e-Choupal: Networking rural India

NDTV
May 18 2007

News- e-Choupal: Networking rural India

Agriculture is vital to India. It produces 23 per cent of the GDP, feeds a billion people, and employs 66 per cent of the workforce. Because of the Green Revolution, India's agricultural productivity has improved to the point that it is both self-sufficient and a net exporter of a variety of food grains. Yet most Indian farmers have remained quite poor. The causes include remnants of scarcity-era regulation and an agricultural system based on small, inefficient landholdings.

The agricultural system has also traditionally been unfair to primary producers. Farmers have only an approximate idea of price trends and have to accept the price offered to them at auctions on the day that they bring their grain to the mandi. As a result, traders are well positioned to exploit both farmers and buyers through practices that sustain system-wide inefficiencies.One of India's foremost private sector companies, which has a diversified presence in tobacco, hotels, paperboards, specialty papers, packaging, agri-business, branded apparel, packaged foods and other fast moving consumer goods, initiated e-choupal in 2000.

The effort placed computers with Internet access in rural farming villages. The e-choupals serve as both a social gathering place for exchange of information (choupal means gathering place in Hindi) and an e-commerce hub. Industry background Spurred by India's need to generate foreign exchange, ITC's International Business Division (IBD) was created in 1990 as an agri-trading company aiming to "offer the world the best of India's produce".Initially, the agricultural commodity trading business was small compared to international players.

By 1996, the opening up of the Indian market had brought in international competition. Large international companies had better margin-to-risk ratios because of wider options for risk management and arbitrage.For an Indian company to replicate the operating model of such multinational corporations would have required a massive horizontal and vertical expansion. In 1998, after competition forced ITC to explore the options of sale, merger, and closure of IBD, ITC ultimately decided to retain the business.

Chairman of ITC challenged IBD to use information technology to change the rules of the game and create a competitive business that did not need a large asset base. Today, IBD is over Rs 700 crore company that trades in commodities such as feed ingredients, food-grains, coffee, black pepper, edible nuts, marine products, and processed fruits.What began as an effort to re-engineer the procurement process for soy, tobacco, wheat, shrimp, and other cropping systems in rural India has also created a highly profitable distribution and product design channel for the Company.E-choupal has also established a low-cost fulfillment system focused on the needs of rural India that has helped in mitigating rural isolation, create more transparency for farmers, and improve their productivity and incomes.The business modelThe model is centered on a network of e-Choupals that serve both as a social gathering place for exchange of information and an e-commerce hub.A local farmer acting as a sanchalak (coordinator) runs the village e-Choupal, and the computer usually is located in the sanchalak's home. ITC also incorporated a local commission agent, known as the samyojak (collaborator), into the system as the provider of logistical support.

ITC has plans to saturate the sector in which it works with e-Choupals, such that a farmer has to travel no more than five kilometers to reach one. The company expects each e-Choupal to serve about 10 villages within a five-kilometer radius. Today its network reaches more than a million farmers. In the Mandi, the following operational process was followed: Inbound logistics > Display and Inspection > Auction > Bagging and weighing > Payment > Outbound logistics.E-choupal brought about a strategic chage to the process: Pricing > Inbound logistics > Inspection and grading > Weighing and payment > Hub logistics.Goals envisionedTwo goals were envisioned for information technology in the e-Choupal process.

The first was the deelivery of real-time information independent of the transaction. In the mandi system, delivery, pricing, and sales happen simultaneously, thus binding the farmer to an agent.E-Choupal was seen as a medium of delivering critical market information independent of the mandi, thus allowing the farmer an empowered choice of where and when to sell his crop.The second was to facilitate collaboration between the many parties required to fulfill the spectrum of farmer needs.

As a communication mechanism, this goal is related to the commitment to address the whole system, not just a part of the system. It is noteworthy that ITC did not hesitate to install expensive IT infrastructure in places where most people would be wary of visiting overnight. It is a manifestation of the integrity of rural value systems that not a single case of theft, misappropriation, or misuse has been reported among the thousands of e-Choupals.Sustainability through mutual respect

The e-Choupal model has shown that a large corporation can combine a social mission and an ambitious commercial venture; that it can play a major role in rationalising markets and increasing the efficiency of an agricultural system, and do so in ways that benefit farmers and rural communities as well as company shareholders.

