FARMING IN BRIDGET SHEERIN BERND REIDEL MAGGIE OLLOVE RIE WATANABE TAYLOR KUHN 230 million people go hungry everyday in India. “ “ - The Alternative1 N H4 -------- --- ---------------------- -- ---- -- -- --------- -- ---- -- ------- - - ---- ----------- - -- ------- -------- - ----- -- - ----- ---- - - ---- ----- ----- ------- -- - - - POPULATION 2,580,000 FARMING DEGRADING ENVIRONMENT TUMKUR 516,661 SIRA 301,473 FARMING MADHUGIRI SOCI0-POLITICAL MARKET 265,884 FRAGMENTATION ECONOMY KORATAGERE 160,952 21ST CENTURY FARMING CHIKNAYAKANHALLI 209,622 IN EMERGING MARKETS PAVAGADA Farming is not easy anywhere in the world. Pressures come from different forces; including 246,255 socio-political, environmental and economic. However, with the growing populations and heavily dense mega-cities, demands on food supply are at an all-time high. This creates significant opportunity for farmers to re-assert themselves in new markets. For this to TIPTUR happen, new models of farming need to be developed to guide farmers to strategically add 217,124 value to their crops and position their small-scale businesses to respond to high demand. This concept is complicated by the fact that many of these farmers are undereducated, poor, and have very localized understandings of their farm. GUBBI 256,413 FARMING IN TUMKUR? TURUVEKERE 174,290 Motivated by a partnership with IDIOM and DREAM-IN in the town of Tumkur India, we have located this problem within the context of southwestern India. Through this partnership, there is an opportunity to use innovative methodologies and design-driven opportunity to address KUNIGAL the problems of outdated models of farming. 236,030 FORCES PLACED ON FARMERS: INDIVIDUAL IMPACT FORCES OF STRESS DEGRADING ENVIRONMENT FARMERS SOCI0-POLITICAL MARKET FRAGMENTATION distribution ECONOMY FORCES PLACE INCREASING PRESSURE ON FARMERS Tumkur suffers from severe droughts, made worse by water scarcity against any problem encountered. This often results in make-shift and increased climate disasters caused by climate change. The typical and temporary solutions. Sometimes these solutions work, but too farmer in Tumkur is cut off from the market economies and potential often they fail. An alternative is for the farmer to invest in high-cost profit from consumers in nearby Bangalore. This is in part because solutions that lead to high-interest loans and crushing debt. This debt of an inability to access knowledge about the market system. Caste problem and the resulting poverty cycle is very difficult to overcome, issues, religion, illiteracy, and distance all contribute to the isolation not only because of the relationship between farmers and middle- from knowledge. men. In many circumstances, middlem-man, the person between the farmer and the problem, earn a significant amount of money. This To understand the opportunity for systemic change, the current, is only relevant with the knowledge that the middle-men continues flawed system of farming in Tumkur must be examined. In the current to make money while Tumkur farmers are often unable to support system of farming in Tumkur, each individual farmer acts alone themselves to the extent of escaping the poverty cycle. CLIMATE WATER SCARCITY MARKET PRESSURE • Different areas in the state of • 20 out of 35 districts in Tumkur can only • Severe weather causes the severe Karnataka are affected differently. receive water once every 8 – 10 days.4 fluctuation of prices of commodities.6 As exmaple, in Chikkanayakanahalli, pre-monsoon crops like sesame and • 50 out of 425 wells are dry in Tumkur.5 • “Many agricultural and food experts believe bengal gram have been completely that it is possible to take care of the poor destroyed. The ragi crop is in danger and hungry if food waste and losses are of withering.2 minimised. Because, in addition to food wastage, foodgrains worth Rs. 60,000 to • In all of India, 9 million tons of Rs. 70,000 crore a year are lost in the nutrients are washed away from country owing to lack of value addition and the fields annually because of processing infrastructure.”7 monsoons.3 SMART FARMING FRAMEWORK DEGRADING ENVIRONMENT WATER STARTER CO-OP STORAGE FORM FRIEND MARKET SMS ALMANAC PRESSURE RELIEF DESIGN INTEGRATED CALL 2 ACTION SOCI0-POLITICAL MARKET INDEX INSURANCE FRAGMENTATION distribution ECONOMY For a new model of farming to be realized on this scale and of for it to be relevant. Therefore, the trust-building, social networking, this magnitude, new ways of organizing and producing must be and farmer value components of the Smart Farming framework carefully and tactfully designed. We have developed an framework must be prioritized. Smart technologies must find their place to identify not only challenges but opportunity to begin a process within this