21 ICT for Agricultural Development

T. Radha

epgp books

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

The information and better communication are critical requirements for sustainable agricultural development. Modern communication technologies when applied to conditions in rural areas can help to improve communication, increase participation and disseminate information and share knowledge and skills.

 

A range of communication technologies have been used to meet the information needs of the rural population. These include radio, television, newspaper, books, and nowadays the internet is a new emerging tool with potential to contribute to rural development. Internet enables rural communities to receive information and assistance from other development organizations and offers opportunities for two–way communications.

 

ICT can also support bottom-up articulation of development needs and perceptions and thus help in reducing the isolation of rural communities with government planners, development planners, development agencies, researchers and technical experts; encourage community participation in decision making and help agricultural researchers , technicians farmers and others in sharing information . New information and communication technologies are generating possibilities to solve problems of rural poverty , inequality and giving an opportunity to bridge the gap between and the information-rich and information–poor and support sustainable development in rural areas

 

Agricultural ICT is the new global level wave. Private as well as public sectors engaged in the business of agriculture, consultancy, marketing enterprises, hybrid plants, fertilizer industry, pesticide, seed, floriculture, medical plants industry, farm equipment manufacturers and drugs are developing Agricultural Information and communication Technology divisions to provide new avenues and research output

 

ICT perspectives in Agricultural Education

 

1.ICT to be a global agriculturist: Under the changing dynamics of economical and industrial growth, agriculture has to be undergo changes with new approaches, therefore, experiential system in agriculture has strong potential for imparting better training of the agricultural technocrats with high level of skill in combination with the modern out-look and management capacity. In order to prepare the agricultural graduates for the new millennium, the agricultural graduates should be given exposure on International Agriculture, World Trade Organisation, Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights, Global Conventions on Climate, Biodiversity and Desertification, Computer Technology and Patent and Trade Literacy. ICT can play an imperative role in giving exposure to agricultural students to be able to competent the new millennium.

 

2.ICT to harness the frontline sciences: To facilitate agriculturists with the knowledge of the front line sciences, there is a need to train them in the new areas of Biotechnology, Space Technology, Renewable Energy Management, Agricultural Economics and Agri-Business management. ICT can provide opportunity to those scientists and agricultural graduates who are trying to develop agricultural with the help of modern sciences.

 

3.ICT to generate job opportunity to agriculturists: With the expansion of ICT in agriculture, ICT related job could be provided to the agricultural graduates. Governments, many NGOs, institutions and private organizations have started to create agricultural related websites for the Indian farmers. In the creation of farmer friendly contents for the agricultural sites, there is wide scope for agricultural graduates to be involved in this business.

 

4.ICT to make agricultural education understandable: Agricultural education includes many sciences. To make education more interesting and to make difficult concepts easily understood, it requires effective presentation by the teacher. Many topics like pests and diseases of crops, deficiency of micro nutrients in crops, virus, pathogens and many other topics cannot be taught with the help of lecture methods unless coupled with the audio-visual form of presentation. The use of ICT through multimedia is the best solution to teach such topics to the learners. It is a system by which one can make an integrated use of the: three senses visual, audio and tangible. Multimedia, thus, involves the interactive use of images and animation (visual), speech, music (audio), text and data (tangible) on the same screen. Interactive multimedia is computer centered and with rapid developments in software capabilities, there are immense potentialities in professional education, especially technical and management education. The computer aided learning using multimedia is likely to greatly alter learning patterns.

 

5. ICT to create Digital Agricultural Libraries: Libraries which untill recent times were essentially stacking print material have now begun to acquire electronic media like CD ROMs and multimedia packages. In the coming years the quantity of electronic material is likely to increase substantially and it is clear that libraries will have to prepare themselves for conversion to electronic libraries. Such libraries are capable of providing much diversified information as they make use of information highways and databases.

 

6. ICT for the Growth of Distance Agricultural Education: The major problem faced by the people in most of the developing and underdeveloped countries is that they have less opportunity for higher education due to variety of reasons. Recognizing the need to provide them higher education, many Universities have offered distance education. Some of the post diploma and certificate educational programmes on agricultural subjects can be run by distance learning. This can be done effectively through offering the learner friendly way of higher distance learning through information and communication technology.

 

7.ICT for Online Agricultural Education: The online education principally refers to the teaching through internet or Universities and institutions that offer online courses on their websites. In this case the students execute all the activities online with the help of internet right from taking admissions, attending virtual class rooms, downloading study material through e-mail and sending feedback through chat or e-mail or videoconferencing on computer, etc. This entire process of online education has been made possible only through advancement made in information and Communication Technologies.

 

ICT to strengthen Agricultural Research:

 

1.Research Priority: Under the changing scenario of global context, India will be affected in the entire procedure of agriculture research. Particularly the identification of thrust areas of agricultural research will be based on global need. The talent to differentiate between what is urgent and what is important will hold key to the success in deciding priorities.

