The Spice Board of India announced the launch of a programme to connect with farmers on a mobile tele-network for direct interface. It has also set up a community of spice farmers in Tamil Nadu in collaboration with Iffco Kissan Sanchar Limited (IKSL), enlisting around 6,000 farmers under the Tamil Nadu Spices Community, in the initial stage to benefit the programme.
Through the mobile tele-network, the spices farmers would be informed daily about the prices and schemes, projects and announcements from the board through voice messages. The farmers would benefit from voice messages related to various aspects of spices cultivation, processing, marketing and exports, while the Board would stand benefit in terms of direct interface with the vast section of growers in Tamil Nadu through the mobile network in a short time.
Launching the programme in Coimbatore at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University A Jayathilak, chairman, Spice Board of India, said, “In a country where close to 60 per cent of the 1.21 billion population still depend on agriculture for a living, the spoken message service can be a boon to farmers in distant areas. This will be of a great use to illiterate farmers who are not technologically equipped thus leading to better involvement and participation of the farming community with the board.”
It would also have a helpline, where farmers can seek solution to their farm-related problems from the experts.
IKSL would issue green cards to the farmers free of cost during enrollment as member of the spices communities and these SIM cards could help the farmers in receiving the voice messages daily from the Board.
Starting from Tamil Nadu, the service would be extended to Kerala, Karnataka, Sikkim, North Eastern States, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The farmers could also contact the call centres for more deliberations. IKSL would also transmit messages on weather conditions and weather forecasts. There are opportunities for phone-in programme through which farmers can interact with the experts for announced specialty. It would also have some quiz programmes in which farmers can participate and win some prizes also.
“We are launching this programme when efforts are being made for large scale backward linkages of exporters with the farmers. Simultaneously the board is also taking initiatives to bring in traceability of spices produced , processed, value added and exported,” said Jayathilak.