ROLE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN THE CHANGING SCENARIO OF AGRICULTURE EXTENSION

CONTAINS INFORMATION ABOUT ICT, INTRODUCTION, NEW PROJECTS OF ICT, MOBILE SERVICES, WEBSITES, PORTALS, HYBRID ICT PROJECTS BEING USED BY THE EXTENSION PERSONNEL FOR TRANSFERING LATEST AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION TO THE FARMERS

1. WELCOME

2. ROLE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN THE CHANGING SCENARIO OF AGRICULTURE EXTENSION SEMINAR ON PRESENTED BY T.SRI CHANDANA

3. INTRODUCTION ICT NEED OF ICT IN AGRICULTURE INDIAN ICT PROJECTS PORTALS OF AGRICULTURE MOBILE BASED AGRO ADVISORY SERVICES HYBRID ICT PROJECTS OTHER STATE ICT INITIATIVES PROS AND CONS FUTURE OF ICT IN AGRICULTURE CONCLUSION

4. Farmers require access to more varied, multisource, and context-specific information related to best practices and technologies for crop production, weather, postharvest aspects including processing, marketing, storage, and handling etc.. ICTs are the best means for such effective transfer of technology. (Van den Ban 1998) Even if every farmer does not have a computer terminal, these could become readily available at local information resource centers, with computers carrying expert systems to help farmers to make decisions . 4

5. ICT includes computer-based applications and such communication tools as social media, digital information repositories (online or offline), and digital photography and video, as well as mobile phones. ICT (Information and Communication Technology)

6. Need of ICT in Indian Agriculture At present, the ratio of farmers to extension workers is as low as 1000:1. Although the appointed Village Local Workers (VLWs) disseminate information, there is lack of accountability. The cost in face-to-face information dissemination and the difficulties of reaching the target audiences. Introduction of ICT that information can also be updated and extended at the lowest cost. There are several ICT models in Indian agriculture, which have made significant difference to agricultural operations.  

7. CHANGED SCENARIO OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION /face to face by mobiles/

8. Capacity building of farmers, extension workers, extension officers, institutions and society to enhance their ICT knowledge and skills. Empowering the grass-root level extension officials with state-of-the-art ICT tools –PDAs/ Laptop/ Mobile, Digital Camera & Internet access; Kisan Portal: A single window access point for all queries, information, and support related to Farming community for project delivery, transparency in functioning; with strong feedback and monitoring mechanism. Integrate AGROPEDIA, AGMARKNET, Seed net, and all other major Agri -knowledge portals – ICAR/state/ SAU Agricultural Portals / information about Input Dealers . One Community Radio in each District Reach out to all Farmers through SMS/MMS every day/ week Promote vernacular Agricultural Newspapers ICT Initiatives in XII FIVE YEAR PLAN

9. INDIAN PROJECTS

10. 2004 by IIT HYDERABAD uses the medium of digital photos of farmers fields to provide expert advice. Photographs are captured every 15 days by a local coordinator photos sent to the main center in Hyderabad, where they are examined by experts who provide advice. The advice is provided on a regular basis from sowing to harvesting. provides Agro-advisory services for 3035 farmers (4130 ha). Benefited Rs. 9491 per h a.

11. Digital Boost to MGNREGA Initiated on July 2015. digital boost to the flagship rural job scheme MGNREGA. 35,000 gram panchayaths -mobile monitoring system. Digital Technologies which include Cloud Computing and Mobile Applications have emerged as catalysts for rapid economic growth and citizen empowerment across the globe. Digital technologies are being increasingly used by us in everyday lives from retail stores to government offices. They help us to connect with each other and also to share information on issues and concerns faced by us.

12. Community Information Centers main project was inaugurated on 17th August 2002. All 487 blocks in 79 districts of NE states including Sikkim covered with one tele -centre each started by DOIT with technical support of NIC. e-governance, e-health, e-education and e-business opportunities. Prices and other market information of Agricultural produce. Utilization of CICs Training Training of the local population on the fundamentals of using computers and the imparting of basic working knowledge is a major activity in the Community Information Centers.