ITC's example also shows the key role of information technology - in this case provided and maintained by a corporation, but used by local farmers - in helping to bring about transparency, to increase access to information, and to catalyse rural transformation, while enabling efficiencies and low cost distribution that make the system profitable and sustainable. Critical factors in the apparent success of the venture are ITC's extensive knowledge of agriculture, the effort ITC has made to retain many aspects of the existing production system, including retaining the integral importance of local partners, the company's commitment to transparency, and the respect and fairness with which both farmers and local partners are treated.The sustainability of the engagement comes from the idea that neither the corporate nor social agendas will be subordinated in favor of the other.

online available - http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/web2.0story.asp?id=ARTEN20070012289

World AIDS Orphan Day 7 May 2007

News- Trade unions opposes entry of FDI in tobacco sector

May 16 2004

New Delhi

News- Trade unions opposes entry of FDI in tobacco sector

Trade unions on Tuesday opposed the entry of FDI in the country's tobacco sector, considered the largest in the world, and asked the Government not to experiment in such "socially sensitive" areas.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, five major trade unions said it was of "immense worry" to learn that the Union Commerce Minister has been talking of allowing FDI in the tobacco sector and free entry to cigarette MNCs.

"The entry of foreign cigarette companies and MNCs will directly impact bidis and local producers of cigarettes. The MNCs will introduce cheap cigarettes and eventually take away bidi users through high-powered adversiting and sales," they said.

The trade unions--CITU, AITUC, HMS, TUCC and UTUC-- also rubbished the argument that the entry of foreign investors will increase exports of tobacco products and offer better value for tobacco growers.

"The Labour Ministry had done studies on the issue of entry of MNCs into tobacco sector and came to the conclusion that this will have a devastating effect of employment amongst workers, farmers and labourers in India," they said.

"Tobacco is a sensitive sector. It employs millions of poor people. Any negative impact will destroy their lives and government has no social security net to help workers and farmers," they added.

Observing that the spate of suicides by farmers and bidi workers should caution the government against experimenting in such socially sensitive sectors, they asked the PM to ensure that the Commerce Ministry does not create "imbalances" in the sector where millions of people have precarious employment.

online available at- http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=194e7e08-4337-4f8d-91df-57ce8544e83a&&Headline=Trade+unions+opposes+entry+of+FDI+in+tobacco+sector

Most doctors in training smoke to beat stress,

Most doctors in training smoke to beat stress, 35% dependent
Keep-The-Promise Campaign
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[Healthcare staff needs tobacco cessation services first. Unless we ensure smoke-free workplaces in healthcare settings, and build capacities of healthcare service providers to render tobacco cessation services to people, how are we going to ever enforce anti-tobacco laws effectively and save needless burden of diseases, deaths attributed to tobacco use?]
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AIIMS Survey: Most doctors in training smoke to beat stress; 35% dependent
Indian Express
Monday 14 May 2007


Survey among medical students of region says undergrad smokers increase as semesters go by.

Cigarette Smoking is Injurious to Health", says the warning on every packet. But let alone the public, not even the would-be doctors heed to the advisory. An AIIMS survey on smoking among medical students in the Capital and other parts of the region has found that 56 per cent of them stick to the butt.

According to the survey, 35 per cent of medical students surveyed were found to be "nicotine-dependent".

The year-long survey was done by AIIMS' medicine department, with students from major medical colleges like AIIMS, Maulana Azad Medical College, University College of Medical Sciences and other colleges of North India answering questionnaires based on smoking habits.

How the survey was done

* Dr Randeep Guleria, professor of medicine at AIIMS, said the survey used the "Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence", developed by Dr Karl Fagerstrom, one of the world's leading authorities on the effects of smoking.

"Dependence on smoking was assessed by the quantitative method with questions like number of cigarettes smoked every day and the time of lighting up the first cigarette after waking up," Guleria said.
"The motivation to stop smoking was assessed qualitatively by direct questions about intentions to quit."

What the survey found

* Of the total 182 medical students who filled the questionnaire, 102 (56%) were found to be smokers, while the other 80 said they did not smoke.
* Percentage of undergraduate smokers increased as the semesters went by.
* The average age of smokers was found to be 23 years, and the mean age of starting smoking was 18.65 years.
* 37.5 per cent students took to cigarettes after seeing others smoke, a further 32.5 per cent smoked since they felt it was a stress-buster; 8.75 per cent started due to "peer pressure".
* 11 per cent were found to be "heavy smokers", and 45 per cent had a "family history of smoking".
* 35 per cent showed "nicotine-dependence".
* 65 per cent had made attempts to quit, while 62 per cent were willing to quit if assisted.

