: : Agriculture Information Dissemination System by FM Radio : :

Introduction :

Agriculture is the mainstay of the India’s economy and 74.73 per cent of the people are rural. As much as 49 per cent of the land area is cultivable. Being capable of producing the best crops, India now seeks the role of IT based solutions for disseminating information on various agricultural related topics in villages of India. Unfortunately, information on market prices, weather, quantities traded, and other marketing-related matters rarely reaches farmers in developing countries. Farm radio would appear to represent an important way of overcoming this problem. This paper briefly presents a way in which the information can be broadcast to the farmers by the means of Local FM Radio channel. It suggests how radio stations broadcasting to farmers could offer agriculture related information.

Why it is so important :

Timely availability of reliable information on climate, plant nutrients, production, seeds, fertilizers, new trends and water information, integrated with infrastructure- and socio-economic factors, are essential for stakeholders, policy makers and land users to exercise the best choices among options in using these resources to achieve sustainable levels of food production and development in an increasingly complex environment.

Between the Indian council of Agricultural Research, Provincial Departments of Agriculture and other spatial information providers there is a wealth of information. However, this information is not readily accessible. This could be due to various reasons including:

• Unsatisfactory communication, resulting in role players not being aware of the information.
• Information in a non-standard or incompatible format.
• Information compilation and dissemination not seen as a priority by organizations and too costly to convert to digital formats.
• Major suppliers of data did not consult users on their data requirements and often data is not structured to address the needs of the end users.
  
  

Objective of Local FM radiobroadcast service :

• Provide, disseminate and exchange development messages to different target groups for their use, discussion and feedback.
• Provide a forum for exchange of ideas and a platform for expression to farmers and others who have been insignificant in the existing media.
• Provide information on various agriculture related issues like weather information, best practice for a season, crop recommendations etc.
• The station will be dedicated to being community focused. Workshops and events for the community are held on a regular basis to encourage local participation.
• Put issues of the marginalized people on the national agenda with for positive legislation.
• Promote good governance, democracy, observance of individual human rights and peace.
• Re-awaken among communities a sense of duty and social responsibility.
• Advocate and lobby for gender balance in communities at different levels of decision making both in government and the private sector.
• Help communities preserve and live harmoniously with their environment.