Information and Communication Technologies in Agriculture: Ikisan's Offerings to the Indian Farm Community

摘要

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are influencing all sectors of the economy. Agriculture sector is no exception to the all pervasive influence of ICTs. It is observed that timely information that is accessible on demand empowers better decision making and hence proves profitable to the farmers. Various ICT-mediated interventions have been developed in agriculture to benefit the stakeholders across the value chain. We in Ikisan Limited, a company belonging to Nagarjuna Group brought together agricultural information, knowledge and business requirements of various players in agriculture to improve the cost-benefit ratio in agricultural production. Ikisan was initiated in the year 1999 and was formally incorporated in 2000.It has obtained quality certification under ISO 9001:2000 Standards (TUV:SUD) for Farm Management Services and Information Technology Enabled Services in Agriculture. This initiative of Ikisan is based on the fact that there are substantial gaps between the actual and potential productivity, quality and costs of production in agriculture due to lack of information. Therefore, providing the appropriate information can help in bridging these gaps.