KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

development projects

Agriculture is particularly important in India, contributing over 20 per cent of its GDP. The country ranks second worldwide in terms of farming output.

so what’s the problem?There are fears that the population will increase more quickly than the country’s ability to grow food, so we need to support farmers to grow more crops and lose less to pests and diseases. This means getting practical information direct to smallholder farmers.

what is this project doing?CABI is developing Direct2Farm, a mobile-enabled agriculture infomediary service aimed at making high quality information readily accessible to farmers, thus empowering them to solve their everyday farming problems.

CABI’s expertise in indexing and managing vast amounts of complex data, combined with its experience in agricultural best practice, soil health, plant pests and diseases will provide the basis for developing a powerful core of farming information. The Direct2Farm service will synthesize this data into short SMS and voice messages, which can be delivered via mobile phones. The information transmitted on agricultural issues will help smallholder farmers to improve profitability and consequently their livelihoods.

locationIndia

dates2009 – ongoing

CABI project teamSharbendu BanerjeePriyanka AnandHimanshu VermaRekha Yadav

Direct2Farm

The model being developed enables factsheets to be turned into small packages of information in the local language and delivered directly to farmers via SMS and voice messaging. Farmers will be also able to consult a virtual helpline – the cloud contact centre.

CABI is also creating the core information product, a database of factsheets known as the agro-extension information repository, which includes administrative functionality such as allowing input and updating, accepting weather and agricultural market data, and outputting in a range of formats, which will be delivered to end-users by external organizations. CABI will work in partnership with mobile service providers as well as extension services, NGOs and agribusiness support.

results so farPartnerships have been created with mobile value-added service providers. The first of these is with IKSL, a joint venture between the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) – the largest farmers’ co-operative in India – and Airtel, the country’s largest mobile network operator, along with Star Global Resources Limited, a rural telephony company. CABI is providing content quality assurance. Other partnerships have been formed with Handygo Technologies and the India Coffee Association, where Direct2Farm’s agroinfomediary service is used to reach rural communities.

Agricultural information, especially extension information, is widely dispersed across various institutions. CABI has created a beta version of the web repository that will hold and provide access to core agricultural, animal production and market data. The Direct2Farm knowledge repository makes all this information available through a single window for simple dissemination. It allows NGOs, development projects, extension workers, and agribusiness to create customized content, which can then be disseminated through the agro-advisory or cloud contact centre service, to their target audience.

contactCABI, 2nd Floor, CG Block, NASC Complex, DP, Shastri Marg, Opp. Todapur Village, PUSA, New Delhi – 110 012, IndiaT: +91 (0)11 25841906 F: +91 (0)11 25842907 E: cabi-india@cabi.org www.cabi.org/india

www.cabi.org/direct2farm

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Sharbendu Banerjee, Project Manager

partners

Handygo technologiesIKSL

sponsor

CABI Development Fund (CDF)