Emerging ICTs and their Potential in Revitalizing Small Scale Agriculture in India

Agriculture plays a vital role in the social and economic development of India and is the main contributor to economic growth and stability. Small-scale agriculture and the harvesting of natural resources provide livelihoods for over 55% of the Indian population. However, most smallholders are resource-poor and face many challenges. Modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) have the potential to increase agricultural productivity through communicating knowledge and information to rural agricultural communities, providing capacity building, accessing markets and credit, restructuring of extension and scaling up inter-linkages of development interventions. This paper points out the potential of emerging ICTs in efforts aimed at dealing with some of the challenges small-scale farmers face. Findings suggest that the FM radio stations and the cellular phone have become important tools in improving small-scale agriculture in rural areas. The internet, web-sites and web-based applications are becoming increasingly important in sharing and disseminating agricultural information and knowledge and marketing of goods and services. Other emerging ICT applications for small-scale agriculture include radio frequency identification technology (RFID), market information systems (MIS), geographic information systems (GIS), precision agriculture and public access facilities. The study also established that low usage levels of these technologies is the result of low technical capacity and limited ICT infrastructure in the sector, especially in rural areas.