Exploring the bottom of the pyramid - ITC eChoupal visit

The students of IIM Lucknow recently visited the ITC e-Choupal project running in Hardoi which is 2.5 Km from Lucknow. e-Choupal is an initiative of ITC Limited, a large multi business conglomerate in India, to link directly with rural farmers via the Internet for procurement of agricultural and aquaculture products like soybeans, wheat, coffee, and prawns. e-Choupal was conceived to tackle the challenges posed by the unique features of Indian agriculture, characterized by fragmented farms, weak infrastructure and the involvement of numerous intermediaries. The programme involves the installation of computers with Internet access in rural areas of India to offer farmers up-to-date marketing and agricultural information. As a part of the day long visit the students visited three places

•    E-Choupal – Present in villages usually at the house of a prominent person in the village. In this case, it was a schoolteacher in the Madhavpur village who has been running this e-Choupal for the last 10 years. He is the sanchalak and he disseminates information about prices, weather, fertilizers, seeds etc. to the farmers in the village. He has a computer set-up at his house and he receives information through it on a daily basis.

•    Choupal Saagar – This is where the farmers bring their produce to be sold to ITC. This is accompanied by a retail outlet where these farmers can buy various kinds of daily necessities. A lot of students purchased stuff from this store lured by the heavy discounts.

•    The Hub – This is where the purchased produce is stored. In UP, it is mainly wheat. This is in juxtaposition to the Choupal Saagar

The students got an insight into how the scheme of things works at one of the most popular rural models which is garnering attention worldwide. The students enjoyed the visit thoroughly and made the very best of the trip by interacting with the farmers and gathering insights that can be instrumental in the development of rural India.