Who says what

* An AIIMS undergraduate: "We are future doctors but we also have mood swings - sometimes stress-related (studies), and at time personal issues. Smoking at these times is found to be the best way to get relief."
* Dr Randeep Guleria, professor of medicine, AIIMS: "The use of tobacco by doctors reflects their attitudes to tobacco. Besides endangering their own health, doctors who smoke send a misleading message to patients and to the public."

The endgame

The study also found that most of the students surveyed are willing to quit smoking. So the doctors have recommended hospital authorities to set up "quit-smoking clinics" with psychotherapy facilities.

Online at: http://in.news.yahoo.com/070513/48/6fq5e.html

Let's find those alternatives

The Fiji Times

News- Let's find those alternatives

May 15 2007

Fiji will soon lose the preferential sugar price that it has enjoyed with the EU since 1974.
Sugar revenue, already in decline, will be further reduced causing loss of livelihood, displacement of large numbers in the farming community, and exacerbating socio-economic problems associated with such phenomena.

Therefore, economic recovery in the agriculture sector must be the topmost priority for any government, interim or elected.
Presently, the interim Government is reorganising the sugar industry to reduce the cost of production and introducing new varieties of cane with high sugar content.
But this is not enough: We need to explore other options and diversify into commercial farming for revenue generation and income generation in order to avoid urban exodus with its associated social fallout and erosive impacts on urban infrastructure.
Commercial agriculture for tourist and niche markets.
There is an urgent need to seriously explore the viability of commercial farming for the tourist industry in order to reduce the import bill and to provide alternative income in farming communities.
The time is right for generating organic farms for niche markets for our hotels as well as for export, given the recent upsurge of demand for chemical-free foods in first world countries.
Government needs to conduct research immediately to determine the demands and needs of the tourist industry in terms of fruit and vegetables.

This must include research and planning for transportation.

Further, this will entail the creation of small and medium industry (SMEs) in/near the farming areas to process and freeze the produce for the local tourist markets as well as for export.
Government will need to identify areas that are suitable for large scale farming, and organise a system for co-operatives in order to enable production in sufficient quantities.
Farms of about 1000 acres each, perhaps in three or four areas (say, in the North, West and Central divisions) would be ideal pilot projects.
For commercial farming to be viable the first priority is the security of land tenure.
The interim or any future government will need to work out a long-term lease facility that will offer security and encourage sugar cane and/or commercial agriculture farming for the tourist industry and exports.
In the recent past, India has been a success story of commercial farming via the Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) and multi-nationals like Pepsi.
The ITC, as the investor, undertakes the required logistics for the commercial farming venture: It identifies the produce suitable for regions and supplies all seeds, fertilisers, insecticides etc.
ITC's success in this venture is based on a scientific approach it has access to specific weather data through the Indian weather satellite to help determine the timing of planting, spraying, harvest, etc.
Many processed vegetables from India are now available in Europe, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand thanks to ITC.
Similarly, Pepsi (the multinational giant) has joined in and is getting farmers in Punjab to plant potatoes for its local and overseas markets.
There is no reason why Fiji cannot gain a good share of such a market. Now, how do we attract these companies to Fiji?
Government will need to organise a very attractive investment package similar to that of the hotel industry and this should be valid for at least 10 years.
It is suggested this industry be given an 80 per cent return on investment through tax rebates annually.
This incentive will undoubtedly attract overseas investors as well as encourage local businesses to explore opportunities for commercial vegetable farming.
The local tobacco company might wish to emulate ITC, in view of the decline in the demand for tobacco, and utilise its set up and resources for alternative products.
Under Indian Government aid, two agricultural scientists with experience in commercial vegetable farming and the food preservation industry were posted in Fiji.