 

2.ICT for Agricultural Scientists: Many innovative branches of Science are being used for the development of agriculture. The uses of meteorology, seismology, biotechnology are good examples for this. Globally, biotechnology has been emerging as a frontline area of science. The database available with all biotechnology centres can be used by agricultural scientists through ICT.

 

3.ICT to receive feedback for research: with the help of ICT tools like internet, teleconferencing, video conferencing etc. the feedback of the technology users can be received to decide areas of modification.

 

4.ICT to avoid research duplication: Agricultural scientists can develop inter institutional relationship with the help of connecting themselves by information and Communication Technology with other research institutions to avoid duplication of research efforts.

 

5.ICT for agricultural research evidence: Documentation is a piece of evidence or information constituting an account of something that has occurred. It provides information, based on the nature of various subjects of agriculture. The documents of research record play vital role in guiding and supporting other research workers. There are two types of record, which can be made available on internet like textual and non-textual documents. Textual documents present their information exclusively in the form of written text to be read e.g. books, periodicals, catalogues, statistical compendia, trade publications, patents, etc. Non textual documents may contain some text but the important part is presented in some other form e.g. maps, graphs, diagrams, posters, paintings, photographs, slides, sound tapes, films, videotapes, artistic monuments and magnetic documents. ICT can play significant role for research documentations.

 

6.ICT in research announcements: There are certain ICT intermediaries such as Data Centres, Information Centres and Libraries through which the producers of agricultural information based on research can first disseminate information to pass on to the end users.

 

ICT Perspectives in Agricultural Extension:

 

1. To Strengthens Extension Management: Agricultural extension can be managed effectively by five important prerequisites viz 1. Regular training and maintaining of extension workers and functionaries at various levels on specific knowledge and skills, 2. Monitoring and understanding constrains. 3. Strong information, documentation and publication support, 4. Effective institutional network for synergetic support, 5. Develop national and international linkages. ICT can play a significant role in all these prerequisites of agricultural extension and management.

 

2.ICT to strengthen elements of agricultural communication

 

Agricultural communication is a very challenging job, where ample concern is required among the communicators to handle all the elements of communication.

 

Many research studies have concluded that due to lack of skill in handling all the elements of communication, expected results do not come out . The use of internet can be very convenient to overcome some of the barriers and strengthen effectiveness of elements in the present system of agriculture communication like ‘communicator’ , message, channel, treatment of message , audience and feedback. However internet is not ultimate solution for agricultural communication but it supports to all the elements of communication and extension.

 

Challenges in Agricultural Information Technology

 

Farming, being a major occupation for majority of the Indian people, has encouraged the Indian Government to make use of IT for effective development in the field of agriculture. In spite of all these efforts developments, there are serious challenges. Which can be overcome if we can quickly implement reforms.

 

1. Agriculture Information Professional Skills

 

The agriculture information society definitely lacks the information professional skills . Few of these skills are ability to add value to agricultural information, evaluate agriculture information, organise and store agricultural information for effective retrieval of user. Also, awareness of technology skills and subject expertise, familiarity with research methods, agricultural knowledge delivery mechanisms and its management, knowledge of legal, economic and political aspects of agricultural information are important professional’s skill required in agricultural information society. Other challenges in agricultural information professional’s skills are methods of disseminating agricultural information; IT based agricultural messages presentation, editorial and publication skills and training, education and consultancy skills.

 

2.Agricultural Information Management Skills

 

Agricultural information is considered the most significant resource and that is why, in the context of decision making, information is also treated as the blood of agricultural management. In the absence of awareness regarding various kinds of agricultural management, the information manager can not enjoy the right benefit of the right information in the undertaken stage of decision making. Hence, management skills are required by information professional at various stages of the information cycle. These skills are out of utmost importance, which may include understanding the agricultural organisational culture, agricultural project management, change management, agricultural strategic planning, agricultural financial management, human resource management, communication skills, marketing skills, vision, creativity and liaisoning as well as negotiating skills.

 

3.Modern Knowledge of Agriculture Business

 

Agriculture information professional must keep one of his eyes at present and another at future. He should not be confined to his subject, but in the light of modern agricultural technological innovations, availability of better software development tools and better techniques of communication, he must continuously update himself. Agricultural information professional needs to know present trends and developments in hardware, software and communication technologies, agricultural information exploration and visualisation, means of preservation of information, internet and its efficient use for quick access of desired kind of information and agricultural technology for intellectual property protection.

 

4. The challenges of information managers

 

Agricultural information should remain information rather than misinformation. Incorrect information may have its own negative consequence, which may damage the entire plan or strategy. It is the responsibility of an agricultural information manager to create a useful link between the farmers and the information. In the events when information is mishandled or poorly presented, it loses its value and the same may cause negative effects on the emotions of its users. In order to overcome such a situation, the information managers have to analyze the information seeking behaviour, analyze the information seeking behaviour, analyse the user’s needs from time to time awareness of the consequences of the misuse of the information and its impact, help the farmers in learning the techniques for efficient retrieval of information. In addition to these, he should make the appropriate use of information in a suitable situation., keep constant watch on the information flow within the agricultural enterprises, evaluate systems and procedures from time to time, review policies from time to time in the light of emerging trends, strike a balance between the existing needs and changed needs of the system and take necessary steps to implement the expected changes maintaining a balance between supporting and opposing forces.

