3 e-EXT- Allied Sector

Transcript

Basic Introduction

Hello Friends. In our previous discussion we were discussing about the e-Extension initiatives of State Agricultural Universities. And we could observe a range of services that are being offered by the State Agricultural Universities, which are location specific, region specific and in the regional language. In this particular discussion we will be taking up the issue of e-Extension initiatives which are launched for the allied sectors of agriculture. As we have already discussed in some of our previous discussions. Allied enterprises of agriculture are playing dominant role in strengthening the economy of the farmers.

So until and unless the allied sectors are becoming strong and directly they are dependent on the outputs of agriculture. So once they become strong, so that gives additional strength to the farming community and that is how they can strengthen their agricultural practices also. So there is a symbiotic relationship between the agriculture as well as its allied enterprises. So that is why due emphasis should be given on the allied sector also. In that series, so now we will be discussing some e Mediated extension efforts in the allied sectors of agriculture.

e-Pasuhaat

The concept of e-Pasuhaat. So which was the web portal of Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt of India under the Dept of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.

Aims and Objectives

So basically this particular e-Pasuhaat aims at,

1. To provide e-trading support for the farmers for livestock germplasm and related services. Maintenance of the germplasm and when it is required for artificial insemination. Providing this germplasm is one of the important issue. So maintaining the pedigree is another important issue, which are being done with the help of this e-Pasuhaat.
2. Then this e-Pasuhaat is intended to connect the farmers with the breeders of Central, State, cooperative as well as the private agencies. So the breeding aspects are very very important in case of animal management. So that is why the regional, the local, State level as well as national agencies are coming on a common platform with the help of this e-Pasuhaat.
3. Then real time, authentic and certified information on availability of germplasm is there because this portal is being managed by the Govt of India.
4. Then centralized repository of information of Central as well as the State Govts. So this purpose is also being served with the help of this e-Pasuhaat.

Pashu Poshan

So another e-Extension effort by the National Dairy Development Board known as the Pashu Poshan. So they launched this mobile app for recommending balanced diet for cows and buffaloes. If you look into the cost of production of milk, specially in case of animal husbandry. 70% of the cost is on its nutritional management and the feed management. So under such circumstances you can imagine the importance of giving a balanced diet to the animals. So that is how this particular app is going to help the farmers to design their nutritional packages for the animals.

Farmers should provide the complete animal profile like the breed, age, milk production, the fat content in the milk; apart from the food items being currently fed to the animal along with their cost.

So based on this basic information, the app is going to recommend you which are the combinations that you need to follow, and what is the quantity that is to be fed, maybe in the morning, afternoon, evening. Like that it gives you the complete information related to the nutrition.

Right now more than 5 crore farmers are the subscribers of this Pashu Poshan app of NDDB. So this is an indicator that how popular these initiatives are.

ICAR—CIRB Bhainsa Janan

Then coming to the Central Institute of Research on Buffaloes, which has come out with the Bhainsa Janan. So app related to the buffalo reproduction.

• To impart the knowledge for buffalo owners and guiding the veterinarians.
• So this particular app provides the basic information on different areas of buffalo reproduction.
• And the major areas covered include,
  o Targets of reproduction
  o Puberty
  o Sexual maturity
  o Heat symptoms
  o Breeding methods
  o Pregnancy diagnosis
  o Peripartum care
  o Then bull selection
  o Management for the breeding purpose

All these are the priority areas of this particular app of CIRB, known as Bhainsa Janan

m-Krishi Fisheries

Then coming to m-Krishi Fisheries. So fisheries is another important sector. India is having the vast coastal region of around 5000 kms. So which makes this particular enterprise very profitable enterprise.

The app which was developed by the Tata Consultancy Services in collaboration with the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute(CMFRI) and

The National Center for Ocean Information Services(INCOIS). These three institutions put together developed this m-Krishi fisheries app.

So basically they try to provide information regarding the density of fish that are available in the seas, and it advises the farmers to go for fishing and where the dense population is available.

Vanami Shrimp App

Then Vanami shrimp app. Shrimp is another important aquatic enterprise. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research and this Central Institute of Brackish water Aquaculture(CIBA)has developed this shrimp app, which provides the technical support to the shrimp farmers, entrepreneurs, and the extension personnel and connects them to the scientific community. So basically the shrimp farmers they can ask their questions with the help of this App and they can get solutions for the problems what they are facing apart from the basic information that the App is already providing.

Dairy Kannada

So there are apps in the regional language also. The Dairy Kannada app which was developed by Jayalakshmi Agrotech, private sector involvement is there. So they are providing animal husbandrysupport in their regional languages, which is equipped with the high end analytics and decision support system in the regional language. With interactive audio-video content it delivers the information by breaking the literacy barrier. Even illiterate farmer can be the beneficiary of this app because the video contents are already available in this App.

