Kalgudi – ICT for Agri-Extension

Agriculture is the backbone of many developing countries. Majority of the people in these areas depend on agriculture as their primary livelihood. They are the greatest contributors of the world as they produce the food consumed by people worldwide. This sector being of great importance, is functioning at very low efficiency. Illiteracy and lack of technological penetration are responsible for the low productivity in the core rural regions where agriculture is predominant. Agriculture extension plays its role here, to bridge the gap between technology and farmers.

An extension officer is the face of innovation and technology to the farmers in the rural regions. They take up the responsibility of carrying the latest technologies from scientists to farmers.

At present, there is a huge opportunity for extension officers to educate and disseminate knowledge to larger ranges of farmers, with increase in the rate of internet penetration. They require a perfectly suitable, wholesome platform like kalgudi, to communicate with the masses effectively, with greater impact through minimal resources.

Few features of Kalgudi for Agri-Extension

• Share an update: From latest technology, to seasonal crop related information, this feature allows a person to communicate his or her idea to all of the users in a single click.
• Groups: An extension officer can create a group of farmers and cooperatives. They can also include the pesticide/fertiliser dealers in their conversations, from the vast network of Agri-input dealers in Kalgudi.
• Share a price: Anybody can share the local market price of their commodity, to all their contacts and to the public. Similarly, get the price updates from various markets across the world.
• Q&A: Any question can be posted by anyone which will get answers and views of people worldwide. A farmer can post a question in his group, or to public, which will be answered by professionals from all over the world who are registered in Kalgudi.

Kalgudi has a presence in more than 50 countries. An association between the extension officers in these countries will create synergy to all the participants in the platform. Kalgudi will add to the benefits provided by extension education.