Overview
Agriculture to India is as the heart is to the human body. It contributes 23 percent of the gross domestic product and feeds billions of people and employs 66 percent of the countries work force. The Mandis system was set in place by the government to centralize and also control the distribution of grains from agriculture among producers, consumers and traders. The organizational structure of the mandis left room for a high level of ambiguity and both greed and self interest took precedence over the well being of farmers. The system was corrupted and the true beneficiaries were the mandis employees. The lack of resources namely technology and information made it impossible for farmers to know the true market value of their produce and therefore accepted any price set by the mandis. In many cases they received prices way below the going market price. Many unethical practices were portrayed by the mandis employees. These practices exploited farmers and the lack of education and information of the farmers furthered the abusive behavior of the mandis. The ITC group which was one of India's foremost private sectors saw the need to address these inefficiencies and therefore gave birth to a system called the E-choupal. The ITC, on implementing the E-choupal sought to improve the supply distribution chain by payment method and all in all, eliminate the inefficiencies that the mandis system posed. For example the organizational structure had to be reconstructed to lessen the number of intermediaries in the distribution chain. Payment methods were made more efficient and farmers were equipped with current information as to the price of there produce as a result of access to a computer. The case illustrates the role of globalization as it relates to the democratization of technology, finance and information and how it aids in the reduction of poverty in a third world country. It also illustrates the importance of large companies (private Sector) mainly in their corporate and social responsibility in the economic development of the country it which it operates. This paper aims to highlight any areas of inefficiency the e-Choupal may posses and give possible solutions.

Problems with the e-Choupal System

The ITC sought to eliminate the inefficiencies imposed by the mandis system by creating the E-choupal. It conducted its re-engineering process by introducing the use of technology as a new method of conducting business. The use of the computer was incorporated in the day to day activities of the e-choupal. Farmers would be able access information about the current market value of their produce and information from the ITC was just a click of a mouse away. ITC’s website included weather patterns paired with advice in agricultural life cycle. The problem with this system is that, only the sanchalak (village coordinator) was trained and knowledgeable as to how to access information on computer, making e-Choupal no more effective than its sanchalak. By the Sanchalak being the only ones in the village that possessed the skills as to using the technology left room for the possible exploitation and domination of farmers. The system failed to solve the fundamental problem which was the high level of illiteracy among farmers. The majority of the farmers knew nothing as to how to operate the system and therefore depended on the village co-coordinator to inform them. The inherent lack of education was the core problem of farmers and the new system failed to address it. It dealt with the symptoms rather than the disease. The level of illiteracy gave rise to a number of minor issues for example; farmers were unable to interpret the scientific lab results that ITC performed amongst others. This level of illiteracy was brought on by the lack of access to modern resources due to inadequate transport, power and information infrastructure in rural India. Access to education was challenging and therefore was not sort after because of the difficulties in obtaining it.

Possible Solutions

One possible solution to the above stated problem is to firstly address the education problem of Indians living in these rural areas. This problem can be solved by the early education/ introduction of technology to farmers. Technology is seen as a way forward as it aids in better agricultural practices and a faster means of communication.This can be achieved by partnership of e-Choupal and other private companies along with the government to make available low cost computers to farmers, a similar initiative to that of Africa with its “one computer per child" program. The lack of education was the root problem farmers faced and as in many third world country low level of education have been a suppressant to the growth and development of an economy. Added to this is the future development of the infrastructure of these remote areas to enable better accessibility. By ITC contributing to the growth and educational development of farmers will result in farmers producing better quality produce and strengthen the overall e-Choupal system.

Evaluation of the solution

Firstly, in many cases opposition may be imposed by farmers embracing the new system as they may interpret it to be a difficult process, mainly by the aged farmers which may wish to continue in their old practices. The thought of change may be daunting. Secondly, the government may not be equipped with the resources to undertake such a project and at time the private sector may not be willing to contribute to such initiatives. As the world become more and globalized, education and the access to information plays an important role in the development and growth of an economy.

Bibliography

Wharton School Publishing. (2005). The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid . New Jersey: Pearson Educaton,Inc.