The second section of this report provides a description of three service providers which offer ICT solutions, with mobile devices for use by field staff and farmers to track farmer tag variables, inputs and outcome: FrontalRain CropIn Nokia Life.

The features of the ICT offerings of each of these firms have been analyzed by an IIMA team, and the firms have reviewed the features described in this report.

Second section

We hope that companies will be able to use these ICT offerings for commercial purposes, to track efficiency and effectiveness of operations with large numbers of farmers. The same system can be used to monitor actions taken to meet the shared objectives of the Action Platform to create shared value with 20 million farmers by 2020.

We look forward to the review of the results monitoring system with participating companies to enable implementation in FY2013-14.

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I. Results Monitoring System

The monitoring system has been designed for input companies, value chain companies and financial institutions with farmer tag indicators, input and outcome indicators, collection methods for each

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indicator Input Companies With ICT Without ICT

Value Chain Companies

Financial Institutions

Tag indicators— Baseline data

Data collected by extension officers, including use of geo-tagging

Data based on best estimates by company management

Data collected by extension officers, either manually or with ICT

Data from appraisals by loan officers entered into MIS

Input indicators— Company activities

Data collected by extension officers using ICT

Data based on best estimates by company management

Data collected by extension officers, either manually or with ICT

Data from appraisals, efficiency and repayment data from MIS

Outcome indicators— Impact of company engagement

Data collected by extension officers using ICT

Data based on best estimates by company management

Data collected by extension officers, either manually or with ICT

Data from MIS, including from appraisal by loan officers of repeat loans.

Key indicators for value chain and input companies with ICT: a. Tag indicators on farmersb. Input indicatorsc. Outcome indicators

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Tag indicators on farmers for value chain and input companies with ICT

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Dimension Key Indicators

Information on farmers prior to company engagement

1. Farm location by state, district and mandal/taluka2. Operational holding size 3. Whether focused on commercial vs. subsistence 4. Water and irrigation 5. Whether farmer used a tractor 6. Land under production of targeted commodity 7. Yield per hectare of targeted commodity8. Price per kilo realized for targeted commodity9. Total net income of farmer 10. Total net income of farmer, attributed to each targeted commodity

Value Chain Companies Only11. Percentage of output consumed by household or sold in village12. Percentage of output sold by farmer in local market13. Percentage of output sold through commercial value chains

Input indicators for value chain and input companies with ICT

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Dimension Key indicators

Input indicators – for each commodity

1. Amount of improved seeds purchased, by type2. Amount of fertilizer purchased, by type3. Amount of plant protection purchased, by type4. Amount paid by farmer for all inputs5. Company costs per farmer in providing inputs 6. Supply of drip or spray irrigation provided, in ha7. Tractor or farm equipment sold, in rupees 8. Whether farmer provided with demo plots 9. Whether farmer provided with group training10. Whether farmer provided with on-farm extension services11. Whether farmer provided with ICT-based information and advice 12. Company costs per farmer in providing advice 13. Whether farmer provided with support in accessing credit 14. Whether farmer provided with support in accessing crop or weather insurance 15. Amount of credit extended

Input indicators for value chain companies only

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Dimension Key indicators

Input indicators –

for each commodity

1. Whether company procured directly from farmers in value chain2. Whether company established contracts with farmers with minimum prices3. Whether company procured through an agro-entrepreneur 4. Whether company procured through a producer organization5. Whether company procured through a traditional trader6. Whether company helped organize producer organizations and/or agro

entrepreneurs for procurement, QC, other services 7. Whether company procured over 75% of output from farmer 8. Whether farmer received bank loans under value chain financing

collaborations 9. Company costs per farmer in providing procurement services

Outcome indicators for input companies with ICT and value chain companies

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Dimension Key indicators

Outcome indicators – with company engagement, by targeted commodity

Farmer Level1. Land under production 2. Yield per hectare 3. Price per kilo realized 4. Price increase per kilo 5. Total revenue of farmer in value chain from output sold to agribusiness6. Net income of the farmer attributed to target commodity (revenues minus

expenditures)

Aggregate Data 7. Average yield per hectare 8. Average price per kilo realized 9. Average net income earned

Key indicators for input companies without ICT: a. Estimates on farmer segments b. Estimates on services provided c. Estimates on results achieved at farmer level

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Tag indicators on farmers for input companies without ICT—based upon management estimates using data from agro-dealers and field officers

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Dimension Key indicator: estimates of farmers and segments served

