Abstract

This paper introduces a system to disseminate targeted agricultural information to small and marginal farmers in India through digital video. The system, called Digital Green, sustains relevancy in a community by developing a framework for participatory learning. The system includes a digital video database, which is produced by farmers and experts. The content within this repository is of various types, and sequencing enables farmers to progressively become better farmers. Content is produced and distributed over a hub and spokes-based architecture in which farmers are motivated and trained by the recorded experiences of local peers and extension staff. In contrast to traditional extension systems, we follow two important principles: (1) cost realism, essential if we are to scale the system up to a significant number of villages and farmers; and (2) building systems that solve end-to-end agricultural issues with interactivity that develops relationships between people and content.

Like farmer field schools, the Digital Green system provides structure to a traditional, informally-trained vocation. The system improves the efficiency of extension programs by delivering targeted content to a wider audience and enabling farmers to better manage their farming operations with reduced field support. We experimented with various approaches to achieve these goals in partnership with a grassroots-level NGO, GREEN Foundation, in Karnataka, India. Early results indicate that at least five times more farmers attempted better agricultural practices after integration of the Digital Green system over the NGO’s previous efforts.

1. Introduction

India is primarily an agricultural country. Over 60% of the population relies on agriculture for its livelihood. Though a generational vocation, farming has been unable to maintain its traditional heritage because of social, economic, and environmental change. The livelihoods of small and marginal farmers are in jeopardy in fragmented agricultural systems such as the one in India. Increasing debt and declining returns have led many to make desperate choices, which include selling their land below market rates and sometimes even taking their own lives. Farmers perceive that their options are limited because agricultural knowledge is often protected by the interests of chemical and seed manufacturers and market access is restricted by middle-men. Government extension officers are usually unable to visit with farmers for various reasons and agricultural broadcast programs lack relevancy. Farmers tend to find refuge in their own intuition and the hearsay of fellow villagers, which sometimes results in a downward spiral of poor decision-making. NGOs have attempted to fill this information gap with extension staffs that train farmers and visit fields to promote better practices. A farmer’s “conventional” operations may be transformed to reflect the following characteristics of sustainable agriculture:

1. Adoption of biodiversity

2. Adoption of mixed cropping practices

3. Domestication of livestock

4. Production of manures

5. Production of vermicompost

6. Reduction in chemical fertilizers

7. Reduction in chemical pesticides

8. Adoption of water management practices

9. Adoption of agroforestry

10. Adoption of integrated botanical pest and disease management practices.

Extension groups aim to enable the long-term social, environmental and economic sustainability of farmer livelihoods, however, the scalability of existing approaches is confounded by logistical and resource challenges.

India has the second largest number of extension workers in the world – 100,000. Consider the efforts of the GREEN Foundation, a grassroots-level NGO that has been promoting sustainable agricultural practices to farmers for the last 12 years. GREEN Foundation has concentrated its extension activities in 20 villages of southeastern Karnataka, India, and it now seeks to extend its reach to over 100. Like any organization, human and financial constraints pose significant challenges to scale and sustainability. A typical day of an extension worker begins by commuting one-hour over 5 km of poor roads and rough terrain to help a farmer on his field. (Figure 1 shows the location of the project’s current field deployment and the typical village route taken by extension staff.) At least 20-percent of the time, the farmer who requested the visit is not on his field. The worker then may choose to wait for the farmer or set out to find an alternate farmer. If the worker finds an interested farmer, one half-hour is often spent on introductions, two-hours on supervising the farmer take a particular action, and one half-hour on goodbyes. Half of the extension worker’s day is sunk in an uncertain visit to hand-hold a single farmer.

Bhanavasi

Kallanakuppe

Marasahally

Field Office

Figure 1: Location of project area in southeastern Karnataka (approx. 12°36'30"N 77°32'2"E). The daily routine of extension workers typically includes a tour of villages in which their efforts are concentrated on 2 or 3 farmers.

In general, extension workers concentrate their activities on a few farmers. As also found in the World Bank’s Training and Visit extension system, in each village, the workers restrict their work to the 2 or 3 farmers that are initially the most willing to work with them. Though extension systems may aim to use these farmers as models for others in the community, field staff is rarely able to show the progression of these farmers to wider audiences because of social and resource constraints.

