Thursday 23rd of February 2012
Title of the project: Development of a set of alternative ICT models based on a study and analysis of the major ICT initiatives in agriculture in India to meet the information need of the Indian farmers.
Theme Area: IT in Agriculture Duration: April 2009 to March 2012
NAIP Component: 4 (Basic and Strategic Research) Registration No. of the proposal : C 30012 BUDGET : 273.83Lakhs
The main objective of the proposed project is to study the impact of the existing ICT based knowledge dissemination systems in India in the context of agriculture, review the effectiveness and gaps in the existing ICT systems and propose ways to make the systems more effective. The duration of the proposed research study is 36 months. This will be carried out in the following phases: Assessment Phase, Design and Development Phase, Implementation and Validation Phase and Recommendations Phase. Broad steps under these phases are as follows:
- A comprehensive need assessment study will be carried out to develop an understanding of the agriculture related ICT needs and problems of the farmers in using ICT, with a special focus on the small and marginal farmers in using ICT in various agro and socio-economic situations by doing primary survey using structured schedules / questioners. Participatory Rural Appraisal will be conducted in selected sample villages to elicit the felt need of the farmers, prioritize their perceptions and bring out the reality of the issues involved in development of ideal ICT applications for agriculture.
- The study will be carried out in five regions (North, South,East, West and North-East) of the country. The exact locations of the study will be decided after a regional workshop conducted in each of the region. 10 specific areas / villages / panchayats will be selected from these regions. After grouping the states / districts depending upon the ICT applications in agriculture. Of the 10 specific areas mentioned above two areas may be places where no ICT intervention has been observed till the date of the commencement of the study. Attempts will be made to choose specific locations based on various broad indicators including poverty, development including existence of infrastructure and agriculture performance. Each location would be surveyed – the sample size would be around 50 farmers (from each location) selected on stratified random basis, giving due weightage to genders so as to recognize the gender bias, and its impact on ICT usage. Structured interviews and group discussions will be held at these locations and would involved stakeholders like the private, public government departments and the opinion leaders to identify the nature, scope and potential of ICT usage.
- Simultaneously a study of major ICT based interventions will be carried out with the objective to document the success stories as well as the failures of major ICT initiatives in addressing the needs and problems of farmers. This study will provide useful insights and perspectives on the existing gaps in the ongoing delivery of services which are apt for the agro socio-economic situation of the farmer. It will also aid in further planning and development of such ICT models for concerned stakeholders who are engaged in development and deployment of ICTs for agriculture in rural areas. Also a secondary study of ICT based projects for agriculture in two or three other countries (similar to Indian agro socio-economic situations) will be carried out for a better analysis and future planning.
- The study will be focused to analyzed and find out the nature and type of ICT requirements for the local farmers in the major agro socio-economic situation in the study location. This will lead to identifying crucial missing links-gaps which actually aids or deters ICT usage among the potential users.
- Based on inputs from the need assessment study and gap analysis exercise, ICT based models will be designed and developed / customized for an effective information delivery which will be easily accessible to farmers. The ICT based models would be helpful in addressing farmers’ needs of information on important aspects including agriculture technology, crops, plant protection, weather information, marketing and prices, government schemes etc.
- The developed models will be tested through existing extension systems in few selected locations.
- These models will be validated after implementation in the selected sample areas. Modern communication & dissemination techniques will be developed and used to grade the usefulness and efficiency of the ICT intervention.
- A detailed report on recommendations will be submitted on the basis of findings of the research project. The recommendations will also be made on future needs of the farmers in the wake of national and global scenario, and the technologies to be address those issues.
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