Tag indicators -information on farmers prior to company engagement

1. Number of farmers served, by state, district and mandal/taluka2. Number of farmers served, by operational holding size3. Number of farmers served, by farming model4. Number of farmers served, by water and irrigation5. Number of farmers served using a tractor 6. Average land under production of targeted commodity7. Average yield per hectare of the targeted commodity8. Average price per kilo realized for targeted commodity9. Average net income of farmer 10. Average net income of farmer attributed to each targeted commodity

Input indicators for input companies without ICT, using aggregated estimates by management using data from agro-dealers and field officers

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Dimension

Key indicators: estimates of services provided to farmers

Input indicators – for each commodity

1. Number of farmers served with improved seeds, by type (kg)2. Number of farmers served with fertilizer, by type (kg)3. Number of farmers using plant protection, by type (kg/l)4. Average amount paid by farmer for inputs5. Average company costs per farmer in providing inputs 6. Number of hectares supplied with drip or spray irrigation7. Number of farmers sold a tractor or farm equipment8. Number of farmers provided with demo plots 9. Number of farmers provided with group training10. Number of farmers provided with on-farm extension services11. Number of farmers provided with ICT-based information and advice 12. Average company costs per farmer in providing advice 13. Number of farmers provided with support in accessing credit 14. Number of farmers provided with support in accessing crop or weather

insurance15. Number of farmers to whom credit was extended

Outcome indicators for input companies without ICT—estimating pre and post engagement outcomes for farmers using management estimates based on information from agro-dealers and field officers

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Dimension Key indicators: estimates of results achieved

Outcome indicators – with company engagement, by targeted commodity

 1. Average land under production 2. Average yield per hectare 3. Average price per kilo realized 4. Average price increase per kilo 5. Average revenue of farmer in value chain from output sold to agribusiness6. Average net income earned (revenues minus expenditures)

Key indicators for financial institutions: a. Tag indicators on farmersb. Input indicatorsc. Outcome indicators

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Tag indicators on farmers for financial institutions—Using information from loan appraisals entered into MIS

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Dimensions Key indicators

Tag indicators -information on farmers prior to loan

1. Location of the farmer by state, district and mandal/taluka2. Operational land holding3. Whether focused on commercial vs. subsistence 4. Gross total income of the household5. Net income of the household6. Net income of the household from agriculture and livestock 7. Main commercial crops grown 8. Percentage of farm output sold for cash 9. Whether farmer has received loans from this FI in the past 10. Whether farmer has received loans from other FI’s11. Whether farmer has a history of default 12. Whether farmer has a clear land title

Input indicators for financial institutions—Services to farmer by FI, using and refining MIS

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Dimension Key indicators

Input indicators – for each commodity

1. Amount of working capital loan by FI 2. Amount of fixed investment loan by FI3. Amount of warehouse receipt loan by FI 4. Whether crop or weather insurance provided 5. Time taken between application and disbursement 6. Whether loan originated, was appraised and was disbursed from bank branch

and by bank staff 7. Whether loan made as part of a value chain financing collaboration with an

agribusiness 8. Whether agro-dealer or other agent was used for origination and/or other

functions 9. Whether client has a savings account with FI10. Whether client has payment services from FI 11. Whether client has other services from FI 12. Cost per unit per rupee lent 13. Annual cost to provide annual services to client14. Average interest rate in loans to client15. Net revenues to FI from financial services to client

Outcome indicators by financial institutions—Impact on net income, end use, repayment and repeat loans

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Dimension Key indicators

Outcome indicators – with loan, by targeted commodity

 1. Whether the client repays loan on time 2. Net income post-loan, calculated when repeat loan provided 3. Whether over 50% of the loan was allocated to procure improved inputs 4. Whether a portion of the loan was allocated to procure irrigation or farm

equipment 5. Whether FI intends to make a repeat loan to the client

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II. ICT Providers for Results Monitoring

FrontalRain

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Frontal Rain process map for collecting and providing data for key players in the value chain

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Objectives and advantages of FrontalRain

Parameters FrontalRain

Objectives and Business Focus

• Deliver specialized software (Rain+) to agribusiness sector that can improve efficiency at every stage of the supply chain

• Focus on increasing revenue, farm productivity and supply chain management and expansion capacity through Rain+

Advantages

• Provides end-to-end solutions and supply chain management through five Rain+ products targeting the following categories:

• Grower management• Process manufacturing for food processing plants• Logistics solutions for warehouses and cold chains• Collaboration platform for distributors and traders• Customer satisfaction solutions

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Target clients, technology and key features of FrontalRain

Parameters FrontalRain

Target Clients

• Growers • Processors• Logistics and agri-service providers • Traders

Technology

• FrontalRain is based on the SaaS software distribution model• Functions such as sales, purchase, procurement, quality,

