Key Decision Challenges: Perspectives from Stakeholders

Colombo, Sri Lanka December 2, 2013

Institutions and Policies for Scaling Out Climate Smart Agriculture

Key Decision Challenges: Perspectives from Stakeholders- “IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited, India“

by S.Srinivasan

• Owned by 40,000 plus member cooperatives

• Strives to improve agricultural productivity and welfare of farmers

• Largest producer and distributor of chemical fertilisers in India

• Well known for promotional and extension activities in rural India

Nurturing Mother Earth’s Bounty

INDIAN FARMERS FERTILISER COOPERATIVE LIMITED

• Adopting State-of-the-art technology for the betterment of operations to decrease energy consumption

• Launching new mitigation technologies through retrofits and availing benefits under Kyoto Protocol’s CDM, wherever feasible

• Complying with the Statutory requirements on gaseous and liquid effluents from the production facilities

• Promoting adoption of Fertilizer Best Management Practices (BMP);

• Manufacture of

Slow release fertilisers Water Soluble Fertilisers Micronutrients & micronutrient incorporated fertilisers

Efforts at ‘Climate Smart Industry’

Industry’s contribution to Climate Smart Agriculture

CSR Activities

• Afforestation, Watershed Management, Conservation of Water, Land reclamation etc.

Promotional Activities

• Enabling & ensuring that farmers use fertiliser appropriately

• Enhancing input use efficiency - minimising GHG emissions,

• Conservation Agriculture - zero tillage, Laser levelling etc.

• Promotion of Bio-fertilisers/ composting/ Green manuring

• Promotion of weather based crop insurance

Promoting institutions to realise specific objectives

IFFDC (Afforestation),

ITGI (Crop Insurance),

CORDET (Training & Capacity Building),

IKSL (Information Dissemination)

IKSL : Joint Venture

• Serving rural India since 1967

• World's largest Coop. in Fertilizer Sector

• Around 40,000 Coop. societies,

• 55 million members,

• 330 million indirect dependents

• Largest GSM & integrated telecom player in India.

• World’s 3rd largest

• 192 million Subscribers in India.

• 275 million customers in 20 countries

• Pan India footprint, 0.45 m towns & villages

• Enhance penetration amongst Low Income Rural Household

• Build Stickiness with the Brand

Objectives

• Provide additional services to enhance farmer productivity

• Build closer bonding with members

• Pioneer in rural telephony • Dissemination of content through mobile phones

Partners

Mission

• To empower Indian farmers with pertinent information by leveraging mobile phone

• To improve informed decision making by farmers which could result in

reduction in costs,

improvement in quality,

increase in income and enhanced opportunities for livelihoods

• To strengthen cooperative network

Overview of IKSL Services

• Free Voice/ Text messages , Helpline Services

• Focused service to Communities

• Soya bean growers of ADM, Fishermen of Odhisa

• 18 States, 107 agro climatic zones, 2.5 million Subscribers

• Tie-up with right institutions for Content enrichment

• Managing GoI ‘s toll-free call centre services for Farmers

Monthly landed calls range from 0.4 to 0.6 million

SMS summary sent to farmers after answering calls

• IKSL has partnership with CCAFS – Karnal & Vaishali

Information dissemination in Climate Smart Villages

• Project sponsored by CIMMYT, India office

• IKSL is Content Partner

• Four villages each in Vaishali (Bihar) and Karnal (Haryana) district

• Daily 2 messages to 500 farmers in each district

• Covering Rice, Maize and Wheat

Challenges in Information Dissemination

• Providing customised Voice/ Text Messages to farmers

• Sourcing Content that is relevant and critical

• Location specific information and advisories, especially in respect of weather & Market rates

• Penetrating into areas where Telecom network is not effective (low revenue/ low usage areas)

• Availability of specific information on climate change to farmers

Providing weather forecast advisories

• Farmers need accurate, relevant & localised forecasts

• Interpreted weather forecast to be combined with agro-advisory

• Agro Met Field Units of SAUs create the actionable advisories

• Contextual district-wise weather based agro-advisories by IKSL

• Desirable to have advisories at village level

• Necessary Infrastructure has to be put in place

Summary Fertiliser Production

• Fertilisers are essential to increase production on existing land

• Enhanced yields help prevent further deforestation

• Increasing efficiency of fertiliser manufacture as well as its use is critical to keep overall emissions as low as possible

Information Dissemination

• Farmers prefer Voice messages over text messages

• Farmers also need information on subjects other than Agriculture

• Weather & market information has to be more granular

• Farmers may not be prepared to pay for information but do not hesitate to pay when there is a problem to be resolved

• Affordable smart phones/ 3G or 4G tariffs in future may allow information dissemination through images & videos

Thank You