The geographic dispersion and cultural diversity of a vast rural population of farmers pose seemingly insurmountable obstacles to the task of extension. Still, NGOs have built grassroots-level teams, which trek long distances to visit farmers, one by one, one plot at a time, to promote better practices. The DG system aims to improve the efficiency of the field staff by reducing these journeys to only those that are required and enabling each staff member to reach a wider audience of farmers.

2. Related Work

Several groups have sought to provide information to Indian farmers using technology. ITC’s widely acclaimed e-Choupal initiative and Hindustan Lever’s iShakti program were designed as kiosk-based web portals that would provide real-time weather forecasts and customized information to help farmers better manage their crops. e-Choupal has demonstrated success in streamlining the supply-chain for grain production, however, both e-Choupal and iShakti have faced difficulties in enabling farmers to recognize value from their kiosks (Karnani 2006). IIT Bombay’s aaQua is one service that has been deployed in kiosks to allow farmers to ask questions to agri-professionals over the Internet. Farmers typically receive answers after 24 to 48 hours, and there are indications that farmers trust the information that they receive (Ramamritham 2006). The e-Sagu system, a project of IIIT Hyderabad, was established on the alternative assumption that farmers are unable to ask the right questions. In e-Sagu, local coordinators obtain the weekly crop status of a farmer’s field by taking digital photographs. These photographs are compiled on a CD that is mailed to agricultural scientists at the university, who prepare personalized advice for each farmer. The system has shown that farmer can realize significant economic benefits with targeted expert support (Ratnam 2006).

Whereas the e-Sagu system follows a push-based model of detailing how individual farmers should proceed on a weekly basis, aaQua captures farmer requests for information on a needs basis. Both systems have shown success in field trials, and need not be mutually exclusive. In this context, we sought to reduce the dependence of farmers on intensive support by developing a platform for practical training and interactivity.

3. Methodology

An ethnographic approach was used for the preliminary research and design of the Digital Green system. In collaboration with the GREEN Foundation, the primary author of this paper has spent over 100 days in the field since September 2006. Field workers were observed performing their regular extension duties and interactions with farmers were recorded. In addition, we experimented with producing various types of content and tested alternative approaches to screening content, based on the availability of resources and the feedback of extension staff and farmers. In two villages, a farmer’s database was used to track the diffusion of agricultural concepts and practices. That is, farmers who viewed a particular method on video or who interacted with field staff were monitored through interviews and physical field visits. These records were used to evaluate each farmer’s progression (or lack thereof) from exposure to interest to adoption of agricultural practices with respect to expended time and resources. The data presented in this paper is largely anecdotal; however, these samples were used to evolve the design of the Digital Green system. Controlled experiments in the field will begin shortly.

4. The Digital Green System

The Digital Green system disseminates targeted agricultural information to small and marginal farmers in India through digital video. The system, called Digital Green, sustains relevancy in a community by developing a framework for participatory learning.

The system consists of (1) a digital video database for farmers by farmers; (2) a participatory process for content production; (3) a dissemination structure for informal training; (4) a sequence for initiating a new community; (5) mechanisms to generate sustained involvement; and (6) an architecture of a network of hubs and spokes for scalable content production and peer-learning.

4.1. Video Content

The DG content repository is video-centric. (Figure 2 shows one page from the DG database.) This is important for a developing and predominantly rural country like India, which, by optimistic estimates, has an adult literacy rate of less than 60%. In farming communities, the literacy rate is substantially lower. The video based approach has several important advantages to traditional forms of agricultural content, which is typically not in the local language, intended for a literate audience, uses expert terminology, lacks grassroots level practicalities, and remains inaccessible in a sea of scattered media. Farmers, by the nature of their occupation, rely on their auditory and visual senses and video, though not perfect, comes closest to capturing the scene in detail. Video creation tends to be faster and less expensive than other types of media, as advanced preparation in “lesson”-planning can minimize post-production editing.

