AKASHGANGA - ICTs in the lives of rural dairy producers in India

Author : Mr Ujval Parghi
Date added : 2001-04-15

Brief Project Background

This project was conceptualized more than four years ago, when IT awareness in the country was limited to big urban centers only. The fact that illiterate and semi-literate farmers accepted the system and are operating it confidently, is an achievement by itself. Computers are being used for a very basic activity like collection of milk for the past so many years and rural masses are comfortable with it and have reposed their confidence in it. Local entrepreneurs could spot the latent potential and have spread the system in the remote areas, through diligent work and timely support. They kept their system, without any monetary compensation for weeks together, for the DCS to try out and feel comfortable with it. The popular and widespread usage of AKASHGANGA breaks the myth that ICT will not help in solving the day-to-day problems of the rural masses. On the contrary, the farmers are very open to adopting new technologies (without being granted any kind of subsidies!), provided it delivers tangible benefits. In this case the benefits can be summarized as:

• Speedier collection of milk (shorter queues!) and timely disbursement of payment.
• Lower prevalence of corrupt practices.
• Maintenance of DCS accounts is regularized and on time.

Project description
AKASHGANGA (meaning ‘The Milky Way’) is being used at the Dairy Cooperative Society (DCS), which is a farmer-owned, grass-root level unit in the cooperative structure. All the farmer(members) of the DCS congregate twice a day at its premises to sell milk. Before AKASHGANGA, all the milk collection activities were performed manually. Due to the climatic conditions, milk would often get spoilt, as producers had to wait in long queues.
Secondly, the payment for the milk sold would get held up. The simple technology used in this product has enabled the timely collection of milk and thus, generated higher profits for the producer, now paid well in time. A basic milk collection transaction done by AKASHGANGA comprises:

• Measuring weight of milk with Electronic Weighing Scale
• Fat testing using Milko Tester
• Capture of unique member ID by the PC software
• Printing of pay slip, with all this data and the amount to be paid.

The MSDOS based system offers scalability for an information-kiosk like service. Thus, the Dairy Information Services Kiosk (DISK - currently being tested at a pilot site) has been added as an enhancement, which offers a multitude of animal husbandry related services, besides maintaining databases and offering Internet connectivity at the DCS (Dairy Cooperative Society).

Results

Project results
The key success factor in the cooperative movement is the ease and efficiency of the milk collection system, whether done manually or with IT. The elimination of the middleman, accurate fat measure of milk, thereby enabling the producer to get a higher profit are the basic pillars on which the design of the cooperative movement stands. AKASHGANGA has been implemented at more than 400 locations. At each and every location, it is being used 365 days in a year, and for more than 6 hours in a day. The members of the DCS are so attuned and dependent on this system, that it can be compared to any online heavy-traffic application! What started out as a project is now a full-fledged product, with after sales services and so on. Earlier the member had to wait in queues and often, in the heat, the milk would spoil. Thus, he could not sell his milk at all. With AKASHGANGA his wait is reduced to a few minutes, thus assuring that not only is the quality of milk maintained, but also he gets his due money. With so many farmers dependent
on dairying as a supplementary livelihood, this money goes a long way in sustaining him and his family.

Lessons

Lessons learned

• The major barrier is the attitude of the people. They will not accept anything new until the total benefit is proven to them. It seems more like a surmountable challenge but the initial momentum building up takes time due to this attitude.
• The cost of the system. Although AKASHGANGA is priced competitively, the cost is a major impediment for the DCS, for whom every rupee has to be accounted for. They are answerable to every member of the society.
• Environment (physical). Villages in India are dusty and have poor infrastructure. For IT based systems to operate, the machines have to be really rugged and withstand all the climatic conditions.
• Lack of adequate power protection equipment. Power situation in the villages is poor. So when the milk collection is going on and the power goes all activity comes to a halt. At times, manual entry has to be resorted to, leading to major disruption of normal routines.
• Although AKASHGANGA is a revolutionary product, its uniqueness lies more as a facilitator of the activities of the cooperative movement, developed by Dr. Kurien, the Father of the White Revolution. The product, as such, does not generate any new concepts or re-engineer any activity. It is simply the integration of various equipment, using different technologies, to deliver value and speed to the farmer.

MYTH: Rural citizens will not accept IT.
REALITY: Even as far as 4 years back, they accepted the system, once the value was realized.

MYTH: Small private companies cannot undertake such projects.
REALITY: Private enterprise is essential to make such mammoth projects to thrive on a sustainable basis.

MYTH: People need to be IT savvy to operate software applications.
REALITY: The workers at the DCS are semi-literate (passed grade 4 or 5) but are totally adept at working the system.

MYTH: Villages in India need heavy subsidy to enable them to procure IT based systems.
REALITY: All the DCS using AKASHGANGA have spent money from their own coffers.

Development Impacts

Development results
Information technology used in AKASHGANGA is not the modern web-enabled (enhanced version, as described above, is being pilot tested) technology but a simple DOS-based system. It comprises of computer hardware, software and milk testing and interfacing equipment. The interface equipment is a microprocessor based electronic unit, and the milk testing equipment consists of an Electronic Weighing Machine and a Fat testing machine. The electronic interface allows the data about the milk to be transmitted to the PC. The data, which is transmitted, is also displayed on the display board, connected to the milk testing equipment. The complete interface mechanism of electronic unit with the PC is innovative & at the same time cost effective and offers transparency of operations. The staff of the DCS (who are also farmers and members of the society) operates the system, speedily and accurately. The whole exercise is conducted in a regular and standard fashion and operational errors are hardly present. Due to the benefits, which are delivered, and enhancing the day-to-day lifestyle of the member, the latter have full faith and belief in the system, even if they do not understand technology

Till date project is benefited approx. 1.5 million farmers daily.

Project Information

Organisation : SHREE KAMDHENU ELECTRONICS PVT.LTD.
URL : http://www.akashganga.co.in
Total budget in US$ : >500 000
Country of activity: India [IN]

Are there any partners involved : yes
What is partners role?: Technical support

Contact Information

Mr Ujval Parghi
ujval@akashganga.co.in

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