NGO/Private Initiatives in ICT in Agriculture

Indian Society for Agri-Business Professionals (ISAP)F 316, M B Road, Lado Sarai, New Delhi – 110030

www.isapindia.org, email isap@vsnl.net

ICT Initiatives in Agriculture

Type of Initiative Initiatives studied Key features

Technology back-end, services in collaboration with other categories

1. Rural connectivity and allied services

Drishtee, N-Logue

2. Private and cooperative sector transaction related initiatives

Market place, procurement ERP, Knowledge dissemination and training

ITC e-chaupal, EID Parry’s corners, NDDB, Tata Kisan Kendra, Mahindra Shubhlabh

Dynamic data such as prices, commodity trends, weather, etc.

3. Information services Agriwatch, DMI, commodityindia,

Gyandoot, Warna wired village, Tarahaat, Village Information Kiosks,

4. Multiple rural services Agriculture, rural health, education, e-governance, etc.

ISAP, Harit Gyan,, Honeybee Network, GAU Satellite Krishi Gosthi, Information village research project

5. Knowledge networks and knowledge banks

Problem solving, expert services, advisory services, technical information services

THE ICT INITIATIVES IN PLACE

Drishtee

280+ kiosks in Haryana, UP, MP and Bihar

Harit Gyan

Two centers in Meerut and Barabanki

N-Logue 1000 kioks

Mainly in TN, AP, MP, Maharashtra

EID Parry

Mainly in Cuddalore Dist TN…………contd.

THE ICT INITIATIVES IN PLACE

Tata Kisan Kendra

UP, Punjab and Haryana

Plan to have 800 franchisees by the end of this year

iKisan

30 kiosks in AP, 8 in TN

Manage Kiosks

Ranga Reddy District, AP

Samaikya Agro- 18 kiosks

UPL- Franchisees in Gujarat/MS

Information Village Project

Pondicherry…………contd.

THE ICT INITIATIVES IN PLACE

Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals

On-line network with offices in Delhi, Pune and Bangalore

Tarahaat

Bundelkhand and Bhatinda

ITC e-chaupals

MP (Soy and wheat)

Karnataka (Coffee)

AP (Shrimps)

UP (Wheat + Rice)

Total – 2500 chaupals catering

…………contd.

THE ICT INITIATIVES IN PLACEIASL

Covers 56 mandis all over India

Publishes in Hindi for dissemination in North India

NDDB

Gujarat, Anand

Gyandoot

Dhar, MP

GAU Satellite Krishi Gosthi

Gujarat

Honey Bee Network

Gujarat

Warna wired village

SERVICES FROM IASL (www.SERVICES FROM IASL (www.agriwatchagriwatch.com).com)

INFORMATION SERVICESAgriwatch Farm Weekly(Hindi and Marathi- 3 editions)Agriwatch Trade Weekly(Hindi)Agriwatch Monthly(English)Agriwatch Portal (English)Agriwatch Trade Reports (English)Agriwatch SMS Services (English)

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

RESEARCH AND CONSULTING

TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

Has about 100,000 hits per day with @ 3000 visitors.

Is a profit making business.

Shared Community Information Spaces

Indian Society for Agri-Business Professionals (ISAP)

Advisory BoardDr M S Swaminathan Chairman, MS Swaminathan FoundationProf Anil K. Gupta IIM AhmedabadProf. Gopal Naik IIM BangaloreMr.Sopan Kanchan Chairman, Grape Growers Federation of IndiaDr. S K Ranjhan Director, Hind Agro Industries Ltd.Mr. N. S. Brar Executive Director Punjab Agro Ind. Mr. Satbir Nijjer Managing Director, Nijjer Foods Limited Mr. Abiram Seth Executive Director, Pepsico India Mr. A.K. Gupta Additional M.D., NHB, GOIMr. P. Saksena Chief Director(F&V & CS), NCDCDr. TSR Murali Technology Director, Frito Lay India

ISAP OrganogramI S A P O R G A N O G R A M

Executive Director

Chief Operating Officer

Coordinator – Events

Regional Coordinators North, Central, West, South & N.East

Coordinator-Query Redress

Chapter CoordinatorsCurrently about 83 are functioning at village, district levels in states, and Union territories namely: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, & North Eastern states.

