It is heartening to find that a sincere and noble effort from Assam Small Farmers' Agri-Buisness Consortorium has been focused in a National Paper. At the same it was very sad to find that Role of Assam Unit of National Informatics Centre (NIC) which has been continuously involved in the whole process right from the beginning till today. NIC is not only involved in design, development and constant updation, it is also involed in implementing the process through CICS and mobilising ASHA services through the rural State Govt. officials near the CICS.
It will be appreaciable if NIC's contribution is also properly highlighted. Gautam Choudhury --- Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Which way to the market? Assam logs in > User-friendly government website touches huge base > with info onweather, loans, disaster management and > market access Samudra Gupta Kashyap Guwahati, > June 9 Two years ago, when Bipin Gogoi, a science > graduateof Titabor near Jorhat decided he would not > look for a government jobbut take to farming, he had > to go from pillar to post to getinformation about > the market outside in order to sell the special > joharice that he had started to produce.Two years > later, thanks to a website created by the Assam > agriculturedepartment, he has access to various > market information at the clickof a mouse. > The website (www.assamagribusiness.nic.in) is part > of Project ASHA,launched under the auspices of Assam > Small Farmers' Agri-BusinessConsortium, which > farmers like Bipin Gogoi can access by paying justRs > 5 per hour, with all the Community Information > Centres (CIC)already set up in every developmental > block across the state. > ''This is a web portal enriched with useful > information under oneumbrella which is aimed at > marketing farmers, functionaries,scientists, traders > and NGOs, and is currently available at all the219 > CICs throughout the state,'' said Ariz Ahmed, CEO of > theConsortium. > This, Ahmed claims, is a unique website in the > entire country, if notthe world, where as many as > five sectors�agriculture, horticulture,animal > husbandry, fishery and sericulture�have been > included. > ''The modern-day farmer does not only cultivate > paddy and otheragricultural crops. He also owns > fisheries, poultries, milch cows andlooms. Thus, > with technology bringing various information > andinnovations to his doorstep, farmers are bound to > benefit,'' he said. > ''It is something which is actually informative for > persons like me,''said another graduate farmer who > was in Guwahati last week to takepart in a workshop > organised by the agriculture department to > acquaintfarmers and extension officials with the use > of IT in the ruralsector. > A quick look at the website reveals it has latest > information onweather, rainfall, markets, bank loan > facilities, buy and sell, andalso disaster > management, the last being so important for a > highlyflood-prone state like Assam. > As recently as last year, the the state's farmers > were at thereceiving end of a series of devastating > floods just five years afterbecoming a rice-surplus > state for the first time since 1950. > ''Providing the latest information and back-up to > farmers is veryimportant in a state where the number > of educated unemployed youth hasbeen going up every > year. With no scope for setting up big > industrieswhich can create large numbers of jobs, > attracting the youth towardsfarming, sericulture, > dairy- and poultry-farming has becomeimperative,'' > said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in an > interactivesession with farmers from all over the > state here last week. > With the number of farmers taking to cultivation of > medicinal andaromatic crops growing over the past > six or seven years, it has alsobecome important that > the government provide them information accessto > buyers across the globe. > _______________________________________________ > Assam mailing list > [email protected] > http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam > > Mailing list FAQ: > http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html > To unsubscribe or change options: > http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam > _______________________________________________________ Too much spam in your inbox? Yahoo! Mail gives you the best spam protection for FREE! http://in.mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Assam mailing list [email protected] http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam Mailing list FAQ: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html To unsubscribe or change options: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam
