Section-B
2) Elaborate the potential of ICT in Pest management. What are the key factors for the success of ICT ?
Answer:
- Pest surveillance or monitoring
- Pest surveillance or monitoring is a cornerstone of pest management rather than calendar-based treatments.
- The purpose of pest surveillance is to know whether pest in present in the fields and hence to apply the appropriate pest management practice.
- By continuous and systematic pest surveillance, epidemic situations of any pests can be avoided by detecting damage prior to firm establishment of a higher pest population.
- In fact, pest surveillance provides field-specific information on pest pressure and crop injury leading to take appropriate decision about selection and application of pest management procedures.
- Use of information and communication technology (ICT- Internet and mobile) in pest surveillance constitutes e-pest surveillance i.e. basically a web based Decision Support System (DSS) for timely collection of data with regard to pest population and preparation of reports which greatly facilitates the execution of pest management activity.
- Currently, Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage (DPPQ & S), Faridabad, is responsible to undertake pest surveillance with the help of countrywide located 32 Central Integrated Pest Management Centers (CIPMCs), which is being carried out through rapid roving surveys.
- Present set up of this organization do not provide real-time information about pest built up, as a result pest damage is occurred before action could be initiated. Whole operation is based on the manual processing of data required manpower as well as time to take up any emergency situation. Unfortunately, systems of compiling and distributing the data are not suitable in devising management strategies. Additionally, lack of capacity and technology within the infrastructure has undone previous investment in IPM and unintentionally gave way to promotion of use of chemical pesticide.
- In view of the futuristic requirements as well as strategies to meet unforeseen circumstances, Department of Agriculture and Co-operation (DAC) and National Centre for Integrated Pest Management (NCIPM), New Delhi, took the initiative under the ambit of National Food Security Mission (NFSM) to increase the yield by reducing pest infestation, with the help of “e-Pest Surveillance” and implementation of Area-wide Integrated Pest Management System by involving State Agricultural Departments (SADs), KVK (Krishi Vigyan Kendra) officials and farmers by conveying the clear cut message to the farmers about appropriate and timely decisions to be taken for pest management and the response of farmers are highly significant and encouraging.
Key Factors for the Success of ICT:
- Provide Real-time data.
- Provide early and timely warning.
- Helps in taking corrective and productive measure.
More information go through this mentioned link :
3 ) What is the concept of M-Pesa ? How it is helping towards the upgradation of rural areas ?
Answer:
- M-Pesa is a mobile banking service that allows users to store and transfer money through their mobile phones.
-M-Pesa was originally introduced in Kenya as an alternative way for the unbanked population of the country to have access to financial services. Safaricom, the largest mobile phone operator in Kenya as of 2016, launched M-Pesa in 2007.
Contribution towards upgradation of rural areas:
- M-Pesa has made possible for financial services and products to be more accessible at small costs.
- Through mobile payment services like M-Pesa, the standard of living in Kenya has improved greatly.Market traders, debt collectors, farmers, cab drivers, etc., don’t have to carry around or transact in a large amount of cash. This means that the occurrence of theft, robbery and fraud is reduced.
- Also, individuals and business owners don’t have to wait in queues for long hours to make their electricity and water bill payments because these can be made using M-Pesa.
- Mobile money is increasingly being adapted to in developing nations that have a high percentage of an unbanked population. Which ultimately helped in changing the economy from a cash-centric one to digital.
Working of M-Pesa
M-Pesa is a virtual banking system that provides transaction services through a SIM card. Once the SIM has been inserted into the card slot of the mobile device, users can make payments and transfer money to vendors and family members using SMS messages. Users with no bank accounts can access the numerous M-Pesa outlets favorably distributed across the country. The money that needs to be stored is given to the kiosk attendant, who transfers the amount in digital form to the user’s M-Pesa’s account. For example, a farmer who has no bank account and wants to deposit his commodity sale proceeds of 1,000 shillings would head to an M-Pesa outlet and deposit the money with the kiosk agent or attendant. The agent would, in turn, use her phone to access the client’s account with the client’s registered phone number and credit the account for 1,000 shillings. The farmer gets an SMS notification on his cellphone within seconds of the deposit confirming how much was deposited and what his current account balance holds.
The farmer can also easily withdraw cash from his account by using the M-Pesa attendant's or agent's number provided at the outlet and a personal PIN.
Cash collected from M-Pesa depositors are deposited in bank accounts held by Safaricom. The bank accounts serve as regular checking accounts and are insured up to a maximum of 100,000 shillings (or $1000) by the Deposit Protection Fund.
M-Pesa provides receipts as proof of a transaction. For a transaction to take place, both parties have to exchange each other’s phone numbers because the phone numbers act as account numbers. After settlement, both parties would receive an SMS notification with the full name of the counterparty and the amount of funds deposited to or withdrawn from the user’s account. The mobile receipt, which is received within seconds, helps to promote transparency for all individuals involved in a transaction.
4 ) How community radio is contributing for development of agricultural areas in India ?Answer:
- Lack of infrastructure typical of remote rural areas, it is a challenge for farmer groups to use ICTs for interactive communication.
-Radio and, to a lesser extent, television broadcasts reach wide audiences and can be understood by all, even those who cannot read or write, so they are currently the best ways of transferring information to individual farmers.
- Community radio is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a specific area, broadcasting material that has relevance to a local audience.
Eligibility to apply for a Community Radio Station
As per the 2006 policy of the Government, an organisation desirous of operating a Community Radio Station:
- It should be explicitly constituted as a ‘non-profit’ organisation and should have a proven record of at least three years of service to the local community.
- The Community Radio Station should serve a specific well-defined local community.
- The ownership and management structure should be such that it reflects the community which it serves
- It should only broadcast programmes that cater to the educational, developmental, social and cultural needs of the community.
- The organization must be a Legal Entity i.e. it should be registered (under the registration of Societies Act or any other such act relevant to the purpose.)
- Regarding the content, the two important provisions made are as follows: At least 50% of content shall be generated with the participation of the local community.
- Community radio serves as a development tool, addressing issues of local concern.
- Community Radio can also help in taking initiatives such as spreading the education, discuss on local maters and to take on the corrupt authorities.
- Community Radio is a radio service for geographically bound communities, where infrastructure is poor and mainstream national and regional media may not reach.
- It has great potential to serve as a development tool in rural India in terms of creating awareness, spreading information and facilitating communication.
- Community radio could play an important role in dissemination of information about government schemes and policies to the common people in local languages, which was not possible through conventional mediums of mass communication as television.
- India is a land of diversity in terms of language, social practices, dialects and culture, a community radio can be a powerful tool to revive culture and languages that are dying.
- It can help give voice to the voiceless in the backward community.
Radio Mewat was launched on September 1, 2010, in Nuh, Haryana, by an NGO-Seeking Modern Applications for Real Transmission (SMART). It broadcasts four hours a day and reaches out to over five lakh people in a radius of 25 kilometres.
Mewat is a backward area, faring very low on all social indicators, with the literacy rate at an abysmal low of 24 per cent. Only 5 per cent households have a television set. Educating people about the very concept of a Community Radio was a Herculean task. Station has a tough job popularizing the radio station in a district where elders are suspicious of any new idea and are very protective towards their women folk. Also, there are power outages for days together. Morover being in the interiors, it is difficult to get experienced people to work on a regular basis.
The biggest success of Radio Mewat has been in the revival of the dying art form of ‘Mirasi’. Mewat is well known for its Mirasis, the Muslim folk signers who can narrate epics like the Mahabharata. These Mirasis are the symbols of religious tolerance.
5 ) What are the general principles of using mobile phones in agricultural project ?
Answer:
General Principles for Using Mobile Phones in Agricultural Projects:
• Understand Users and the Technology
Interventions have failed to gain traction because users’ needs and practices were incompletely
understood. In technological interventions, this risk is even more of a concern.
Understanding of the platform’s(Mobile phones) strengths and limitations is essential. For example:
SMS is limited to 160 characters. Although the mobile Internet is still limited in scale and is often
confusing to users, but it is spreading. So considering how mobile phones fit with needs and
existing practices is a key initial step.
• Engage in Participatory, Iterative Project Design
Understanding local needs is a difficult task that can be made easier by directly involving
communities in the design and implementation of interventions. In addition to surveys of global and
regional activities, on-the-ground analysis is needed. Trying to “do everything” has doomed
projects, while initiatives that start small and focused (such as M-PESA, which began with peer- topeer
money transfers) can evolve into diverse offerings (purchases, credit, and savings).
