Information, market creation and agricultural growth

Recent years have witnessed renewed appreciation that agriculture could play a significant role in the pursuit of Millennium Development Goals. In this context, the role of information dissemination through information and communication technology (ICT) in improving rural welfare is highlighted. However, some fear that with ICT technological disparity will arise, and existing socio-economic inequality and poverty will be further exacerbated.
This study will use randomized experiment and surveys before and after the experiment to investigate the impact of ICT on rural welfare in the Indian state of Karnataka. The randomized experiment (or the action research) proposed here involves facilitating information access on key agriculture related services to households in some villages and not in others.
Combining data from both surveys and the experiment, we investigate the impact of information dissemination on agricultural practices, household incomes, social network, risk coping mechanism and caste disparity.

India's development priorities include poverty reduction and faster, more inclusive growth. Due to widespread rural poverty and high population growth, India must increase agricultural productivity. In the current debate among academics and policy makers on inclusive growth in India, there is a growing concern that poor people, especially in rural India, have benefited very little from rapid economic growth. Asymmetric information coupled with poor skill sets are considered the root cause, and inability of the rural poor to take advantage of opportunities in the markets, created by technology advancement and policy changes. Addressing the problem of asymmetric information is expected to empower the rural poor to take advantage of the market opportunities as well as overcome the skill set deficits in the long run, and therefore, enhances inclusiveness. The action research proposed in the current project using experimental methodology does precisely this - benefits the rural community directly, where e-governance facilities installed and access to range of information provided. The information will include both public and private services in the areas of education, health, agriculture, employment, financial inclusion, etc. These services will directly cater to the needs of the village inhabitants, local government as well as business. In recent years, there is a proliferation of government welfare programs for the poor to be delivered in the rural areas. But several of these services have not been delivered due to weak last mile organisational linkage. Proper design and use of the telecentres can help overcome this difficulty to a large extent and effectively reach the rural poor. With public access to information on these services, there can be some scope for transparency and lower corruption. Apart from directly benefiting the rural people, this project will inform the ongoing debate on some of the concerns raised.