Village Knowledge Centres established by University of Agricultural Sciences of Bangalore and Dharwad to disseminate information to farmers about technologies and farm-related schemes have become non-functional over the last two years due to the winding up of the Edusat (Educational Satellite) connectivity which completed its mission in 2010.
UAS Bangalore Vice-Chancellor K. Narayana Gowda told The Hindu here on Thursday that the 124 knowledge centres established by two universities (58 by UAS Bangalore and 66 by UAS Dharwad) have not been functioning over the two years due to non-availability of Edusat satellite connectivity.
“We have deposited Rs. 7 crore with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to provide information to farmers using ICT tools. Despite several requests, the ISRO authorities are not responding to us and not providing satellite connectivity,” the Vice-Chancellor said.
ADVERTISEMENT
ISRO sources said that “Edusat completed its mission in 2010. Due to paucity of satellite bandwidth, some programmes may have been affected but will be restored shortly.”
GSLV-12
To operationalise the knowledge centres, the two agricultural universities have been awaiting satellite connectivity under GLSV-12 by the ISRO.
ADVERTISEMENT
“ISRO authorities promised restoring satellite services a year ago. But they have not addressed our problem and restored services,” officials in UAS Bangalore said. Recently, officials from UAS Bangalore and UAS Dharwad met ISRO officials urging them to restore services to make knowledge centres functional, they said.
Knowledge centres were established at the Raitha Sampark Kendras to revolutionise agricultural communication network by linking farmers at the hobli-level with agricultural experts in the district headquarters through satellite-based videoconferencing facility.
With the support of Edusat, the knowledge centres functioned for about two years since their launch in 2007, the officials said.
R.S. Kulkarni, Director of Extension, UAS Bangalore, said that “a list of sampark kendras with location, existing facilities, contract persons, etc., has been finalised by the State Agriculture Department and submitted to the ISRO and we are awaiting for satellite connectivity under GSLV-12.”
Services to be extended to farmers availing of satellite connectivity under GLSV-12 are farm technologies, weather forecast, pest and disease forecast, market intelligence, schemes and programmes of the government and satellite-based geographical maps.
Once the programme becomes operational, it would help farming community improve their livelihood and provide opportunities for farmers to directly interact with experts and scientists without incurring any cost or visiting department officers for their technical guidance, Dr. Kulkarni said.
Stating that the proposed network would help in strengthening the agricultural extension system, Dr. Kulkarni said that farmers could even have one-on-one interaction with subject experts.
It would narrow down the gap between research and development and facilitate farmers to have easy to the latest technologies and services, according to Dr. Kulkarni.
The universities would devise programmes to be aired through this network.
124 village knowledge centres have stopped functioning
Services will be restored shortly, say ISRO sources