• Identify Partners with the Appropriate Knowledge, Collaborative Capacity, and
Alignment of Goals
It is unlikely that any one organization—whether an NGO, ministry, donor, or private firm—will
have all of the expertise required to succeed in designing and implementing successful mobile
phone interventions in agriculture. Partners should be chosen for their specialized knowledge,
willingness to collaborate, and alignment of goals. Special care should be taken at the very
beginning of project planning to ensure that the key stakeholders will work together positively.
Projects must seek to leverage trusted intermediaries.
One example is Kilimo Salama, which relies on the trusted M-PESA money transfer service and
agricultural input suppliers to offer weather insurance to farmers.
• Ensure That the Technology Is Widely Accessible
Mobile phones represent a great opportunity for agricultural interventions because they are one of
the most accessible information platforms available, although barriers do remain such as: illiteracy
or prohibitive cost, or they can be technical or cultural.
Given the fragile nature of smallholders’ livelihoods and the lack of social safety nets, many
smallholders are particularly risk averse. They are unlikely to participate in a new initiative without
significant education, advertising, and local support.
Even those who wish to use a mobile intervention may be frustrated if the program is not widely
available. Nokia’s Life Tools application is intentionally designed to be widely available on its lowcost
handsets and fill a gap in low-income communities with a large demand for information.
• Sustainability Based on a successfull Business Plan
Sustainable agricultural projects are key to long-term growth and livelihood improvements, but
often projects fail to continue for an extended term. It is essential to develop a viable business plan
from the very conception of a project to use mobile phones in agriculture.
Such a plan requires a clear understanding of who will pay—the government, end users,
cooperatives, or a combination, for example—and how much they are willing to pay for a service.
Farmers are willing to pay for timely information , but different strategies may be needed to
encourage poorer farmers to use a service (such as payments per query rather than a long- term
subscription).
• Monitoring and Evaluation
Although mobile phones have had positive impacts on agriculture, a better understanding of these
outcomes would help in designing new interventions.
6 ) Discuss overall trend of e-agriculture in rural development in Asia.
Answer:
Rural development is the process of improving the quality of life and economic well-being ofpeople living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas.
E-Agriculture is an emerging field focusing on the enhancement of agricultural and rural
development through improved information and communication processes. More specifically, e-
Agriculture involves the conceptualization, design, development, evaluation and application of
innovative ways to use information and communication technologies (IT) in the rural domain, with
a primary focus on agriculture.
Advantages And Challeging in E Agriculture:
To enable Community members to exchange opinions, experiences, good practices and resource
related to e-Agriculture, and to ensure that the knowledge created is effectively shared and used
worldwide. Here following are some tecnologies that assist in E-Agriculture:
1. Office Automation Tools : Office automation in E agriculture involves Computer application,
networks, telephone, printer ,scanner etc. There are many government, private and nongovernment
organizations involved in agriculture sector and rural development. Many computer
applications such as MS OFFICE, Internet, providing unlimited potential to organizations and
individuals to fulfill their day to day data processing requirements to give an efficient service to
their customers.
Challenges: like computer operation is not well known to farmers in india. If Farmer want to
know which crop require which fertilizer in how much proposion? How much pesticide
quantity? Due to lack of knowledge they can not take help of internet and cost of these
instrument also affect.
2. Wireless Technologies : Very general application close circuit Television Camera(CCTV),
Monitor for :
• Intruders : Strategically placed farm security cameras will capture images of anyone
entering the property. This coverage helps to ensure that only authorized workers gain access
to the farm and its facilities.
• Protect water supplies : A well-protected water supply is critical to agricultural operations.
Farm security cameras can play an important role in protecting this highly- sensitive area.
• Deter theft Farm security cameras in areas such as holding pens, calving pens, tool shops,
and gates will help to prevent thieves from stealing animals and equipment.
• Monitor daily operations : Security cameras can also ensure that daily operations such as
milking and feeding run smoothly.
• Employee monitoring : Video surveillance can be used to monitor employee behavior so
that critical farm operations are properly carried out.
• Remote playback and monitoring : With an IP-based surveillance system, farm owners
can monitor their property remotely. Footage can be stored digitally and easily searched in
cases requiring visual evidence.
Major Challenges: 1) Tampering - If a farm security camera is tampered with, the signal
could be lost. 2) Weather : Weather-proof cameras might be required for certain locations.
Farm surveillance can pose challenges for cameras not equipped to handle low temperatures
and changing weather conditions.
