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When the young veterinary fellows gather for lessons at the Pondicherry Village Resource Center in southern India, they encounter teaching methods of both the old school and the new school of veterinary science. The old school is the twenty-five years’ experience of white haired Dr. A. R. Thiagarajan, who lectures on the importance of evening cattle inseminations (evening is when the cow is most relaxed). The new school commences when Dr. Thiagarajan turns to his PowerPoint slide show. He explains the insemination process through diagrams and digital photos and then clicks on video of a recent evening insemination in a nearby village.
The training of veterinarian fellows in the state of Tamil Nadu is part of a program of the Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy which trains rural Indians in a variety of agricultural practices using ICT. These programs take place through a broad network of village knowledge centers managed by the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), an organization formed to improve the livelihoods of farmers and to strengthen the Indian agricultural economy in Tamil Nadu and beyond.
For the vet fellows, ICT is both a method of instruction and a method of communicating with other fellows by way of teleconferencing. For the farmers receiving the veterinary care, ICT-assisted demonstrations at their local village knowledge centers build confidence in the vets that will soon visit their farms.
The MSSRF fellows program operates through community technology centers, expanding in number and in activities through the support of Microsoft Unlimited Potential and other partners. Referred to as the network of VKCs, or Village Knowledge Centers, the scores of rural meeting points are connected by central hubs known as Village Resource Centers (VRCs). It is at the VRCs where the major, network-wide trainings take place — trainings such as those which support the vet fellows. Through its Microsoft Unlimited Potential support, MSSRF is adding thirty new centers and creating micro-enterprise modules and income generation content aimed at improving farm livelihoods.
An alternative to city veterinarians
The MSSRF network begins its work village-by-village, talking with local leaders — members of the governing council referred to as the panchayat — and assessing the situation of the local farmers. Pondicherry VRC manager Girija explains the steps she took reaching out to villages in her region: “We have a meeting with the panchayat and learn what is needed, and they will offer us a building to use for the center. Then we will begin to talk with villagers abut what they need — information, trainings.”
The intervention of the MSSRF veterinarian fellows program was envisioned as a specific way to maximize livestock productivity – a key aspect of income generation in rural areas. By addressing a variety of needs at once, the fellows program seeks to have a broad impact. First, city-based veterinarians are prohibitively expensive and face logistical obstacles, according to Dr. Thiagarajan who runs the vet fellows program. The fees of city vets can range from 500 to 800 rupees (12 to 20 dollars) per visit, a rate five times more than the vet fellows who charge 100 to 150 rupees. Second, even if a farmer can afford the fees, the great distances between villages and the difficulties in rural transportation make city vets less reliable in an emergency — they may come late, and they won’t come in the evenings. The result of inaccessible city vets, says Dr. Thiagarajan, can be devastating for a farm family: “They come late, or won’t come at all.” And if the animal needs help and can’t get it? “God takes care of it,” Dr. Thiagarajan replies.
Through the fellows program, MSSRF has been able to address some animal husbandry needs in rural communities. By providing less expensive and more accessible medical care, the program allows farmers to more safely increase livestock production and address the disease and injuries of its herds. In addition to the farmers they serve, the eighteen fellows themselves also earn an income while gaining valuable employment experience for the future.
ICTs and livestock production
The small farmers in southern India who raise livestock to support their families are regularly faced with the need for veterinary interventions. The insemination of cows, delivery of newborn goats, and diagnosis and treatment of disease or injury are each a part of the daily work of these farmers. These crossroads in a farm animal’s life are opportunities for a healthy and expanded flock, or can present dangers that can bring the loss of livestock and a blow to the family’s livelihood.
Dr. Thiagarajan has been a veterinarian in India for twenty-five years, and he has seen any number of animal health problems. But when communicating his experience with rural farmers, he has discovered that the men and women caring for the herds of Tamil Nadu become nervous when words turn to action. Opening a goat’s mouth to inspect its teeth, reaching into a cow’s uterus to check on the progress of a pregnancy — these are delicate moments for the farmers who rely on the health of their livestock to survive. According to Dr. Thiagarajan, the role of ICT has been indispensable both in building the skills of the young fellows, and in building the confidence and awareness of the farmers they serve.
Training for the vet fellows is an intensive, three-month program made up of four-day weeks and full days of instruction. The process begins with theoretical instruction using textbooks, lectures, and PowerPoint exercises. Then, as the students move on to the practical training, there is a need for hands-on knowledge. “But we can’t afford to have a specimen for each student,” Dr. Thiagarajan explains, noting the value of using digital cameras to capture still images of medical cases and motion pictures of common procedures. The practical classes demonstrate with digital photography the essential elements of the profession: the dissection of ovaries, the details of the uterus, the location of lymph nodes. Each student is able to learn precise anatomy of the animals they will be working with. Finally, when the students are more comfortable with the photographic representation of animal anatomy, then the course moves on to actual specimens for dissection and analysis.
In addition to the lectures and practical exercises using ICT, the training hub provides resources for teleconferencing with other fellows, and a central contact point if fellows have questions for their trainer. MSSRF also keeps a database of agricultural and animal husbandry resources, allowing fellows to cross-check the cases they are handling with other past practices.
Virtual grange hall for farmers
A final piece in the process is the ability of the VRCs and VKCs to perform community outreach. According to S. Senthilkumaran, Director of the Education, Communication and Technology division of MSSRF, a critical function of the village centers is to bring farmers together to explain successful farming practices and address problems threatening livelihoods. The Village Resource Center becomes a place to train the fellows as field workers, and also a place to prepare the fellows’ hosts for their arrivals. The VRC in Pondicherry, for example, where Dr. Thiagarajan is based, offers a Lay Inseminators Training “which helps the fellows learn how to detect signs of heat,” Dr. Thiagarajan explains. At the same time, the VRC also offers regular meetings where the same lessons are conveyed to the farmers themselves. The result is increased acceptance of the young villagers coming to provide assistance, and increased knowledge of the farmers so that they can better time their inseminations.
ICT plays an important role in the process, allowing farmers to see films of actual procedures and images of problems they may be facing themselves. The community meetings allow farmers to discuss the procedures, improving trust between the fellows and the farmers. Beyond its role in communicating information directly among members of the farming community, ICT also acts to increase the prestige of the programs. The veterinary advice — when conveyed through the technological means of computers, projections, and teleconferences — is reported to enhance credibility.
Because the community centers also provide e-skills training and drop-in play for the village children, they get a further boost in the eyes of the farmers. They are familiar places. Together, all these factors converge: the community magnet of technology centers, the skills of the fellows, the cost savings, and the knowledge itself. The result is the health of the herd, and the livelihood of its shepherds.
Recommended citation
West, M. (2008). Improving income generation in rural India: ICT-trained veterinarians assist farmers with livestock production. Seattle: Technology & Social Change Group, University of Washington Information School.