Fiji could request such aid and use their expertise for commercial farming.
I have been reliably informed that an Indian weather satellite passes over Fiji every three weeks.
Perhaps the Government should explore avenues to access this satellite for weather information for the suggested commercial vegetable projects.
India has openly stated it is willing to help Fiji.
We could absorb our Fiji College of Agriculture graduates into commercial vegetable farming through offering micro economic grants for such SMEs.
Fiji is eligible to access economic aid for such projects from the EU Economic Partnership Agreement under the key areas of EPA Development Needs and Adjustments Costs for Pacific ACP States'.
Funding can be sourced under private sector agro-processing and commercial organic agriculture for niche markets.
Tourism
It is common knowledge that tourism has overtaken sugar as the main income generator in a number of counties such as Mauritius.
Therefore, we need to explore avenues to diversify our tourism industry.
Medical tourism was the brain child of Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry in 2000 and was later followed up by Prime Minister Qarase, but nothing concrete has been achieved.
This latest trend in medicine is a lucrative venture and one that Fiji must not fail to take advantage of at any cost.
We need to identify accessible locations for this type of tourism, ensure that there is good infrastructure, hotel room facilities and resort-type facilities for carers of patients.
Government will need to devise an attractive economic package for such investment, and perhaps the Finance Minister would like to pursue this option once again.

Eco-tourism took off with a big bang at one stage but then the momentum was lost.
Eco-tourism attracts a special type of tourist and their numbers are growing every day.
An important aspect of this type of tourism is the requisite provision of infrastructure government will need to ensure that infrastructure to such areas is adequate otherwise such sites will become white elephants.
Abaca, for example has not been able to realise its full potential as a tourist destination because of a lack of infrastructure.
In this endeavour, too, the Government can access the EU-EPA aid for tourism development.
Fiji's marine resources in the Yasawas, Toberua, are potential revenue earners in eco-tourism.
The Abaca and marine reserve sanctuaries should be developed as joint ventures with the resources owners to whom low interest rate funding from FDB can be made available.
Eco-tourism development will blend well with the initiative in organic farming.
Fuel alternatives
Fiji's demand for fuel is very high and the cost is killing foreign exchange reserves.
The Government needs to stop paying lip service to the concept of alternative fuel sources.
It needs to conduct a study to determine:
The possibility of ethanol production; the cost of converting motor vehicles to use ethanol, and to compare the costs and long term benefits of ethanol use for the economy.
This should now form an integral part of the restructure of the sugar industry, together with co-generation of electricity from bagasse. Such an inclusive vision will give the sugar industry renewed life and enhanced economic value.
It will be worthwhile to study proposals for alternative energy generation projects (some that have been submitted to FEA) and have independent assessment of their applicability and benefits.
Information technology
The IT industry is huge in India. Many Australian and New Zealand companies are outsourcing from big Indian IT companies.
However, there are small and medium-sized companies that would be interested in coming to Fiji.
Fiji has resources such as high literacy, English speaking workforce, good infrastructure and telecommunications facilities, and ease of access to Australia and New Zealand.
If we are able to provide attractive tax packages to these SMEs, they will be lured to Fiji and we will benefit in terms of market and employment.
Suggestions/action required
In order for Fiji to achieve any economic growth, it is imperative that we are able to offer security of land tenure as well as security to life and produce.
Some areas that need attention are: NLTB can play a vital role in facilitating economic advancement for land owners, especially in view of recent criticism of its performance;
NLTB should emerge beyond the race factor and educate landowners/mataqali on options for land utilisation.
Once productive sugar cane lands now lying unused does not benefit the indigenous community or the nation.
It is more visionary to examine avenues for tie-ups and profit sharing for the benefit of investors as well as landowners in commercial vegetable farming; the personal involvement of landowners will guarantee the security necessary for investment and profit.
It will provide an alternative o the unfortunate recent trend of marijuana growing for subsistence;
NLTB must put an immediate stop to the leasing of reserved sugar cane farmlands for residential squatter settlement. These give short-term benefit to landowners, but commercial farming is a more sound alternative for both landowners and farmers;
NLTB must classify agriculturally viable land for long-term lease and develop conditions for renewals linked to the economy of Fiji.
In the future, there will be more indigenous Fijian farmers than Fiji-Indians.
This should be the determining factor for all procedures that are drawn up; the race factor should not be used to determine lease terms and/or renewal of leases.
Diversification of existing tourism resources England has laid the red carpet for tourists from India, and Australia and New Zealand are following suit.
Fiji needs to draw these tourist to our shores.
It would be worthwhile to do a package of concessions for hosting film festivals and Bollywood Awards in Fiji.