Panel of experts(A) who deliver solutions to

specific projects as consultants

Farmer intending to use Agri-Knowledge (KRISHAK) (1) We have more than 100,000 farmers as members

Chairman

Coordinator – HRD Services

Coordinator - P.R. & Communications

Board

Farmer Needs

FARMER

Irrigation

Market Information

Credit

InputsTechnology

Storage

MarketLinkage

MarketUnderstanding

Farmer Problem Tree

LAND WATER FOREST TRIBAL COMMUNITY RESOURCEUTILISATION

High MortalityRate

Low Productivity

of Land

Lack of improved

agricultural practices

Soil erosion

Low water holding capacity

Denuded lands

Acidic soil

Inadequate Availability of

Water for Irrigation/Drinking

No maintenance of irrigation /

drinking water structures

Lack of proper utilisation of

water

Reduced availability of

forest produce

High runoff

Water Logging near the Canal

FuelwoodInaccessibility

Less vegetation

cover

Distress Migration

Poor Health

Gender Inequity

Unemployment

Low Land Holding

High Population

Density

Lack of Balance Nutrition

Health Problems like TB, malaria,Diarrhoea

Lack of HigherEducation

Low fertility of soilsLow lands water logged

Lack of Health & Sanitation

FacilitiesLack of

Medicare

Illiteracy

Belief on Superstition

Lack of Awareness Regarding

HealthPoor Educational

Facilities

Lack of Off-farm Activities

Lack of Alternate Income

Generation Options

Poor Infrastructure

Lack of Communication

Facilities(Remoteness)

Non availability market (access /

linkage)

Very Few/almost none People’s &

Govt. Institutions. in Area

PROBLEM TREE

Non availability of Water, Poverty, Lack of Informed Choices or Opportunities

Less protection of forest area

High Infant Mortality Rate

Contaminateddrinking water

Low Milk Yield of Livestock

Livestock mostly for Agricultural use and selling for meat

80% paddy cultivation Output levelOutput level

Outcome levelOutcome level

Impact levelImpact level

Value Proposition1. There is no P2P organization which enables inter connectivity

and sharing that would unleash nation wide synergies.

2. The farming community does not have access to the expertise and excellence that exist in pockets across the country though there are multiple research institutions.

3. There is a need of an organization that will use the strengths of the current day Information and Communication Technologies to satisfy the needs of the farming community by providing information and knowledge through a volunteer network.

ISAP aims at developing such an organization which will work in complement with the existing public and private initiatives in ICT in agriculture.

Vision And Value Proposition

Expertise and excellence that exist in pockets

across the country and overseas

The farming community scattered

throughout the country

ISAP - forum to consolidate and

Network across farmer need satisfiers

Information Technology

Agri-clinics & entrepreneurs

Support organisations – Drishtee, N-logue, etc.

In-house management, consulting and

dissemination expertise

Private, govt., NGO initiatives

Enablers

Queries coming inSolutions going out

Methodology

1. Creation of a city/ center wise network of functional experts.

2. Enrollment of Agribusiness professionals as associates ……graduates, progressive farmers, manufacturers, service providers, buyers of agricultural products and services

3. Routing queries to appropriate experts for problem solving

4. Documentation of problem solving experiences on the network which will be the first place to query for the service seekers

Methodology

Classification:

The panel of experts are classified according to their area of specialization. The 46 areas have been finalized in consultation with the research institutes and include –crop specialization, agro climactic zone specialization, soil conservation, plant pathology, market linkages, veterinary services, irrigation expertise, etc

Methodology

Software:

A software system has been developed to handle experts and users database, query submission, query routing, query solution submission, solution delivery, solution data-basing, database querying, expert search, user search.

Methodology: Categories of members

(1) Agri-Expert

(2) Disseminator of Agri-knowledge

(3) Agri-Knowledge Volunteer

(4) Partner Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)

(5) Farmer intending to use the Agri-Knowledge

(6) Industrial User of the Agri-Knowledge

Methodology

(7) Partner Research Organizations

(8) Agri Journalist who writes exclusively/extensively on Agricultural issues

(9) Village Institution Leader who is engaged in agricultural and rural development activity at the village level

The knowledge NetworkUniversity and research institutions knowledge bank

Individual Experts involved in specific areas

Corporate knowledge and farmers FAQ

University and farmers’ past interactions

Other sources of best practices

Sea

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Govt. Extension service

providers

Private Sector extension

service providers

Rural internet Kiosk operators

Dig

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and

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T m

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fri

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Others

Digitized sources of best practices and market intelligence

Market intelligence service providers

FARM

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Print and broadcast content providers

Cooperatives

NGOs

Highlights…………..

*Information Centres(83): Most of the chapter co-ordinators serve as information centres for the local community and are run by businessmen, individuals as well as NGOs.