13. PORTALS OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE

14. aAqua ( Almost All Questions Answered ) R un by IIT, Bombay & KVK, Baramati in year 2008. aAqua is a free, online, multilingual, multimedia agricultural portal. It provides agricultural and weather information and advisories to farmers via the aAqua knowledge bank. 27674 posts 3.3 million views by 12,964 viewers serving 520 districts till date. After access USERS post questions to experts via the different spaces provided by the portal. Answers are provided within 24–72 hours

15. INITIATED IN 1999

16. Perception on usefulness of services category aAQUA E- choupal V- agri V-aqua E- sagu FCC F % F % F % F % F % F % LESS USEFUL 6 20 6 20 5 16.6 1 3.33 6 20 4 13.3 MODERATELY USEFUL 17 56.6 20 66.6 23 76.6 27 90 19 63.3 22 73.3 HIGHLY USEFUL 7 23.3 4 13.3 2 6.67 2 6.67 5 16.6 4 13.3 TOTAL 30 100 30 100 30 100 30 100 30 100 30 100 MEAN SD 30 3.72 32.2 4.01 34.0 1.57 35.26 4.99 27.2 2.96 27.7 3.45 FARMERS PERCEPTION ON USEFULNESS OF ICT INITIATIVES IN AGRICULTURE Source: JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION MANAGEMENT P.GIDDA REDDY et al.

17. INITIATED IN YEAR 2016 400 MANDIS WILL BE INTEGRATED BY MARCH 2017 AND REMAINING 185 BY MARCH 2018. ONE LICENSE FOR TRADER IS VALID ACROSS ALL MARKETS IN STATES.

18. JULY 16 2013

19. January 12, 2009

20. Access to and socio-economic impact assessment of computer/internet in rural Haryana, India Impact of computer on agricultural aspects of rural clientele aspects Rural male n=100 Rural female n=100 Information on crop production 2.17 IV 2.02 IV Improvement of sales 2.08 VII 2.00 V Preventing crop diseases 2.24 I 2.058 II Preventing animal diseases 2.18 III 2.09 I Crop management 2.15 V 1.96 VI Live stock keeping 2.20 II 2.04 III Milk production 2.12 VI 1.91 VII INDIAN JOURNAL OF EXTENSION EDUCATION 2013 PREETI SINGH et al.

21. 2003

22. 29 Some exclusive agricultural portals are also available , www.krishiworld.net • www.agriwatch.com • www . acquachoupal.com • www . plantersnet.com www. soyachoupal.com

23. www. ekrishi .org/ http://krishiworld.com/ http://www.mssrf.org/ https://india.gov.in/ http://www.agriwatch.com/ http://www.apeda.com / http://www.earik.in/ http://dacnet.nic.in http://enam.gov.in/ http://mandiboard.nic.in/ http://www.agribiz.co.in/ http://assamagribusiness.nic.in/ http://agmarknet.nic.in / http://www.ikisan.com/ http://agricoop.nic.in/ http://www.indiaagronet.com/ http://learnrice.in/

24. Informational Needs of Farmers Pre Sowing Pre Harvest Post Harvest Market Information Information on Agri inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, Pesticides Credit weather Soil testing Good Agricultural Practices Pest management Techniques of harvesting Post harvest Management Storage Grading and Standardization Logistics market Information Alternative market Channels Commodity prices Mandi information Consumer behavior

25. MOBILE SERVICES TO FARMERS

26. Started in year 2002. Reached roughly 11,000 farmers through services by SMS, web based information portals.

27. 2007

28. initiated on January 21, 2004. 32 Farmers Call Centres,20,43,636 farmers calls’ answered during 2010-11, total calls answered during last five years (2005-2010) was 62,47,911.

29. arms Indian farmers take informed decisions - latest updates on Mandi prices, weather, news, crop advisory as per their location in their preferred language. already signed up over 7,500 farmers. Customer charge of Rs.60/month. No. of SMS are 75-100/month. Launched in 2007,Maharashtra. Currently covers over 440 crops and varieties with more than 1400 markets and 2800 weather locations of 15000 villages in 13 States of India.