Farmers are most receptive to adopt new practices through demonstrative exhibition. That is, farmers must see the additional benefits of a new method in relation to the control results of the conventional approach. Fertilizer companies have used this strategy by covertly visiting a farmer’s field in the night, applying a dosage of their product on a small patch of land, and returning in the day to highlight the change. Sustainable agricultural practices require a longer term cost-benefit analysis; however, video can compress the time needed to reveal the change. Visiting every farmer’s plot to demonstrate a particular method requires unattainable human resources and transporting every farmer to a demonstration plot at a collectively acceptable place and time is culturally and logistically impractical. Video provides a means of bringing relevant demonstrations into the homes of farmers. Video also reduces the human resources required to follow-up with individual farmers and demonstrate time-consuming methods in the field. For instance, extension staff can screen content on portable video players to give farmers the impetus and knowledge needed to try the practices for themselves in brief sessions. After all, farmers will not (and should not) adopt a new practice and completely replace their conventional operations. Farmers must measure the impact of a new practice on a small portion of their own land to personally appreciate the costs and added value for themselves. Enabling farmers to try this participatory experimentation for themselves on their own land imparts a sense of ownership to farmers, and allows extension staff to focus its limited resources on advising farmers that truly require follow-up support. As farmers develop familiarity with the content, they are able to solve their own problems, ask better questions, and request for specific counsel.

The DG database is currently being populated with video of various types. This includes:

1. Testimonials of farmers sharing their experiences with better agricultural methods

2. Groups showcasing an alternative income generating activity

3. Experts leading a step-by-step demonstration

4. Meteorological data

5. Marketing and government program information

6. Entertaining local clippings

Figure 2: A page from the DG database.

The video recordings can be grossly classified in the categories of awareness, training, advisory, and entertainment. NGOs and farmers provide the direction to record content, based on factors that include the appropriateness of farming season, the accessibility of resources, and the interests of local beneficiaries.

4.2. Content Production

Video recordings encourage the coalescence of scattered information into a systematic and comprehensive format with a localized context. For example, demonstrations of a particular agriculture technique typically follow the structure of: (1) a brief verbal overview of the entire process, (2) an itemization of the required resources and associated costs, (3) step-by-step instructions in the field, (4) a showcase of the uses and benefits, and (5) interactions with farmers to address common questions and concerns.

The recordings in the DG database are made by teachers of agriculture at the grassroots level. This includes scientists from government institutions, NGO experts, field staff, progressive farmers, and other enthusiastic volunteers from inside and outside the local community. Expert reviewers ensure the accuracy, clarity, and completeness of the content, and guide the construction of a time- and location-sensitive video-based curriculum. To ensure this goal, through research is conducted to formulate a cost-benefit analysis that assures the sustainability of promoted agricultural methods given local conditions. Since local agronomic and environmental resources may vary from farmer to farmer and from season to season, content producers tend to focus on techniques that are robust to change or present possible alternatives.

Figure 3: Preparing to record a vermicompost demonstration in Bhanavasi, Karnataka

“Lesson”-planning ensures that content producers are prepared for recording, and entails a basic story boarding of the topic of interest. “Lesson”-plans are typically unavailable for locally-targeted types of content; however, teachers are encouraged to be familiar with the work of the greater agronomic community. Most video recordings involve three persons: teacher, farmer, and recorder. (Figure 3 shows a typical recording of content.) Content producers coordinate tapings to ensure that videos provide clarity and relevancy to a wider audience. Video also enables almost anyone to become an effective author of content and provides a scalable solution to building a database that contains all sustainable agricultural practices, encompassing the agricultural circumstances of all farmers, spoken in all languages, covering activities all year round.