 

5. Strategies to sustain

 

Nowadays in the age of information, we must implement right techniques for storing, operating and communicating the desired information by the resources of well–organised retrieval mechanisms. In this regard, basic principle of reference should be “ Right Information for the right user at the right time in the right form”, The development of human resources in the profession of information science needs to be thought for the development of existing professionals in to potential professionals.

 

India  has  incredible  prospects   in  software  development  .It  must  amend  its policies for information dissemination from time to time in the light of technological innovations and user’s changing needs. For survival in the information age, we need to establish an Information Service Committee to perform important tasks like drawing up the standards and labour division for database design, drawing up network plans and laying technical standards, identify appropriate software and popularize their applications nationwide, determining standards and protocols for parallel effort in the labour division and cooperation for document acquisition and resource sharing and database contribution.

 

6. Information infrastructure

 

Infrastructure is the main component of every system. The same is also applicable in case of Agricultural Information Systems. Information infrastructure includes accessible networks of telecommunications, the tools of computing, libraries at organisations and State Agricultural Universities, information centers at village level and similar other setup to transport, manipulate, store and disseminate information efficiently. To determine future demand of infrastructure, it is essential to consider the efficiency of operations and how well the services generated are responding to users. There are diverse and unique problems for each sector and some of the common challenges of information infrastructure development in India are operational inefficiencies, inadequate maintenance, excessive dependence on public and external resources, irresponsiveness to user needs, meagre benefits to the poor and lack of sufficient environmental responsibility.

 

7. Responsibilities of Development Agencies

 

It is necessary for different agencies to come forward for offering their assistance in the respective areas. Many agencies like World Bank, FAO, IDRC and IFAD are supporting the expansion of Internet services. Internet is the panacea for removal of constraints to agriculture and rural development, but it brings all new information resources together and can certainly open new telecommunication channels to rural and farming communities. It offers certain ways of bridging the gap between agricultural development community and farmers through initiating dialogue, interaction, new alliances and interpersonal networks.

 

8. Proper information policy

 

There must be an ordinance of governance for every plan. On the same lines, we should also have ordinance of governance for information as the most important resource and the same is termed as Information Policy. Information policy is a broad general plan of action to be adopted by an organisation or government .Such policies can be enacted by the legislature or the courts or emerge from international organisations and regulatory bodies. The main objectives of an Information Policy statement are to:

  • Identify the user needs
  • Intensify bibliographical control of all types of information resources
  • Identify the information  products and services
  • Development of manpower
  • Standardisation in all the components of library and information centers
  • Promote international information cooperation

   At present, there is hardly any national programmes of library and information service for the development of library and information activities by the union government, state/union territory governments or by other agencies in the country. As a result, existing programmes continue to develop throughout the country in an un-coordinated way. This national policy can serve as guidelines for the development and improvement of library and information services in the country in the years to come. Indian Information Policy must cover all aspects with regard to user needs, information resources, manpower, standardization etc.

 

9. Intellectual Property Rights

 

Intellectual Property Right (IPR) is a general term which covers copyright, patterns, registered designs and trademarks. Developed countries demand protection against piracy, while developing countries feel that such protection will prevent entry of newcomers. The new information society needs free flow of information, while IPR is a hurdle to it. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) should treat IT industry as priority area and provide requisite facilities viz. concessional tariffs and subsidies to developing countries. This may help prevent piracy of IT products and provide global access to electronic information.

 

Development in modern digital technology has led to a review of the provisions of intellectual property right both at national level and by many countries. The developing countries are also catching up with this trend as the value of intellectual property right is increasingly felt. The following issues must be taken up in this regard:

  • Copyright regulations and legislations
  • Influence of internet
  • Problems and concerns in cyberspace
  • Usage of digital signatures
  • Security of information over networks

   Information Society is passing through many challenges due to lack of information Professional’s Skills. Information Management Skills and up to date Subject Knowledge. Making available proper information infrastructure, information management techniques, and property intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) will certainly make information Society of 21st century a grand success. We must carry out the suggested strategies to ensure survival of information society of tomorrow.

 

Conclusion

 

The ICT based agricultural information is building up slowly but surely. There is still a lot of work to be done by policy makers. Many organisations are supporting SAUs to digitize their technical information on the Web. At the same time research and training organisations, both in public and voluntary sectors are being supported in building their capacity to digitize the rural and agricultural information and make it available on the WWW. Efforts are being made to connect various districts of our country on the internet so that the farmers can get all the technical information on the Web sites. If ICT will be made available to all Indian villages to take benefits of agricultural research, the positive change in the face of rural development will be definitely possible.

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