30. CROP INSURANCE SCHEME February 18,2016

31. Voice messages in local languages. 95,000 voice messages delivered and 81000 Q&A repository with 5000 feed back messages from the farmers. 10 Lakh active farmers benefiting from IKSL's Value Added Services and IKSL enrollment crosses 4 million. May 1, 2014

32. Green PHABLET

33. mKRISHI

34. Krishidoot is multilingual interface & ICT based aggregation and transaction platform for Agri Communities, launched jointly by the Small Farmers Agri -Business Consortium (SFAC) and RML Information Services Pvt. Ltd (RML) in 2013. Krishidoot brings together Producer Communities (farmers and farmer groups) and Agri Businesses ( agri buyers, sellers, service providers and government institutions) via an ICT based platform, creating superior efficiencies in the agri value chain.

35. HYBRID ICT PROJECTS

36. 2007, Arunachal Pradesh Internet, Offline CDs And Farmer-to-farmer Communication. 500 farmers from 12 remote tribal villages are registered A study among 300 farmers indicated that an average RS. 5252 was increased among 73 number of e- Arik registered farmers who were growing Khasi mandarin. Similarly, an average Rs. 1611 was increased among 258 paddy farmers who were registered with e- Arik initiative.

37. Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics (VASAT)   Drought and desertification are recurrent problems that bring untold suffering to millions of people in the semi-arid tropics (SAT). Empowering people for drought preparedness is now viewed as the best strategy to cope with these hardships, with information and knowledge being key components for success. ICRISAT, have accumulated the necessary know-how to significantly empower these people. Recent successes in applying information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D ) in vulnerable rural areas, coupled with open/distance learning (ODL), offer unprecedented opportunities for the CGIAR to develop innovative ways of sharing knowledge to enhance drought mitigation and management. Objectives  ICRISAT, together with ILRI and IWMI, proposes to establish a system for innovative knowledge sharing with regard to drought preparedness through a Virtual Academy for the Semi-Arid Tropics (VASAT) involving recent advances in ICTs coupled with ODL approaches. This will provide an opportunity for globally dispersed communities of drought-related experts to come together virtually to help generate information and knowledge that can be locally applied by stakeholders.

38. There are 6,500 today & INITIATED IN 2000 BY ITC e- Choupal link rural farmers directly for the procurement of agricultural / aquaculture produce like soya, coffee, and prawns. To eliminate the role of middleman. ITC is adding 7 new e- Choupals a day and plans to scale up to 20,000 e- Choupals by end of 2012 covering 1,00,000 villages in 15 states, servicing 15 million farmers .

39. Digital Green Digital Green is a independent non profit development organization in 2008 that partners with NGOs ( India, parts of Ethiopia, Ghana and Afghanistan) and also government agencies, that disseminates agricultural practices using video as a medium. Developed from the idea that farmers prefer interpersonal methods of receiving information on new and innovative farming practices over receiving that information through mass media methods

40. To date 1,918 videos have been produced, and screened 68,988 times and involving 75,107 farmers (www.digitalgreen.org, accessed January 13, 2012)

41. MAY 1, 2009

42. AWARENESS AND UTILIZATION OF ICT IN AGRICULTURE-FARMER’S PERSPECTIVE Frequency and usage of ICT tools for seeking agricultural information ICT tools usage % Frequency No % ALWAYS OFTEN OCCASIONALLY RARELY PRINT MEDIA 1)NEWSPAPER 2)FARM MAGAZINE 31 17 79 19 13 4 28 9 23 4 2 RADIO 38 42 12 14 8 4 TELEVISION 47 52 6 21 16 4 TELEPHONE [phone] COMPUTER AIDED TOOLS 6 12 2 4 JOURNAL OF AGRIL.EXTESION MANAGEMENT SENDILKUMAR et a l.

43. VKCs/ VRCs/ CSCs

44. VILLAGE RESOURCE CENTRES (VRCS) –INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION (ISRO) 473 VRCs have been set up in 22 States/Union Territories in India. Over 6500 programmes have been conducted by the VRCs in the areas of agriculture/horticulture, fisheries, live stock, water resources, tele healthcare, awareness programmes , women empowerment, supplementary education, computer literacy, Micro credit, micro finance, skill development/ vocational training for livelihood support. So far, over 500000 people have availed VRC servic es. COMMON SERVICE CENTRES (CSCS) SEP 2006 Web based e-governance to services, including agriculture information to rural areas. So far 96,163 CSCs were rolled out in India.