Training Calendar

Then coming to the efforts of Tamil-Nadu University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences.

• So they have developed a training calendar for the purpose of farmers, specially the animal husbandry farmers.
• Farmers can view their upcoming events in training calendar, so that they will come to know that, which types of trainings that are being organized by the institutions and whether he is eligible for those trainings or not.

Then apart from that it gives a number of other extension services to the farmers also

IVRI—Pashu Prajanan App.

Then coming to the efforts of the Indian Veterinary Research Institution, which is situated at Bareilly. So they have developed an app known as the Pashu Prajanan app. Basically this app was designed by Indian Veterinary Research Institute as well as Indian Agricultural Statistical Research Institute, New Delhi. They put together developed this app.

• So this is a ready reckoner for the graduating veterinarians, veterinary officers and livestock entrepreneurs about the reproductive problems of cattle and buffaloes and measures to treat and control them. So this particular app is an educational input for a student and it is an instrument for the professional for providing the extension services, and for the researchers so they can keep on adding the values to this.
• Then it provides the basic information on artificial insemination in cattle as well as buffaloes. So there are a number of biological issues that are associated with this particular app. Reproduction as well as artificial insemination is considered. So this app is giving you alerts as well as information.
• So this app is available in a number of regional languages like Hindi, English, Punjabi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam. So now we can imagine the importance of this app and the application of this app, that are being used by the farming communities.

Then coming to the Marine fish sales app and Website developed by the CMFRI (Central Marine Fisheries Research Institution), so which connects the farmers as well as the fishermen and the consumers on the same platform. This app is developed by CMFRI as I have already told. It is a multivendor e-commerce tool for the farmers.

• To facilitate the direct sale between the fisher folk and the customers. So the primary fisher folk who are catching the fish now they can directly sell their fish to the consumers with the help of this app.
• The app envisions reasonable prices. There are no middlemen which are allowed. So with this the primary producers can maximize their profits with the help of this app.

Then coming to the Swine App. So this app is developed to deliberate the latest technical knowhow for the farmers as well as entrepreneurs. The pork is in high demand in the society. So that is how pig farms are becoming very popular among the farming communities.

• There is lot of importance regarding the pig farming and different breeds of pigs, because of its high demand in the marke
• This particular app is giving you the information regarding the selection and breeding planfor the pig farm.
• Reproduction, management, feeding as well as housing.
• Diseases and health calendar for the pigs.

Every aspect associated with the pig farming are being provided with the help of this Swine app.

Another allied enterprise of agriculture. So which again this crop is being cultivated on the farm itself. So that is known as the silk. The Resham Bandhu app, even though the silk cultivation is in the limited areas in different parts of the country. But this is giving additional income to the farmers.

• This particular app is designed and developed to provide the useful information as a user friendly reliable tool for the silk farmers.
• So the issues related to moriculture, cultivation of sericulture, reeling, then human resource development and extension activities.

So all these informations are being provided with the help of this Resham Bandhu app to the farmer.

So some more Apps for the Allied sector include the,

• AASAN is the mobile based milk collection system for the societies, which facilitates the process of milk collection from the farmers by the societies.
• The Directorate of Poultry Research has developed an app providing information about the germ plasm, the technologies developed, poultry breeding, then poultry seed project, latest news related to poultry etc etc.
• Then AHD digital extension app. This gives access to the information, informative materials, reports, news, alerts and other publications related to the Animal Husbandry Dept of Govt of Kashmir
• Then the sericulture calendar is a software, which guides the farmers about the activities to be carried out in case of sericulture. So MS Swaminathan Foundation has come out with the Pan India Fisher Friend mobile application to provide the information to the fishermen.
• Then Mushroom farming in Hindi app is also available.

So these are some of the initiatives. It is not a comprehensive list, it is only an indicative list. So this gives us the confidence that the number of such applications are available for the purpose of farmers, specially in case of allied sectors.

Conclusion

To conclude we can say that

• Allied enterprises are part of farming system, because this crop husbandry as well as the allied enterprises are having the symbiotic relationships as we have already said.
• Then allied sectors need to be recognized as an enterprise, so that, that helps the farmers as well as he can enhance his income.
• Then the allied enterprises play the key role in changing the socio-economic conditions of primary producers, because they are into providing the regular income to the farmers.

So this is in a nutshell about the e-Mediated extension initiatives for the allied sectors of agriculture. So with this we are concluding this discussion. And in the next interaction, we will be talking of the eExtension initiatives launched by the non-governmental organizations.

Thank You.