**Farmers(1,25,000): Besides the regular sign ups that we have with farmers through our chapters, the OXFAM project where we worked with 18 partner organisations in 9 states saw us sign up around 100,000 farmers as ISAP members.

***No of markets covered(287): We are sourcing information on 31 markets from NHB, 200 Markets from DMI, Government of India and 56 markets from Agriwatch.

****No of experts: More than 10,000 professionals have signed up as members of ISAP out of whom 70 percent can be categorised as experts in one of more of the 46 sub categories we have identified within the agriculture sector for expertise.

Reasons for expansion of network…………..

Intrinsic motivation of agriculture and allied sector graduates to give back to society.

Use of mass media

Vernacular papers

Agricultural Publications

Online Campaigns

Search Engine optimisation

Advts on google

Related Links

HR Services

Highlights…………..ISAP has been able to gather a team of experts to provide expert consulting services to large organisations.

·We are working with FAO on an assignment which involves mapping of meat value chain and exploring policy variables that will enhance livelihood security of goat farmers.

·We further plan to work with FAO and CALPI on informal milk markets in Orissa.

·ISAP is working with JBIC (Japan Bank for International Co-operation) on a project in Orissa which deals with irrigation and water distribution among small landowners.

·We have been awarded several contracts with Department of Science and Technology, GOI for projects pertaining to agriculture sector.

·We have completed make trade fair campaign funded by Oxfam.

Highlights…………..Working with Biodiversity UK for value addition in work of local NGOs.

We also had expert visitors(3 teams) from Winrock USA, to study our ICT based network and they have given us a plan of action to fine tune and improve ISAP’s knowledge delivery systems.

We are probably the largest Organisation of agricultural professionals anywhere in the world. We are planning a ten-fold increase in membership within the next 3 years.

ISAP has been selected by Digital Partners, USA as one of the Most Promising Social Enterprises for their 2002 Award.

Ashoka and LEAD fellowships

Revenue Streams

Query Query Redressal Redressal SystemSystemFarmer’s QueriesDisease, growing, input, soil, markets

ISAP Expert panel of expertsSubject specialists

Region specialists

Market specialists

Wide range of queries can be addressed

Large number of queries can be addressedLimited number of queries are answered, this way

Company/NGO/Kiosks/Govt AgenciesIn-house specialists for product features and usage (own products)

3000 queries have been raised and answered with Industry pickingup the cost of this exercise.

Revenue Streams

FAQ database Management SystemFAQ database Management System

Digitising all the knowledge that could be made available to user SMEs/farmers in a digital format.

Purpose

Ready Reckoner for front line NGOs/Kioks/ Company field staff to be able to answer farmer queries

Form

Easy to use, menu driven software

Revenue Streams

HR ServicesHR Services

Recruitment

Training and Capacity Building

Consulting/Research ProjectsEvaluation of an existing/proposed developmental program- CAPART

Socio-economic impact analysis- FAO Project

Developing sustainable linkages in social projects-JBIC

Policy impact analysis and remedial steps-OXFAM

Risk Mitigation- ICICI/NCDEX

Non Revenue Activities

Online discussions groups

News letters

Online/offline events

The Ultimate Outcomes Of Isap Work

The enabler and facilitator:

Farmers are able to market their products to appropriate purchasers at appropriate rates.

Farmers are able to easily access useful expert advice on crop management at a reasonable cost

Farmers get assistance in working capital and risk coverage

Recommendations for increasing ICT based private initiatives

1. The govt MOA/extn dept should accept that they cannot reach 0.6 million villages on their own.The governments (state and center) should play the role of the enabler by harnessing the experience and expertise gained by the existing initiatives.

2. Most of the successful initiatives have a critical component in its chain – the village level entrepreneur who invests in and runs the kiosks from where the services are disseminated. The government could play a decisive role here by

a. Ensuring availability of space at strategic locations (eg.regulated markets)

b. Digitising all available content available with Public Research Agencies

3. For all the e-governance related initiatives/ services, the administrative machinery at district level could play a key role by prioritizing the on-line conversion of as many services as possible and facilitating the usage of ICT delivery modes

4. Providing Syndicated content from various govt. departments in the area of health, education and agriculture to the various initiatives on commercial terms

5. Public Agencies should not compete with the services offered by small private entrepreneurs after they have launched their services at a particular location.

6. Human Resource Training and Development on the lines of what is being executed by MANAGE in the context of Agri-clinics

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