Interactive Information Dissemination System: Architecture for Disseminating Information to Farmers

Information and communications technology (ICT) has become a very important feature of the Indian agricultural sector in contemporary times. Our survey shows that farmers’ information needs can be addressed by a combination of push pull ubiquitous technology such as smart phones, featured phones, Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS), Internet, tablets and kiosks. Keeping this scenario in mind, the present paper focuses on the development of a multimodal ICT dissemination system based on an analytical framework developed from the findings of a study of 26 ICT initiatives in agriculture in India. This study was done by an NAIP team from May 2009 to December 2010, and involved primary data collection from 1,381 farmers across 57 villages in twelve states. The objective of this paper is to highlight a composite model of web and mobile technology along with an integrated IVRS system for effectively disseminating valuable agricultural information to farmers, fulfilling their generic and specific information needs through their desired mode and when required.