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Pers Ubiquit Comput (2011) 15:597607 DOI 10.1007/s00779-010-0335-3
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Kheti: mobile multimedia in an agricultural co-operative
Andy Dearden Paul Matthews Haider Rizvi
Received: 9 March 2010 / Accepted: 19 September 2010 / Published online: 5 December 2010 Springer-Verlag London Limited 2010
Abstract Kheti is a mobile phone-based, multimedia communication system to support sharing of agricultural knowledge and advice within a producers co-operative. The rst version of this system was designed with, and was tested by, the Sironj Crop Producers Company Ltd, a cooperative of small farmers working in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. In this paper, we describe the Kheti system and examine how it addresses the problems of making agricultural knowledge available by recognizing that practical knowledge is always located within a complex network of social relations and practices. We also examine the results of eld trials and some of the challenges in seeking to convert a successful technology into a sustainable development intervention.
I am just like any other farmer in the village But I was always eager to have more information on the agriculture and was a regular listener of the radio
programmes such as Chaupal. I found these programmes very interesting and useful because of the discussions on the agriculture issues are good and we may apply some of the methods. But this programme was not enough and I was always looking for more knowledge on innovative practices and experiments, which I could apply in my elds. I was always having a discomfort that we are not able to create any concrete knowledge base for the next generation. (Mr Ganga Ram, Chairman, Sironj Crop Producers Company Ltd, http://www.menarik.co.uk/eservblog/?p=17
Web End =http://www.menarik.co.uk/eservblog/?p=17 ).
1 Introduction
In June 2008, United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) set a target to increase global food production by 50% by the year 2030 [19]. One key strategy is applying information and communication technologies (ICT) to share knowledge and enable farmers to apply inputs more efciently. A recent survey of e-agriculture, conducted by the UNs International Telecoms Union (ITU) and FAO, identied communication processes as critical, highlighting:
Developing virtual communities/networks for information and knowledge exchange between rural stake-holders, as well as for their empowerment through participation;
Capacity building...