E-Technology
to Aid Farmers
Greenhouse gases from
agriculture account for over ten percent of total emissions globally, roughly equivalent
to the entire global transport sector. Meanwhile, it is estimated that
agricultural production will need to increase by about 70% by 2050 to keep pace
with global population growth. What’s more, the real impacts of climate change
on the agricultural sector are likely going to be hardest felt in many of those
countries whose people rely on agriculture most for their livelihoods. In
sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, for example, some estimates show a reduction in the productivity of most major food crops as a result of changes
to the climate over the next forty years.
The increasing
availability of affordable technologies that have the potential to reduce
greenhouse gases and increase productivity in agriculture. Information and
communications technologies, like the mobile phone, video, and even radio. As mobile
phone penetration rates continue to grow at a rapid rate
throughout the globe, farmers now have access to a growing number of
agricultural information services both through SMS and voice. In short, they make it easier to share locally relevant
information on improved techniques and to provide time-specific information and
recommendations such as weather forecasts etc.
In
addition to mobile phone services, a low-cost video equipment to create locally
made extension videos to share the stories of farmers who have made the change
to more sustainable practices with their peers in other communities. And not to
be outdone, by coupling mobile phone access with radio access, interactive
radio programs can be developed where farmers can ask their doubts and concerns
to an expert having relevant information. This will lead to two way flow of
information and at the same time better assimilation and use of information
provided. Government has taken some steps in this direction and is broadcasting
programs in rural areas. Also doordarshan shows programs such as Krishi Darshan
where information related to new technologies, seeds, irrigation techniques are
shown.
Also since
penetration of computer and internet is also increasing in rural area it is
opening a completely new dimension of information flow. Private sector can also
be involved now to provide IT solutions and software. This area seems to be
most promising as many facilities can be used like audio video conferencing, instant
search on internet , fast access of information etc. With development of new
software and applications it will be easy also to operate and handle them. This
will also provide employment opportunities to youth.
A successful initiative by private sector known as
e-Choupal can be mentioned here. It is a business platform consisting of a set
of organizational subsystems and interfaces connecting farmers to global
markets. This common structure can be used to provide products and services for
farmers as producer as well as consumer. The e-Choupal business consists of:
(a) The
infrastructure (physical or organizational) through which transaction takes
place.
(b) The
entity (person or organization) making the transaction.
(c) The
geographical coverage.
One e-choupal serves a cluster of five villages.
This e-choupal provides free information and knowledge which ensures wide
participation by the farmer. The entity which provides the facility create
revenue through transactions on commission basis.
Of course, the
potential impact of ICT on its own is not enough to overcome the very real
climate and food security challenges that our country and in fact world faces
over the next several decades. It is important to remember that while the
technologies can be used to support the transition to more sustainable
agricultural practices, they still require someone to create high quality and
relevant content, and someone to pay for the dissemination of that information.
However, there is cause for optimism that just as technology has enabled the
rapid spread of entertainment, it may also facilitate a faster transition to
environmentally friendlier forms of agriculture in the parts of the world that
need them most. And while that alone won’t solve the problem, it is certainly a
helpful start.
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