45. Implemented with the support of IDRC Canada, in the January,1998 101 VKCs in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala state of India. VRCs and VKCs working with 315 partners for implementation and location specific content generation. provides public services and information regarding fish density in ocean to fishermen community in local language in a multimedia fashion.

46. OTHER STATE ICT INITIATIVES

47. Projects Location Content Benefit Milk Collection Centres , (Gujarat) 580 collections Centres /Kiosks in Anand Automatic Weighing Assessment of Fat quantity and calculation of payment Middlemen sidelined DEVELOPMENT OF DAIRY FARMERS. Gyan Ganga project, Gujarat Launched in 2003 in 3 districts of Gujarat with 70 Kiosks by Dept. of Science & Technology, Govt. of Gujarat and n- Logoue Com. Computer education, email, video mail, and video-conference. Launching shortly e-governance, health,agriculture , veterinary services Capacity building to use and manage ICTs by the villagers and e-governance services GUJARATH

48. Projects Location Content Benefit Mahiti Shakti (Gujarat) 80 telecentres converting STD booths set up in Panchamahal district The Information available in local language(Gujarati) 200 online forms of different government schemes All the information needs of villagers updated state of sanction form DRDA and District Planning Board Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), Gujarat Ahmedabad training and credit mobilization for Women’s empowermen t Development and strengthening of Women Self-Help Group (SHG)’s

49. Projects Location Content Benefit KVK, ICAR Baramati , Maharashtra & Ahmednagar , gujarat & Massive e-linkage project connecting 200 KVKs all over India Direct scientist to farmers contact. On line reporting of Soil Testing, weather forecasting, and farmers’ consultancy Both static/offline contents on packages of practices and online consultancy by e-mails, voice mails, and net meetings

50. Computer –aided Administra-tion of Registration Department (CARD) 214 registration offices in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) one million documents completely computerized since 1998 Provide encumbrance and valuation certificates. Time taken for the services is less than 15 minutes Successful use of ICT in governance   Swalyam Krishi Sangam Smart Card (SKSSC), Andhra Pradesh Medhak Smart cards for improving micro-credit systems in cooperative movement Empowering communities Projects Location Benefit Content TELANGANA

51. Gyandoot , (Madhya Pradesh ) JAN 1, 2000 31 rural cybercafes called Soochanalayas financed or privately owned in Dhar district 24 public services, on user charge basis E-governance at village, block and district levels. Replicated in more than 30 districts as Public-Private partnership SATCOM M.P. 350 blocks under telecasting coverage Agriculture programmes every Monday (3-5 P.M.) System works on a one-way video and two way audio mode Farmer’s querries are addressed by experts Projects Location Content Benefit MADHYA PRADESH

52. Projects Location Content Benefit Akshaya , Malappuram , Kerala 620 ICT centres all over Kerala. Planned to cover 6.5 million e-literates by 2005 Creating a user community addressing the issues of access, skill and content in e-governance, education & empowerment Universal household literacy programme and social network for e-governance for IT based services eShringhla Information Kiosk scheme, kerala Kerala State, Govt. owned at an estimated cost of Rs. US $ 100,00 Information from various Govt. departments regarding Schemes and Programmes and services creating a electronic chain of information and e-governance. Dispensation of government services to all citizens, e-commerce and counseling on agricultural practices KERALA

53. Projects Location Content Benefit FRIENDS Fast, Reliable, Instant, Efficient, Network and Disbursement of Services 14 districts of Kerala Public services including online payments of numerous government dues services One-stop service centres

54. Location Content N-Logue Tele-centers Project (Tamil Nadu) 30 tele-centes Madurai district e - access to villagers provide villagers to numerous web based links including agriculture Commercial offshoot of IIT (Madras) through Wireless in Local Loop Technology Benefit Tamil Nilam Touch Screen Project,Tamil Nadu All 206 taluks by Govt. of Tamil Nadu Provide dozen public services e-governance and empowerment Projects TAMILNADU

