Mechanisms for Knowledge Sharing on Rights and Access to Information -- Capabilities and Limits

1. Mechanisms for Knowledge Sharing on Rights and Access to Information -- Capabilities and Limits By DR. K. V. SUNDARAM Founder & Chairman Bhoovigyan Vikas Foundation New Delhi

2. WHAT THE MECHANISMS ARE ??? Mechanisms are :  basic and pivotal to stimulate the delivery and receipt of information and other services related to agriculture.  the agri-support activities which refer to those infrastructure and institutions that facilitate or are in some sense, basic to the carrying on of a wide variety of economic activities, implied in progressive agriculture, which include the provision of inputs for Precision Farming, Processing and Marketing activities (See Figure).

3. Sources of Supplies & Equipment National Research A A Local Verification Trials Farm Supplies & Equipment B B B Locality B Extension Education B A A Production Credit National Banks National Extension Service Markets For Farm Products A – To National Organizations of the Same Activity B – To Other Agri-support Activities in Each Locality and District A Central Market FIG : ORGANIZATIONAL MECHANISMS : THE AGRI-SUPPORT ACTIVITIES Cont………….

4. For deriving the maximum advantage from these various mechanisms or agri-support activities, each one of them must be effectively coordinated with all the others of different types within each locality in order that the complementarities among them may be fully exploited.

5. MECHANISMS & THEIR TYPES • In Agricultural Economics, two categories of Infrastructure Mechanisms viz. :  Capital Intensive, and  Capital Extensive. • Capital IntensiveMechanisms include: • i)Irrigation and Drainage Systems; • ii)Transport Facilities; • iii)Storage Facilities; • iv)Processing Facilities; • v)Utilities : Electricity & Power, Drinking Water System, • Gas etc. Cont………….

6. MECHANISMS & THEIR TYPES……. • Capital Extensive Mechanisms include: i)The specialized research and education services i.e. new knowledge that is developed and transmitted for improving agricultural productivity through extension mechanisms. These constitute Technical Information; • ii)    Some social services delivered such as Plant & Animal • Protection and Soil Conservation Techniques; • iii)  Credit and Financial Institutions, which provide the • essential funding for modern agriculture. ; and • iv)Health and Education for Human Resource • Development.

7. THIRD CATEGORY OF MECHANISMS Include: • the formal and informal institutions of a legal, political and socio-cultural nature, which affect agricultural economic activity including such items as : ~ general law and order, ~ property & land rights, and ~ personal safety. • by and large,Governments in Developing Countrieshave been concentrating on the problems ofland tenure and agrarian – reforms. • the choice of institutions for the operation of these mechanisms, formal or informal, in most Developing Countries is a reflection of the socio-cultural values of the societies.

8. CENTRAL MECHANISM - EXTENSION • Extension : both in terms of technology transfer and human capital development • The earlier view about ‘Extension’ related to technology transfer and increasing agricultural productivity. This viewpoint ignored its role in human resource development, particularly the needs of many low-resource farmers operating on marginal land and the needs of small farmers, women farmers and land-less families. • Now, we are at a crucial juncture, when the benefits of revolutionary new technologies are within the grasp of Rural Communities. The needs and aspirations of the neediest and marginalized communities could be accommodated by leveraging the full benefits of ICT’s through “Rural Knowledge Centres”.

9. LOCAL LEVEL MECHANISMS • At the Local Level, how the Delivery and Receiving Mechanisms are organized is important • The driving forces here are : ~ decentralization and the roles of local bodies (Panchayat Raj Institutions), ~ Community-based organizations, ~ Volunteers or Self-help Groups, and ~ Cooperatives • They are the essential tools, which are involved in the action process of planning and implementing things to be done • These mechanisms are also meant to induce some important values, such as self-help, diligence, cooperation and participation; to foster village leadership and participatory organizations and to improve the physical and social environment of villages Cont………….