With its reputation as an exotic location, its beauty and good infrastructure, Fiji can explore these opportunities and benefit from the publicity. bnefits to economy Commercial vegetables farming will mean utilisation of land lying vacant, import substitution leading to savings in foreign exchange, and foreign exchange earnings form export of vegetables and fruit; generating employment and creating farms into small commercial ventures for our people and resource owners; diversification of the economy through organic farming and medical tourism will open up more land areas and earning opportunities for indigenous resource owners. Creation of new industries like food processing and freezing, ethanol production; saving foreign exchange and reducing fossil fuel consumption; expanding IT industry for employment generation and foreign exchange.

The views expressed are the writer's and not those of the Fiji Chamber of Commerce, of which he is acting president, or of the Consumer Council of Fiji, of which he is chairman.

online available at- http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=62615

Rise in tobacco use in India alarming

Tamilnadu, Chennai

News- Rise in tobacco use in India alarming

May 14 2007

CHENNAI: While the use of tobacco and tobacco products in Western countries is showing a fall, it is alarming that their use is increasing in India, V. Shanta, director, Cancer Institute, has said.
Speaking at a workshop on `100 per cent smoke-free environment,' Dr. Shanta said after years of intervention and fighting the tobacco lobby, mortality rates due to cancers caused by smoking and using other tobacco products had dropped.
"Unless we start now in India, we will soon have a large youth population affected by disease."
The only way to generate awareness about the harmful effects of smoking was to ensure that each and every individual was reached with the message. Unless the government and media pitched in, it would be difficult to take the topic to the larger population.
The workshop was organised for representatives of auto drivers, according to E. Vidhubala, Principal Investigator in the WHO and Central Government-sponsored Tobacco Cessation Clinic at the Cancer Institute.
These `master' trainers would train other colleagues, even their clients, and spread awareness about the need for creating smoke-free, healthy environments.
Publicity material including posters, handouts and bills were given to each participant, to be displayed prominently and also distributed. They would have to document their work over the rest of the month in order to produce a report at the end of the period. Three best performers would be awarded.
Dr. Vidhubala also urged the government to ensure that the Central specification on displaying pictorial warning signs on tobacco product packages was implemented stringently.

Health Minister KKSSR Ramachandran said it was a good idea to use the auto driver as a vehicle for communicating the message about smoking and cancer. Prevention was the only way to tackle non-communicable diseases and lifestyle modifications were important. Mr. Ramachandran congratulated Dr. Shanta and her team at the Cancer Institute for not only serving people already affected by cancer but also launching a number of programmes aimed at prevention of the condition.

online available at - http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/13/stories/2007051304240600.htm

Hollywood to stub out smoking in movies

News- Hollywood to stub out smoking in movies

14th May 2007,

Australian anti-tobacco lobbyists have put their weight behind regulations initiated in the US by the Motion Picture Association of America to award pictures an R rating if they include smoking.
The Australian Council on Smoking and Health said that Australia should adopt the policy immediately and classify movies that promoted smoking with an R rating.

An R rating in the US means people under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. This can restrict the box office takings of many blockbusters which seek to attract the key teenage market.
ACOSH president Mike Daube said the tobacco companies were promoting smoking in films insidiously and evidence from the tobacco companies themselves showed they paid for tobacco placement in films.
“US research shows that smoking in films is a significant factor in children taking up the habit and increases the chance by two to three times,” he said.
The MPAA guidelines will not affect films where smoking is historically portrayed but will impose a tougher classification if smoking is glamorised, gratuitous or pervasive.
But leading US anti-smoking activist Stanton Glantz told The West Australian the new measures were “loophole-ridden guidelines”.
Professor Glantz said the studios, which control the MPPA, want the measures to include an option for smoking in films and want to keep paid product placement. Spider-Man 3, which just set a record for the highest grossing weekend in film history and will be seen by children around the globe, features smoking characters as do recent films such as the Cameron Diaz release The Holiday, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Blood Diamond, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Mission Impossible III and The Da Vinci Code.
Heart Foundation chief executive Maurice Swanson disputed the necessity of increasing classifications and said a more effective strategy would be to require studios or cinema chains to commission hard-hitting advertisements before a film to combat the “massive, evil force” of cigarettes.
“Increasing the rating invokes censorship questions. Research in NSW shows that hard-hitting warnings heightened young people’s awareness and it gets them to think about why cigarettes are in a film at all,” he said.
Federal Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock said he would write to the director of the Board of Film and Literature Classification to draw the issue to his attention and seek information on how smoking in films was currently being considered by the board.

India’s Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss recently banned all cigarette smoking and tobacco product placement from Bollywood productions.

online available at- http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=23&ContentID=28591