Reuters introduces mobile information service for farmers

Mumbai: Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, today launched global information provider Reuters'' mobile information service, Reuters Market Light (RML), for Indian farmers in Pune.

RML, a mobile phone-based service, was started in Maharashtra in April 2007 on a free trial basis, and has already signed up over 7,500 farmers. RML helps farmers achieve better yields and secure better prices by allowing them to receive accurate weather forecasts and local price information direct to their mobile phones, in their own language.

The service is expected to helps farmers to enhance their crop yields and improve their productivity over a very wide range of produce including onion, cotton, soybean, pulses, pomegranates and oranges.

"The farming community in India is one of the largest in the world, but despite its size it remains a relatively opaque market in which to operate," said Amit Mehra, managing director, RML. "The rural and often remote nature of the community makes it incredibly difficult for farmers, especially those with small holdings, to get even the most basic information."

"Reuters Market Light provides crucial, local and customised agricultural information for Indian farmers via mobile phones, including crop prices, weather updates and other agric-related news. The aim is to facilitate greater transparency in the Indian agricultural markets allowing individual farmers to increase their productivity and maximise their revenue."

Earlier farmers had very limited information on current and local market prices for their crops or timely information that would help them be guided on when to harvest their crop. This hindered market efficiency, reduced yields, increased wastage and could severely impact upon a farmer''s earnings and livelihood.

Importantly, as well as helping farmers to get the best price, RML''s accurate and timely information has the potential to reduce crop wastage, which across India runs into billions of dollars each year.

Given the success of the pilot scheme, Reuters plans to launch Reuters Market Light on a full commercial basis. Reuters Market Light will now introduce a small customer charge of Rs.60 per month. RML will also now be rolled out across other rural areas all over India.

Reuters says it will be developing Reuters Market Light, from an information service, to a full mobile news, information and price facilitator and says it will also be piloting another very offering that extends the current RML information service to one that facilitates transactions by connecting farmers with various buyers and traders through their mobile phones.

Reuters Chief Executive Tom Glocer, said, "I am thrilled to support the progress of Reuters Market Light. This innovative information service for the Indian farmer reflects the best tradition of Reuters - promoting transparency and fairness in market operations around the world."

"The pilot programme was an unequivocal success and now, rolling out Reuters Market Light across India will signal a very important milestone in its adoption as a standard for the Indian agricultural industry"

Reuters Market Light has its origins in a project-idea conceived by a Reuters employee whilst on a year''s Fellowship at Stanford University. The Reuters Foundation on Stanford University''s Digital Vision Program was sponsoring the employee. From this initial idea, the project was taken on by Reuters development team, implemented and this year successfully completed trials in India.

Reuters says that the project is an example of Reuters commitment to empowering the world''s financial markets through blue-ski thinking, technological innovation and fast and responsive implementation.