Reign on the Rice grain

Farmers in Maharashtra are now embarking on a new journey of discovery- from
the pickaxe to clicking on the mouse- a journey that will see them make use of
the Internet. In Chale, a sleepy little village on the outskirts of Pune, a
unique project to empower the farmers is underway. A local NGO, Gomukh and the
Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) are together
carrying out the project.

Farmers can look in for information on quality seeds, new hybrids,
identification of pests and diseases, information on post harvest technology,
hi-tech agriculture, weather forecasting, updated market price and when to send
in their produce. This information would be available in various villages at
gramin information centers (GIC) via computers and the Internet through kiosks.

To begin with, MCCIA and Gomukh have roped in agricultural graduates in
individual villages and trained them on using computers and accessing
information. These graduates will act as conduits between the farmers and
web-based information. Twenty students have already been given introductory
computer education while a second batch of training is near completion.

At Chale, a ‘rice program’ using the facilities of GIC and a registration
onto www.agriwatch.com, had increased rice yield from 1.5 tons to 7 tons per
hectare. To encourage the spread of organic framing and increase farmers’
income, some farmers were sent to Jalgaon at the `Nisarga Sheti Mandal’, after
which 37 farmers started organic farming. In an agreement with Gomukh, a company
named Ion Exchange will now guarantee assured prices for the farmers’ produce.

For Uday Borawake, chairman, agriculture and agri-business, sub-committee
MCCIA, the project has been big success with 74 registered farmers with the GIC.
"Chale is just an example of what the net could do for agriculture,"
says Borawake. The state government is supporting the Gramin information center
with Rs. 1 lakh one-time grant per center." Borawake with his ambitious
plans, intends to see at least 100 such GICs in a year’s time. "We are in
the process of identifying NGOs for this purpose,’’ he remarks. He sees a
Master (Central) Information hub as the need of the hour. This could be a
principal unit that can collect and harness the required knowledge base and
information regarding field level applications, agribusiness details, and
prospective and potential markets.

Borawake has submitted a proposal to the Swaminathan committee, overseeing
‘Future Strategies for Agriculture in Maharashtra State.’ He has recommended
a National Agriculture Centre (NAC) to be established in the state for
agriculture produce in order to facilitate continuous dissemination of vital
information to the farming community.

The chamber has submitted a concept note to the government of Maharashtra to
create a special Agri-based business cell in the department of Agriculture. Now
Chale is just the first step in empowering the Indian farmers, using the
Internet.

Nanda Kasbe

CNS