R&D, finance and investment are tracked by SaaS • Farmers are tagged through a coding convention and data is

fed into different logs for each farming activity

Scalability• Easily customized for organizations experiencing rapid

growth

Distinct features

• Can be accessed by any ERP operator • Farmers can log and input data themselves but data normally

entered and maintained by staff of larger entities or by third party associates

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Development costs and fee structures of Frontal Rain

Parameters FrontalRain

Costs

Cloud (Data Storage)

Nothing extra for data storage

Data Storage (If own server is used)

Hosted on Amazon cloud and the charges are in the Amazon website

Development CostThere is no customer specific development cost, standard product

Training No additional cost

Revenue

Fees INR 5000/user/month

Other Charges Not applicable25

Key agribusiness clients, geographical and sector focus, services, and technology of Frontal Rain

Parameters FrontalRain Clients

Diversity National players

Spread South, West and North India

Sector Seafood, poultry, spices, rice, processing industries, SHGs of cultivators, aqua industry, organic products, cotton, edible oil

ServicesSupply chain management system, food and agribusiness management, farm management, contract management, consulting, compliance and quality standards

Data Equipment Mobile technology, email, chats, printing device, photos and videos26

FrontalRain farm monitoring--some key features

Parameters Rain+ Grow

Types of Growing Field Crops, Fruits and Vegetables, Green Houses, Aqua Ponds, Poultry, Dairy, Plantations, Contract Farming

EventsIssue of Funds, Input Materials like Agrochemical and Fuels, Harvests, Inspections, Labour and Equipment Usage and Monitoring of Growth Stages of Crops.

Additional Pest Management, Diseases, Diagnosis, Recommendations

Real time DataReal time data captured about Users, Date and Time Stamp, Weather, Accurate location data from GPS, Sensor data etc to prove authenticity

Compliance, Sustainability, Shared Value

BRC, GlobalGap, HACCP, Organic Certifications like Bio Suisse, Demeter, NOP etc. Monitoring of Soil, Water Quality, Nutrients and Bio Diversity. Shared value parameters like wages and benefits to staff, Labour Contracts and farmer training programmes

ResultsUtilization for farmer assets like land, livestock etc, Yield measurement and crop level profitability and Post harvest management

Traceability Batch level traceability to track and trace the origin and destination.

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CropIn

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Process map for CropIn system to collect data and provide information to agribusinesses and farmers

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Farmer/Farm Registration Area Audit Crop Monitoring

Pest Consulting

Procurement & Farmer Rating

E-Shipment with harvest detailsWeighbridge

receiving

Export: Trace Consignment

Objectives and advantages of CropIn

Parameters Cropln

Objectives and Business Focus

• Equip India’s agribusiness sector with ICT through collaboration with all value chain partners

• Focus on leveraging ICT to increase farm productivity, reduce losses and manage supply chains

Advantages

• Provides the agribusiness sector a network of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and BI (Business Intelligence) through ICT

• Provides effective tracing capabilities at the farm level through portable devices and built-in software systems

• Offers flexibility to provide customized solutions depending on user (input suppliers, value chain companies, banks etc.)

• Real time visibility of the entire farming process

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Target clients, technology and key features of CropIn

Parameters Cropln

Target Clients

• Growers• Processors• Financial Institutions• Retail

Technology

• CropIn has developed an app which can be downloaded and used by any device which runs on Android and has the ability to connect to a network

• At the back end, the app is connected to software which in turn is connected to the cloud

Scalability

• Not as efficient for businesses in rapid growth stages• CropIn indicates that the system is suitable for large

companies and scalable, as indicated by use of CropIn by ITC, Pepsico, FieldFresh and HDFC.

Distinct features

• App is installed on a mobile phone and used by field officers who use it to input data

• Currently developed for Androids. Coming soon for Windows and Java.

• Currently available in English, Hindi, Telgu and Tamil. Other languages provided based upon customer demand

• Tailored for small, medium and large scale operations. 31

Development costs and fee structures of CropIn

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Parameters Cropln

Costs

Cloud (Data Storage) No Storage Cost

Data Storage (If own server is used) As per Cloud Service Provider (Amzon or Window Azzure)

Development Cost No Development Cost - Standard Product Available

Training Negligible (3 days of management time)

Revenue

Fees (Small Holdings) INR 300 – INR 1000 /acre/year

Fees (Large Holdings)Per User Licence- Ranges from INR 10,000 - 50,000 / year ( for exp. For 100 Licence Package : per Licence cost is 20,000/yr)

Key agribusiness clients, geographical and sector focus, services, and technology of CropIn

Parameters Cropln Clients

Diversity MNCs, national and regional players

Spread North India, South India, West India

Sector Agribusinesses, processing, retail, financial institutions.