4.3. Content Dissemination

The principal means of disseminating content from the DG database is shipping DVDs to a village. Villages are provided a minimum of a TV and DVD player that is operated by NGO field staff and managed by local farmers. Villages usually do not have a public place in which farmers regularly gather, so the TV and DVD player must circulated around different areas of a village, which include bus stands, temples, schoolhouses, panchayat offices, storefronts, individual homes, and streets. Farming is a physically demanding occupation that starts early in the morning when power cycles allow irrigation wells to start filling and ends late in the evening after one’s family and animals have been fed. Most are willing to take only a short diversion from this daily routine between the hours of 7 to 9 pm. In addition, political and socioeconomic differences within village communities are prohibitive to gathering all the farmers together in one place at one time. The night showings usually involve small groups of about 10 to 20 farmers that are willing to come together at a common place within short distance of their homes. (Figure 4 shows a typical night screening.) These groups serve as informal farmer training schools in the evenings and are complemented by field programs in daylight hours. Several small groups are formed within a single village to show content on a regular basis, based on the availability and interests of the group. Since the screening locations preferred by each small group may differ, though, multiple screenings are scheduled each week on a rotational basis.

Figure 4: Typical night screening with farmers gathered in front of a temple in Yellachavadi, Karnataka

An obvious question is whether farmers will adopt new practices by just watching TV. The short answer is no. The long answer starts by noting that effective extension provides not only training, but also mechanisms for personalized advising and feedback. Farmers are difficult to engage during nighttime outdoor screenings, however, a few do ask for clarifications, express interest in a particular method, or request physical visits to their field. The TV allows an operator, who may not be the best teacher of the content, to provide farmers with comprehensive and accurate knowledge about a particular practice. Video clippings average 10 minutes in length. Short videos encourage the production of clear descriptions of practices and help maintain the attention of a fluid audience, which may come and go during an outdoor screening in the night.

Extension workers use the Digital Green system as a tool to support their regular duties. Since staff members come from various backgrounds, videos are used to train and standardize their interactions with farmers. In addition, staff is shown how to integrate the DG system into its extension activities through “teacher training” sessions. Training introduces staff to the system, content availability, and proper screenings techniques. Staff members are shown how best to generate interest in a community through locally-produced clippings; field commonly asked questions of farmers; pause, skip, or repeat screened content; maintain records of farmer interests; reiterate critical information; encourage audience participation; etc.

Since even TV and DVD screenings do not scale to a vast, geographically-dispersed population of farmers, alternate methods of disseminating the DG content are desirable. The two supplementary approaches currently used for distribution include a DVD exchange and local cable. In a village of 200 households, 100 own TVs and 50 subscribe to the services of a village cable operator. Many households that possess DVD players prefer the on-demand ability to view clips of their individual interests, as many times as they like, in the shelter and privacy of their homes. Enthusiastic farmers in several villages have taken DVDs to show to their friends and family, and have even arranged public screenings for their communities using their own TV and DVD players. The frequency of this sharing is remarkable considering the high value placed on these commodities. DVDs are circulated amongst farmers and the extension staff provides a human mode for feedback and support. Since DVDs are distributed amongst a scattered population that cannot be easily visited on a regular basis, viewers are provided a contact phone number to ask questions, request additional content, or schedule a visit with extension staff. Activities of extension staff are detailed in video clippings to introduce farmers to the services available to them.

DVD exchanges are possible with farmers that develop an interest in DG content, but larger sections of a community could be better exposed to content through village cable networks. The additional value provided by using cable networks depends on its pervasiveness. Though cable service may be available, many households may purchase their own DVD players rather than subscribe to a service that costs between Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 per month and delivers few channels.

Depending on the availability of the service, local farmers are best capable of assisting in providing access to the cable network. Village cable networks are typically managed by a part-time farmer, who serves as the cable operator. Though an operator could be paid to display content at rate of about Rs. 100 per night, there may be some difficulty in validating that the videos are actually being shown. Instead, DG benefits from an operator’s proximity to the greater farming community. Locally-produced agricultural and entertainment content helps provide an initial willingness to screen the content. Community pressure with increasing participation, perhaps even including the cable operator, sustains the show. Since technical hurdles may require operators to use a preexisting channel, one should be wary of upsetting other community members by displacing other programming. Community and cable operator feedback should be used for amicable scheduling.

Though the use of a cable network has been mentioned as a means of distributing DG content, it is important to recognize the differences between DG screenings and broadcast television and radio agricultural programs. DG screenings on cable are narrowcast in a village based on a relevant set of societal and agricultural conditions. Significantly, the content often includes participants from the same village. Though the applicability of a