Planting seeds of change via SMS

At 8 am on a cloudy day in June, Sunita Bhajipale waits for a message on her cellphone — unusual for a female farmer in Jhilmili village of Vidarbha’s Gondia district. As her handset buzzes, Bhajipale checks the message. “Not a good time to start sowing yet,” she tells her husband.

The SMS is part of the day’s ‘weather advisory’ from Reuters Market Light (RML): 95 per cent chance of rains, 2 mm rain’. It might rain , but not enough to commence sowing. Four text messages a day at an annual subscription of Rs800, Bhajipale says, is worth it. “We get information about the weather, crops, commodity prices at different markets, and future projections.”

Until last year, the Bhajpales sold their bananas in Bhandara or Gondia at a price the traders quoted; now they show them the RML message if they quote less. “It helps us take decisions,” says Bhajipale. “Like, should we sell our produce today; or wait.”

From a couple of thousand subscribers who received it free during the test-run in 2007, RML today reaches 250,000 peasants in 13 states. This pioneering service has set off similar initiatives, such as IKSL in Punjab, run by the Indian Farmers Fertilisers Co-operative Ltd (IFFCO) in partnership with Bharti Airtel, which requires farmers to purchase a special SIM card to receive free voice-mails containing agricultural information.

The MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), a Chennai-based non-governmental organisation, is piloting a mobile-information services programme for fishermen in partnership with Qualcomm and Tata Teleservices. Named Fisher Friend, it provides free mobile handsets to fishermen along with free access to the information service. ITC also operates several models of a rural internet kiosk programme, the “e-choupal”. 

Saved by SMS
A study by ICRIER last year found evidence that mobile phones are being used by farmers in ways which contribute to productivity and profits. Take for instance, Ravindra Lindal, a marginal farmer in Beed’s Rohtalgaon village. “One SMS suggested that soyabean prices would drop in a week, and I decided to sell my produce immediately,” he said. “Prices did drop in the first week of January this year. I was saved.”

The key is to provide specific information, says Sumil Tambe, RML editorial head. “Our analysis showed that soyabean prices would collapse because of the bumper crop in Agrentina and South Africa. Now farmers growing soyabeans in Vidarbha want to know the procurement prices at soya oil extraction plants. This information gives them an idea of whether the market is going up or down.”

“We give them information and leave the decisions to them,” adds RML vice-president Ranjit Pawar. India was a natural choice to introduce the service. Mobile telephony was booming and the economy was expanding rapidly. Plus, India had 150 million farming households, the largest in the world. Vidarbha was chosen as a test field, before it was scaled up in 13 other states. 

Eyes and ears
It’s 2.30 pm, and a motley group of traders begin the auction of local and hybrid gram   in Nagpur’s sprawling 125-acre Kalamna market campus. Standing attentively in one corner, Sarang Pimpale, 24, jots down the price at which the buyer closes his deal. “Rs2,160,” he notes, and moves on to the next auction site. At 4 pm, after three different auctions of gram and soyabean in a typical off-season when the arrivals are sluggish, he texts a report on his cellphone.

The first year BA student is a farmer’s son, and an RML market correspondent. “He’s our eyes and ears at the local mandi,” says Shrinivas Pande, chief market reporter. Every day, between 11 am and 5 pm, Sarang notes the prices at this market of 20 different commodities — from fruits and vegetables to grains. Now there are 300 market correspondents employed in 13 states.

The content spread covers 250 crops, 1000 markets and 3000 weather locations. Global market information is sourced from market reports and analysed by experts. Granular information is collected by market reporters. “I see a qualitative change in farming,” says Gondia sub-divisional agriculture officer Rajratan Kumbhare. Sarjerao Sahebrao Kharwade, a five-acre rain-fed farmer, is a rising star in Beed’s Gevrai tehsil. He was one of the first to sign up for the RML service and has become a one-stop guide for villagers in their non-descript village.