Sustainable Agriculture Development And Ict
ABSTRACT
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT AND ICT
D.AMUTHA M.A.M.PHIL
ASST.PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS)
TUTICORIN.
E-mail: amuthajoe@gmail.com
ICTs play a key role in improving the availability of agricultural production and market information in developing countries. ICT-based market information systems have a proven track record for improving rural livelihoods in middle income developing countries where they have been introduced. However, these systems are generally limited in scale and have not been effectively replicated beyond the local level. This paper attempts an analysis of the ICT play an important role in bringing about sustainable agricultural development and future perspectives in agriculture and ICT.
It is recommended that, in drought-prone and less endowed areas, future ICT initiatives provide information services such as facilitation of access to land records, question-and-answer services, information on rural development programmes, weather forecasting, marketing information, best package of practices for dry land agriculture, information on crop insurance and post- harvest technology.
It is also recommended that, before ICT services are set up in a region, efforts are made to develop among the farmers both a satisfactory level of faith in the intentions of the ICT staff and a firm commitment to the goals of the proposed project. It is also suggested that participatory and rapid rural appraisals are carried out to ascertain what information the farmers need. In the process, the farmers’ self-fulfilling faith in the information services provided should be enhanced. It is further recommended that the farmers be instructed in how to get the best possible use out of the services provided.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT AND ICT
D.AMUTHA M.A.M.PHIL
ASST.PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS)
TUTICORIN.
E-mail: amuthajoe@gmail.com
Introduction
Today a new paradigm of agricultural development is fast emerging: in both developing and developed countries the overall development of rural areas is expanding in new directions; old ways of delivering important services to citizens are being challenged; and traditional societies are being transformed into knowledge societies all over the world. ICTs play a key role in improving the availability of agricultural production and market information in developing countries. ICT-based market information systems have a proven track record for improving rural livelihoods in middle income developing countries where they have been introduced. However, these systems are generally limited in scale and have not been effectively replicated beyond the local level. This paper attempts an analysis of the ICT play an important role in bringing about sustainable agricultural development and future perspectives in agriculture and ICT.
Convergence of ICT with agricultural development
Broad basing agricultural extension activities; developing farming system research and extension; having location-specific modules of research and extension; and promoting market extension, sustainable agricultural development, participatory research, etc. are some of the numerous areas where ICT can play an important role. Several research studies conducted on extension organizations have revealed that the delivery of goods is effective when the grass roots extension worker covers a small area of jurisdiction, with multiple purposes (broad basing). The existing system of large jurisdictions, each with a narrow range of activities, is less effective. However, broad basing requires grass roots workers to be at the cutting edge of extension and master of many trades, which is not really possible. IT can help here, by enabling extension workers to gather, store, retrieve and disseminate a broad range of information needed by farmers, thus transforming them from extension workers into knowledge workers. The emergence of such knowledge workers will result in the realization of the much talked about bottom-up, demand driven technology generation, assessment, refinement and transfer. Agricultural extension systems in most developing countries are under-funded and have had mixed effects. Much of the extension information has been found to be out of date, irrelevant and not applicable to small farmers’ needs, leaving such farmers with very little information or resources to improve their productivity. ICT helps the extension system in re-orienting itself towards the overall agricultural development of small production systems. With the appropriate knowledge, small-scale producers can even have a competitive edge over larger operations. When knowledge is harnessed by strong organizations of small producers, strategic planning can be used to provide members with least-cost inputs, better storage facilities, improved transportation links and collective negotiations with buyers.
ICT can also play an important role in bringing about sustainable agricultural development when used to document both organic and traditional cultivation practices. Developing countries can create Traditional Knowledge Digital Libraries (TKDL) to collect and classify various types of local knowledge so that it can be shared more widely. These libraries could also integrate widely scattered references to Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) systems in a retrievable form. Thus IT could act as a bridge between traditional and modern knowledge systems.
Areas of IT convergence
Applications of IT in support of agricultural and rural development fall into five main areas. These are:
Economic development of agricultural producers;
Community development;
Research and education;
Small and medium enterprises development; and
Media networks.
Some agricultural development services that can be provided in the developing world, using ICT, are:
Online services for information, education and training, monitoring and consultation, diagnosis and monitoring, and transaction and processing;
E-commerce for direct linkages between local producers, traders, retailers and suppliers;
The facilitation of interaction among researchers, extension (knowledge) workers, and farmers;
Question-and-answer services where experts respond to queries on specialized subjects ICT services to block- and district-level developmental officials for greater efficiency in delivering services for overall agricultural development;
Up-to-date information, supplied to farmers as early as possible, about subjects such as packages of practices, market information, weather forecasting, input supplies, credit availability, etc.;
Creation of databases with details of the resources of local villages and villagers, site-specific information systems, expert systems, etc.;
Provision of early warning systems about disease/ pest problems, information regarding rural development programmes and crop insurances, postharvest technology, etc.;
Facilitation of land records and online registration services;
Improved marketing of milk and milk products;
Services providing information to farmers regarding farm business and management;
Increased efficiency and productivity of cooperative societies through the computer communication network and the latest database technology;
Tele-education for farmers;
Websites established by agricultural research institutes, making the latest information available to extension (knowledge) workers and obtaining their feedback.
Future Perspectives in ICT
1. Shared Computing: Developments in shared technology, under the umbrella of cloud computing, are reducing costs and changing the equation on speed, complexity, and risks associated with deploying both application and computing services. An increasing number of technology providers now offer services based on remote computing and on a subscription or pay-for-usage model. For example, Software as a Service (SaaS) providers host applications that are offered on demand or by subscription. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) models provide remotely managed hardware services, enabling customers to pay based on their use of servers, storage, and networks.
Since the 1990s, there has been increased attention among developing nations on providing different forms of shared access or community computing, commonly delivered through “telecenters.” These shared technology access centers offer rural communities the ability to use Internet-based services in a publicly shared manner. Telecenter pilots in multiple countries have led to innovative economic