Services

Agribusiness mobility solution integrated with Cloud apps: complete farm management, real time farm monitoring, contract and supply chain management, traceability, food safety, decision support.

Data Equipment

Mobile app with image capabilities, geo tagging, SMS capabilities and farmer voice recording-sent to location in real time. 33

Nokia Life

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Nokia Life for FarmersMobile based information and advice covering the entire crop cycle

Sow

• Information on seed types

• Variety-specific best practices

Grow

• Fertilizer application

• Disease symptoms and crop protection

Harvest, store and sell

• Choosing best time for harvesting

• Storage and transportation guidelines

Prepare for next cycle

• Ground preparation

• Crop selection based on climate and soil type

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Nokia Life for FarmersStrong agro capabilities, outreach and collaborations. Information to farmers focusing on improving productivity and negotiating power

Extensive coverage: 22 states with 7000 markets, 8,000 blocks, 275 crops and commodities

30+ ecosystem partners contributing to sustainable and credible content platform

Collaborations with industry on joint projects including NABARD, Syngenta and TAFE

40+ agriculture experts and dedicated Agri Knowledge Desk to validate and enhance inputs to farmers

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Improves farmer negotiating power

Allows farmer to plan based on weather

patterns

Provides daily tips from experts

Timely advice geared To match a crop cycle

• Not cheated by middlemen and traders

• Selling harvest at the right time at the best marketplace

• Schedule key activities based on forecast

• Take early action to reduce damages

• Protects crops from pests and diseases

• Enhances yield quality and quantity

• Messages are sequenced as per specific crop cycle for each state / region

• Can be planned for specific sowing seasons

Benefits to the farmers

Nokia Life for Agri-EnterprisesEnd-to-end mobile based solution for extension service management for agri-businesses (Inputs, Value-chain and Financial Institutions) to manage programs with farmers

Nokia Life for Agri-enterprises is a single pre-loaded application on Nokia devices to send real-time information updates to field staff and also receive data on daily extension activities

Information services for field teams Data gathering from field teams• Customized information for field workers in

different regions and roles• Product training and meeting schedule

updates • FAQs and links to audio/video demos• Info on market prices, weather, news and

advisory from 30+ agri-ecosystem partners fully customized as per specific needs

• Optimized for data input by field worker• Flexibility in form design based on market

activity• GPS enabled location capture• Image upload capability• Web-based, centralized administration

interface

• Seeds• Fertilizers• Farm machinery

• Water management• Disease management

• Finance and insurance• Contract farming• Livestock for secondary

income

Inputs

Best practices

Yield and

income

• Hyper-local • Personalized • Multi-modal: SMS, voice, data

Information services for field teams

Data gathering from field teamsNokia Life

for Agri-Enterprises • Flexible data and Image upload support

• GPS for geo-locating field activities • Centralized activity monitoring

FarmersField teams

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III. Using ICT to Monitor Results—Godrej Agrovet

Godrej Agrovet has been a leader in using ICT to monitor productivity enhancing measures and results in its palm oil business, using handheld devises and storing data on a common server.

Godrej Agrovet works with about 36,000 small farmers in palm oil, with over 40,000 hectares, under long term contract with the government.

Godrej Agrovet has been successful in getting high levels of productivity in Andhra Pradesh which it is trying to replicate in other states.

Targets:At the start of the year, Godrej gives projected target to the farmers for crop yield, based upon field officer visits to the assigned area in April, in which targets are set after considering soil and weather conditions for the season.In September, the targets are revised based upon actual production in the previous six months.

Godrej Agrovet Farm Management System (FMS)

• Developed to monitor the company’s palm oil business output.• Focuses on outputs achieved. • Collects tag variables on farmer attributes, hard and soft inputs by Godrej Agrovet, and

yield changes by participating farmers.• Integrated with the SAP of Godrej Agrovet. • Field officers enter data into handheld and farmers and Godrej managers get instant SMS

on the transaction.• Godrej support in providing saplings and technical services is also recorded. • Other factors are not recorded eg machine downtime, farmer credit transactions.

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Variables measured by Godrej Agrovet focus on improving productivity and expanding output

Tag Variables

• System generated Unique Farmer Code• Farm Location—geo tagging of latitude and longitude • Farm area—total land holding, total land cropped• Irrigation type • Soil type• Weather

Input Variables

Inputs provided—saplings, fertilizer, pesticide by: • Quantity • Grade • Monetary value

Output Variables

Farm output: • Quantity • Grade • Quality • Monetary value• Productivity

Godrej Agrovet is ready to adopt more tag and input variables if have key impact on improving output and productivity. 40