Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Sustainable Agricultural Development

Indian Agriculture contributes 16 % of our GDP, and approximately 60 % Indians derive their livelihood from the agricultural sector. The performance of agriculture basically means the performance of small holder farming. It is only by empowering small and marginal farmers to overcome their handicaps that, they can become instruments of evergreen revolution and growth in agriculture sector. The limiting factors of farmers in maximizing their farm incomes are access to technology, government endeavour, resources, markets, institutions and services. Farming community is facing lot of problems in maximising the crop productivity. In spite of successful research on new agricultural practices, the majority of farmers are not getting upper bound yield due to several reasons. One of the reasons is that expert scientific advice on crop production and marketing is not reaching the farming community in a timely manner. There is a concern that the gap between the information rich and information poor is getting wider. The farmer proceeds for farming on the basis of experience. Generally farmers follow the advice of local shopkeepers/agents who sells him seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides etc. The information need of Indian farmers across the country is varied. Introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enables the dissemination of requisite information at the right time. This revolution in information technology has made access to the information easy and cost-effective.