3. Global positioning System
GPS-based applications in precision farming are being used for farm planning, field mapping,
soil sampling, tractor guidance, crop scouting, variable rate applications, and yield mapping.
GPS allows farmers to work during low visibility field conditions such as rain, dust, fog, and
darkness. Location information is collected by GPS receivers for mapping field boundaries,
roads, irrigation systems, and problem areas in crops such as weeds or disease. The accuracy of
GPS allows farmers to create farm maps with precise acreage for field areas, road locations and
distances between points of interest.
Challenges are
• Battery life of GPS devices : Having a short battery life may limit the time you can spend
in the field. It may also be a safety issue if you get lost. It’s great to have a GPS device but
if flat it’s not useful – although the last location can still be monitored.Keep in mind this
isn’t an issue for products that are used in vehicles etc that have alternative battery or power
sources.
• Inaccuracy: While GPS works around the globe – and often to meter accuracy – there are
certain locations where it doesn’t work well. For example a canyon in the middle of a
forest; or if you are surrounded by tall buildings (often referred to as an urban canyon). At
these locations the signal may bounce and your exact location may be difficult to ascertain.
• Cost: While not really a disadvantage, as the cost of many GPS devices has reduced
significantly and more importantly they can save you or your business money, high quality
GPS devices still cost good money. A GPS device is only as good as the mapping it uses.
Most high quality devices use accurate and high quality mapping. Unfortunately there are
also several inferior, or cheaper, products which use low grade mapping. This has the
potential to create inaccuracies when using the devices.
4. Automated System:
Automatic milking systems are computer controlled stand alone systems that milk the dairy
cattle without human labor. The complete automation of the milking process is controlled by an
agricultural robot, a complex herd management software, and specialized computers. Automatic
milking eliminates the farmer from the actual milking process, allowing for more time for
supervision of the farm and the herd. Farmers can also improve herd management by using the
data gathered by the computer. By analyzing the effect of various animal feeds on milk yield,
farmers may adjust accordingly to obtain optimal milk yields. Since the data is available down
to individual level, each cow may be tracked and examined, and the farmer may be alerted when
there are unusual changes that could mean sickness or injuries
Major Challenges are:
• Expense: The initial investment to integrated automated robotics into your business is
significant, especially when business owners are limiting their purchases to new robotic
equipment. Regular maintenance needs can have a financial toll as well.
• Expertise: Employees will require training program and interact with the new robotic
equipment. This normally takes time and financial output.
Smart Mobile Application and E-Agriculture:
SRIJAN (self-Reliant Initiatives through Joint Action) in Madhya Pradesh, India.
• It is an Agricultural smart mobile application.
• Its aim is for monitoring Soya beans production.
• The result of this app is increased productivity, profitability and efficiency.
M-Kissan
• It is an Agricultural smart mobile application.
• Information were been provided in regional languages as per the user choice.
• Updating farmers crop specific information like pest control, crop pattern, soil type, weather
information, nearest market places, current market prices and so on.
Challenges in E-Agriculture
India is predominantly an agricultural economy and hence it requires strongest protection and
development of its “agricultural resources”. India is facing certain “Agricultural Challenges” that
must be resolved as soon as possible. The major challenges to “Agriculture Sector in India” are:
1. Insufficient agricultural infrastructure and support facilities
2. Insufficient institutional capacity to deliver farmers specific services
3. Lack of awareness regarding suitable agricultural methods among the farmer
4. Agricultural content development and its upgradations
5. Ownership issues of the public and government generated data
6. Inadequate use of Public-Private Partnerships in India
7. Lack of “Common Platforms” for the farmers in India
8. Absence of an “Agricultural Think-Tank” in India
9. Insufficient use of ICT for agricultural purposes, etc.
The Government of India must come up with “Suitable Policies” for the farmers so that they may be
motivated and encouraged to give their best. This must be supported by the use of ICT that can do
wonders for the agriculture sector of India.
Benefits of ICT for the improvement and strengthening of agriculture sector in India are:
1. Timely information on weather forecasts and calamities
2. Better and spontaneous agricultural practices
3. Better marketing exposure and pricing
4. Reduction of agricultural risks and enhanced incomes
Existing Various ICT Based E-Agriculture Programs for Rural development in India:
• Itc (e-choupal)
• Krishi ville
• Bhoomi
• Warna
• Rural bazaar
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