India,
compared to Brazil and Mexico, is far behind in the conducting Information
Technology- Biotechnology (IT-BT)-based experimentation in agriculture.
Brazil has initiated a small farmers movement on the BT front. But
though we, as a country, claim to be a software superpower, we have
not been able to converge IT and BT for our agricultural advancement.
The need of the hour is to educate our farmers about the opportunities
and challenges placed before us.
The
most optimal advantage of Information Technology (IT) and Biotechnology
(BT) to the farmers of India depends on the quality and skills of
‘financial engineering’ involved in the whole exercise. The involvement
of Indian farmers in optimising the use of IT and BT will require
innovative benchmarks for earnings, efficiencies and versatility.
Different agricultural business possibilities in IT and BT will have
to be viewed through different products and processes.
The IT
earnings could be systemic, strategic, people-driven or brand-driven.
The BT earning models could be general or special. In both the cases,
farmers’ involvement would be possible through confederations with
a corporate cooperative structure, multi- purpose financial valuations,
active rural participation and comprehensive coverage of IT and BT
at affordable price to the beneficiaries.
Financial
engineering will require a long-term view by all the participants,
including the government, with flexibility in the short-term. Of course,
financial engineering does require a lot of scope for financial innovations.
In India, making both I T and BT a farmers’ movement would require
freedom to innovate with systemic monitoring. Rural resources could
be tapped through reasonable products, earning benchmarks and down-to-earth
structural control. Perhaps, we may not have to look for outside help
if financial engineering is well practised here.
Scope
for financial engineering
The
hidden wealth in Indian agriculture will become visible if the farmers
are systematically brought into the IT and BT movement. A very large
spread of farmers and their fragmented pieces of land will have to
be brought into an appropriate organisation, using strategic, operational
and financial techniques. The financial engineering required for an
optimal application of IT and BT to agriculture may be viewed through
the following important aspects:
