IKSL was created by two Indian organisations – a farmer cooperative and a telecoms company – with the goal of developing a low-cost mobile service to provide relevant, timely agricultural knowledge to farmers in India.
A lack of agricultural information has made it very difficult for Indian farmers to make informed decisions regarding crop choice, sowing methods, disposal of products and more, resulting in low productivity and profitability. While agriculture is a major occupation in India, most farmers earn less than US$2 a day. Helping farmers become more productive is important for meeting the Millennium Development Goals, in particular for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.
IKSL’s challenge was to find a way to provide information to farmers in India despite high illiteracy rates and farmers’ difficulties with using technology. IKSL’s solution was a voice-based service in local languages and a locally based support team.
The service includes five free daily voice messages on subjects such as crop advisory, weather, market prices and animal husbandry. Helplines offer expert agricultural information and advice to callers. Additional messages offer information on health, women’s issues, employment opportunities and government schemes to positively impact the rural economy.
Today more than one million farmers use IKSL’s mobile services. Over 750 success stories have proven that the initiative has led to significant improvements in farm productivity, increased the availability of food and raised incomes, helping to mitigate hunger and eradicate poverty.
Peter Wilson, COO of Coffey International Development, Europe presented the Coffey International Award and said he was delighted that it had been awarded to IKSL as this initiative will help farmers become more productive, working towards the Millennium Development Goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.
“Their work shows that serving the poor and contributing to economic development can be sustainable, scalable and profitable. The use of mobile technology to get information to remote places and people is a hugely promising opportunity to get us closer to the Millennium Development Goals, and will help ensure that markets begin to work for poor people.”
Coffey International Limited managing director John Douglas said that Coffey was again proud to sponsor this prestigious award.
“Coffey is committed to using our specialist knowledge to help solve emerging challenges and improve the lives of communities. Our sponsorship of the award is one way that we can support and celebrate other companies that share this commitment. I would like to congratulate IKSL for their innovative approach which is set to make a real long-term difference to this community in India.”
Media contact
Prue Bowley, External Communications Manager, Coffey International Limited
P: (+61) (8) 8375 4572; E: prue_bowley@coffey.com