network, and be introduced through recognized systems. of re-organization for the Tumkur community of farmers to have the capacity to incubate locally designed solutions that address contextual The potential for the Smart Farming system cannot be predicted. needs. To accurately and sensitively implement Smart Farming, They must evolve from farmer feedback and direct interaction with the new technologies will need to be leveraged to work with farmers system. However, by buildling future scenarios, several possibilities to provide real-time and accurate information and data, respond to can be explored and developed for further speculation. the growing pressures in the lives of farmers and to continuously evolve to predict and tackle future scenarios. At the same time, this intricate technology must be directly guided by the Tumkur farmers LONG TERM GOAL: SMART FARMING What is a Smart Farming? An innovative framework that re- Collaborating with our on-the ground partners, organizes the community of farmers to have the capacity to we propose to begin developing the network incubate locally-designed solution to the local needs of farmers by: of farmer-centric support, to gain trust and resilience. Over time, we see a robust safety net of farmers working as a group to overcome Our Smart Farming Network seeks to strengthen the existing but issues that affect the entire region. Over time, unorganized farmer to farmer network in Tumkur through the following: power will be shifted from the middleman, who has become a filter between the market and potential profit from the market to the #1) BUILDING TRUST collective of farmers. The middle men will have through offering information i.e. farm festivals no choice but to evolve and develop a new way to work with the famers, incorporating their business models into and with the network, #2) ACCESSABLE TO ALL ensuring that farmers and all related entities are considered in this new model. inclusive to al languages, dialects, education levels Smart Farming should “ #3) BUILDING UPON build “upon the SMS alert system already existing frameworks, i.e. SMS technology already being used developed within Tumkur, and popular among farmers. #4) RELIABLE it has to work! Reliability similar to AT&T, etc. - criteria gained from workshops #5) RESPONSIVE to farmer needs #6) RESILIENCY the smart aspect will provide resiliency RUMA RUMA’S LOANS MEET RUMA. Her husband – Pavan – was a farmer. He committed suicide because of the immense debt he was in from loans. Though this might seem like a drastic measure, farmer suicide is not uncommon in Tum- kur and research papers suggest that the trend is a symptom of debt.8 Within the Department of Agriculture, there are measures to work with the families of farmers who commit suicide. A subsidy would grant Ruma XXXXXXXXXX (some money)9 to help ease her financial burden. However, this means difficult paperwork and complicated bureau- cracy, and for Ruma this is almost impossible because of illiteracy and inexperience. INTERVENTION 1: FORM FRIEND SMS ALMANAC 1 YEAR 5 YEAR WHERE TO START: PROLONGED Hariti: the loan advisor HELP: A local employee of smart farming insight over time... methodology for form friend: • SMS technology is used by people in India • Once Ruma joins the network her regardless of income levels experiences will be built into the DEGRADING system to tprovide smarter service to ENVIRONMENT • People in India speak many different DEGRADING languages and dialects. others. ENVIRONMENT F ORM F • Farmers in Tumkur have high illiteracy • The SMS Almanac will provide • SMS technologyRIErates.N farmers with time-sensitive • Specific Dialect D: data, such as weather and tips SOCI0-POLITICAL MARKET distribution ECONOMY • Utilizes Network to customize FRAGMENTATION FORM FRIEND criteria: for preventative action to build her experience and needs • Form friend should provide social and informational connectivity SOCI0-POLITICAL MARKET FRAGMENTATION distribution ECONOMY • The concept should collect data to solve issues specific to individual’s hardships • Provide potential to grow and tackle big issues • This product should utilize the Smart Farming Network to customize experiences and needs INTERVENTION 2: WATER STARTER collect desire of the farmer make fund for the desire $$$ GLOBAL sms PLATFORM idea4-a: cloud co-op NETWORK DEGRADING sms ENVIRONMENT BORE WELL FUND $$$ INSIGHTS CRITERIA -each farmer cannot -farmers should be able to understand whole system of get the information they want market to know -knowledge of market, -the tool(touchpoint) must be weather help farmers work easy for farmers to use efficiently SOCI0-POLITICAL MARKET insights: sms interface: idea4-a: cloudFRAGMENTATION co-op methodologydistribution for waterECONOMY starter: • The