55. Projects Location Content Benefit Bhoomi Project, (Karnataka) 177 taluk kiosks 20 million records of land ownership of 6.7 million farmers of the state, each record available online from at Rs. 15/ record An economically sustainable project on Land Records in India Warna Wired Village Project, ( Maharashtra) ) 1998 70 villages in Kolhapur and Sangli districts Computerized facilitation booths in 70 villages. Members of sugar cooperative and other villages Government of India (GOI), Government of Maharashtrra (GOM) and sugar cooperative sharing cost of the project in a proportion 50:40:10% KARNATAKA, MAHARASTRA, ORISSA

56. Projects Location Content Benefit Action Aid , Bolangir , Orissa 8 Kiosks run by NGOs & overall management by Panchayet Comprehensive e-governance services to poor farmers & capacity building to use and magage ICTs by the villagers Customized computer enabled services through Block level database and archives. and computer training ICT component funded by UNDP & UNITES

57. Projects Location Content Benefit Drishtee Tele-centers (Rajasthan). a local villager becomes a kiosk owner as a self-employment opportunity, with about 45,000 kiosks owners by 2003 With their earning and knowledge the kiosk owners become role models for the younger generation information related to land records, Virtual Bidding Market Place, Market Information System Initially in Jaipur , 200 tele -centers in seven Indian States Envisages to open 50, 000 information kiosks in next six years RAJASTHAN

58. Projects Location Content Benefit Janmitra (Rajasthan) 5 districts, Services are available through Community Information centers e-governance, e-education, e-health and e-commerce services sanctioned by UNDP, implemented by the district department of IT and RAJCOMP

59. ICT & Agricultural Extension 67

60. Pros… ICT can help in Broad basing agricultural extension activities Development and extension of cultivation system, location-specific modules of research and extension Promote market extension Participatory research Re-orienting the extension system towards the overall agricultural development of small production systems . Play a role in documenting the traditional agricultural practices that it can be shared more widely. Enable rural communities to address the concomitants of poverty, lack of access to education and health services, lack of productive opportunities, and isolation and lack of information. Sustainable agricultural development. Helps in educating farmers in using ICT tools for the future

61. LIMITATIONS Language poses barrier to use of mass media. Timing of television programme pertaining to agriculture is not suitable for most of the farmers. Inconsistent power supply in rural areas limits the use of mass media. Lack of awareness regarding source of information. Less progress in research on use of ICT and mobile infrastructure for agricultural purposes.

62. Future Of ICT In Agriculture

63. m-Extension Mobile applications (m-apps) in general and for agricultural and rural development (m-ARD apps) in particular hold significant potential for advancing development. They could provide the most affordable ways for millions of people to access information, markets, finance, and governance systems previously unavailable to them.

64. Advantages of m-Extension m-ARD apps focus on improving agriculture supply chain integration and have a wide range of functions, such as: providing market information, increasing access to extension services, facilitates market links, advice on agricultural production, food security, and nutrition timely access to extension advisory services 72

65. Future of ICT in Agriculture Application of satellite images in agriculture Satellite imagery data may help to resolve both major and specific agricultural management tasks. Eg : NASA’s Aqua satellite can detect moisture in soil and, as a result, inform farmers when crops need watering or when the soil is ready for planting

66. ROBOTICS In Agriculture

67. ROBOTICS In Agriculture The ongoing robotics revolution is leaving its mark on agriculture already, as self-driving, GPS-equipped tractors now tilt land autonomously and other existing farm machinery becomes increasingly computerized and automated. A single human farmer can now maintain well more than 1,000 acres of farmland each year, using bigger and better farm equipment to increase productivity. Prospero is just one of what will eventually become a swarm of planting, tending, and harvesting robots running game theory and swarm behavior algorithms to help optimize every inch of arable space in a given field.

68. REFERENCES: Gidda Reddy, P and Punna Rao , P. 2013 Farmers’ perception on usefulness of ICT initiatives in Agriculture. Journal of Agricultural Extension Management. pp: 37-47. Preeti Singh and Seema Rani . 2013. Access to and Socio-economic Impact Assessment of Computer/Internet in Rural Haryana, India. Indian Journal of Extension Education, Vol 1&2: 5-10. Sendilkumar , R., Nair, R.G and Israel Thomas, M. 2011. Awareness and Utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Agriculture – Farmer’s perspective . Journal of Agricultural Extension Management. pp: 21-31.