Can a mobile phone replace the PCs for sugar co-operatives run by farmers? - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Can a mobile phone replace the PCs for sugar co-operatives run by farmers?

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Realistic approach cost, power, ease-of-use matters. background ... Usability study of the SMS solution. Use Cable TV network to broadcast content ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Can a mobile phone replace the PCs for sugar co-operatives run by farmers?


1
Can a mobile phone replace the PCs for sugar
co-operatives run by farmers?
  • Rajesh Veeraraghavan
  • Microsoft Research India
  • 2 June 2006

2
motivation
  • Bring relevant technology to rural farmers
  • Realistic approach cost, power, ease-of-use
    matters

3
background
  • Sugarcane cooperative, 57 villages, 40000 farmers
  • Government funded pilot project started in 1998
  • Existing PC kiosk database for farmers accounts
  • Current PC kiosk usage
  • Crop tonnages
  • Fertilizers payments
  • Harvesting permits
  • Farmer payroll
  • Physical store for pesticides and fertilizer bags
  • Hang out joint!

4
existing solution connected PC kiosk
5
sugarcane crushing plant
6
server _at_ weighing bridge
7
problems
  • Lack of consistent power
  • Existing PCs are in bad shape ( 8 years old)
  • Kiosk operators doubling as agri extension
    workers -gt so need to be mobile
  • Connectivity problems
  • PC not being used optimally
  • (other services like internet, market price
    checking, expert advisory system not used)

8
what are we doing?
  • Leverage dumb phones
  • SMS to access farmers database
  • PC as SMS Web Server
  • Mobile phones act as clients as opposed to the
    connected PC client

9
data flow with SMS solution
10
demo at the village
11
Expectations
  • Cost Comparison
  • Existing PC solution 52000
  • SMS
  • 5900- 20000
  • (costs are per year, includes both capex and
    opex)
  • Expectations
  • 1,000,000 additional SMS messages per year
  • Cost saving 60 -90 over PCs

12
status
  • Server running for the past month at MSR India,
    Bangalore
  • Currently on a limited trial by select farmers
    and operators in Warana they love it!!

13
known Issues with current solution
  • Typing lots of SMSes is a pain using the small
    keyboard
  • Hard to read compacted SMS
  • Farmers need printouts of messages for records
  • Kiosk is useful as a meeting place and to store
    fertilizers

14
future thoughts
  • Usability study of the SMS solution
  • Use Cable TV network to broadcast content
  • Offline caching of messages in coverage area
  • Increase range of cell phone coverage using PCs
    as intermediate base stations, repeaters ..

15
take aways
  • Cell phones offer very tangible benefits
    especially in developing countries
  • PC needs to work with dumb phones
  • SMS server could be integrated with phones

16
thanks!
  • Vibhore Goyal
  • Kentaro Toyama
  • Sean Blagsvedt
  • Nimmi Rangaswamy
  • Kenneth Keniston (MIT)
  • Balaji Parthasarthy(IIIT)
  • Suryavanshi(Warana)
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