Chapter: Gist of Press Information Bureau Articles

Topic: Market Information at Farmer's Fingertips: A New Initiative by NABARD

Q. What is the initiative taken by NABARD to provide farmers with vital information regarding crop prices, weather conditions etc.?

• NABARD has entered into an arrangement with the Reuters Market Light (RML), a unit of Thomson Reuters group, to provide farmers with vital information regarding crop prices, weather conditions etc., by using the short messaging services (SMS) that can be sent through mobile phones.

• RML will provide SMS service connection to members of the NABARD Farmers Club for a period of one year for which NABARD is bearing the annual subscription charges out of its Farmers Technology Transfer Fund (FTTF) a fund maintained by it to promote latest technology among farmers.

• Around 750 members of NABARD Farmers Clubs from across the Tamil Nadu are to be benefited in the first phase of the programme. In Madurai alone around 200 members will benefit from this experiment.

• The objective of the initiative to provide cutting edge information using the SMS route is to ensure that farmers get the latest real time price information as also technological inputs to maximize their returns.

• This facility from RML is already available as a paid service in 15 States across the country such as Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. However, the facility is being made available free to the farmers in Tamil Nadu, for the first time in India. The subscription is being made available by NABARD.

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