Chaitra Bahuman
| Organization | IIT Bombay |
|---|---|
| Organization type | Research Institution |
| Country | India |
This member participated in the following Forums
Forum Forum: "Building the CIARD Framework for Data and Information Sharing" April, 2011
Question 2: What are the prospects for interoperability in the future?
We developed an Information exchange connecting agri-experts in India with farmers. The interactions start as a question from a farmer with a response from an expert and additional dialogue in some cases.
There are now about 35,000 posts on aaqua.org, about 1/3 of them coming from the farming community, 1/3 from agri-experts and 1/3 from agri-consultants/students/teachers/researchers etc.
We have tried to cluster the Q&A into topics by (a) identifying agri-topics and (b) counting the no of Q&A on each topic. This analysis is shared with agri-extension organizations helping them prioritize farmer's needs and prepare content on those areas so that information can be provided pro-actively.
The forums area used by wealthy, educated farmers but is not limited to them. A large no of questions come from an author who is asking the question on behalf of a small farmer who is a friend, relative, beneficiary etc.
Challenges include capacity building of agri-extension organizations so that they have 10 hr Internet access, power and at least two people who can (a) provide answers to questions coming online and (b) archive Q&A discussion hapenning on the phone.
aaqua.org