10. They are the Action Agents, which play the role of Change Agents • They are “Partners in Progress” (Figure) in advocating and bringing Modern Science and Information and Communication Technologies to the rural areas • With their support, the ICT-led Development will become a powerful mechanism for reducing knowledge-gaps and increasing knowledge-sharing among farmers. • They are the front-line agencies for increasing productivity and boosting growth in rural areas • They also promote what is called “Development from Within”

11. Village Level • Villagers • Men, Women • Rich, Poor • High Caste, Low Caste • Village Institutions • Poly-Centric Institutions • Viz. VPF, SDC, VKCSC • Village Panchayat (Elected Representatives) • Village leaders • Govt. and Development Agencies • (Development Personnel) • Policy-makers • Planners • Extension officers and Agencies • Other Village Officials • Research & • Planning Group • Social Scientists • Technologists • Researchers • NGO’s (Social Animators) Surveys/Studies Dialogues Negotiations Consensus on Development Issues / Future Outlook Formulation of Projects, Programs & the Village Plan FIG : PARTNERS IN PROGRESS

12. TAD-Mix MECHANISM • To achieve a spatially-oriented village cluster paradigm of development, a new rural renaissance movement in the country, Engineered through “technocratic, Academic & democratic mix – TAD-mix” (Kundrakudi model) needed • Its relevance in today’s scenario : underlines the importance of associating academics, particularly in the disciplines of Agriculture, Economics and Geography (the spatial science) • For a vast country like India with more than 6,00,000 villages, if we can motivate student power for various types of activities like Biodiversity Mapping, Land Use Mapping, Neighbourhood Mapping, Natural Resource Mapping, using IC Technologies including RS, GIS and GPS, it will be a great venture to initiate a low cost solution to Rural Development Planning

13. MECHANISMS : A CLARIFICATION • Whether these mechanisms initiate development or they arise from development itself ??? • Problem of Causality : the ‘Chicken-Egg Question’ • The establishments of necessary mechanisms always go hand-in-hand with agricultural development • Some mechanisms affect solely the cost side, such as improved roads and transport facilities, which reduce transport losses and factor input costs at the farm-gate level. Cont………….

14. Others like academic research, for instance, may directly affect the shape and position of the production function. • There are also others, such as : ~ improved crop protection programmes that increase the effective harvest, reduce storage losses and the like and consequently alter the levels of effective market supply and returns. • On the whole, in Agricultural Planning, careful consideration must be given to the dynamic inter-dependence of investment decisions between ‘propelling mechanisms’ i.e. infrastructures and external economies, otherwise known as ‘Public Good Externalities’.

15. ROLE OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE, INNOVATIONS & PRACTICES • Measures for protecting traditional knowledge, innovations and practices through appropriate legal and other mechanisms are necessary. • In the Indian context, three legal instruments have been cited: ~ The Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Bill 2000 ~ The Patents (Second Amendment) Bill 1999 ~ The Biodiversity Bill, 2000 • Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge should be brought into the mainstream concerns and programs of development, thereby enriching both the modern and the traditional systems

16. KNOWLEDGE CONNECTIVITY • through : Flows and Interactions • Flows : should be absorbed by the Rural Community and rendered dynamic through: ~ Vertical Flowsproviding bottom-up connectivity; ~ Top – Down Flowsproviding macro – micro linkages; and ~ Horizontal Flows establishing inter and intra community information flows • Interactions : constitute the lifeblood of this dynamic system, encouraging polycentric institutional interactions with a large number of “Partners in Progress”, which is the hallmark of integrated rural development.

17. AUTO-KINETIC MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT • The Bhoovigyan Vikas Foundation has proposed a ‘Village Cluster Mechanism’ to bring about an “Auto-kinetic Model of Development”, which will induce flows and interactions through ‘Circular Effects’, ‘Chain Effects’ and ‘Recycling’ as well as linking production, processing and marketing activities in the agriculture sector (Figure).

18. Principle of Subsidiarity L O C A L L Y I N T E G R A T E D E C O N O M I C C I R C U I T Integration into Regional/National Markets Flow to Specialised processing/manufacturing Centres F L O W T O M E E T S O M E L O C A L N E E D S Flow To Nearest Town For Large Scale Processing P1 to n : LOCAL PRODUCE (COMMODITIES) N 1 to x : LOCAL NEEDS Circuit within and local Value added through: -Processing -Small Industries based on Local skills -Locally Adapted Technology Flow of Commodities N2 Nx N1 P1 P2 Pn LOCAL PRODUCE (COMMODITIES) NEEDS FIG : MODEL OF AUTO-KINETIC DEVELOPMENT

19. THANK YOU