Global Stockholm Challenge Award for Kissan Kerala project
The Kissan Kerala project, an integrated multi-modal Agricultural Information System of the Department of Agriculture, Government of Kerala has received an ‘Honourable Mention’ at the prestigious Global Stockholm Challenge Awards 2010. The Karshaka Information Systems Services and Networking (Kissan) is one of the leading citizen centric e-governance projects for the farming community across Kerala.
The Kissan Kerala project, an integrated multi-modal Agricultural Information System of the Department of Agriculture, Government of Kerala has received an ‘Honourable Mention’ at the prestigious Global Stockholm Challenge Awards 2010. The Karshaka Information Systems Services and Networking (Kissan) is one of the leading citizen centric e-governance projects for the farming community across Kerala.
The Stockholm Challenge Award, instituted in 1994 in Sweden, is considered to be the highest recognition in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives worldwide. A total of 290 projects from 90 countries competed for the prestigious Award in six categories. The Kissan Kerala project was the finalist under the category - Economic Development. The projects were independently evaluated by an 11 member Jury chaired by Prof. Bebo White from Stanford University. The project was selected for its successful integration of various technologies like Television, Internet, Telephone and Mobile-based technology for delivering useful agricultural services and information to the farmers.
A statement quotes the Jury’s comment, “Kissan Kerala is a very nice and useful project, adding value to the local economy. It is lined up with the successful developmental approaches of the Kerala Government. It provides comprehensive and useful agricultural information to farmer and her / his business. Kissan Kerala has a plan and a vision. They are based on the concept of linking the needs of the end user that is the farmer. It empowers the farmers because it provides the needed knowledge to enhance production and manage market relations. Very direct, very useful. This is what is needed”.
The Kissan Kerala project is conceptualised, implemented and coordinated by the Technopark based Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management Kerala (IIITM-K) for the Department of Agriculture, