The Hindu Business Line : e-choupal

But it would be better if the information on the Internet is available in the regional language as the farming communities are more conversant in their regional languages.

Till new software is prepared, the farmer community can be taught the corresponding word in English say Wheat for gehu or Nitrogen for natra, and so on.

This is not a maiden project. Indian Tobacco Company's International business Division (ITC-IBD), one of India's largest exporters of agricultural commodities, came up with e-choupal in June 2000 — a well-organised supply chain aimed at delivering value to customers across the globe.

It has become the largest of its kind in all the Internet-based interventions in rural India.

The e-choupal model has been devised to meet the challenges fragmentation and sub-division of land, poor dissemination of ideas, poor infrastructure and the proliferation of middlemen.

The system constitutes an Internet-supported hub in a village, which is operated by a popular local farmer, known as the `choupal sanchalak', familiar with computers.

The sanchalak mans the kiosk, is in touch with company representatives and guides farmers on the market and the latest technology.

Farmers can use the kiosks to check the prevailing market prices of their produce, access market data, seek information of local and global weather conditions and the best farming practices.

This has reduced the time that farmers hang around the mandi, waiting for the agents to examine their stock and dictate prices. Prices are provided on the computer, giving the farmer the option of selling his produce either to ITC or a mandi that offers him good returns.

e-choupal services today are used by more than 3.5 million farmers growing soyabean, coffee, wheat, rice, pulses in over 31,000 villages through 5200 kiosks in six States — Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

The success of the ITC's pioneering initiative bagged it the 2005 Development Gateway Award from among 135 nominees.

Shyamkant R. Satpute

Pune

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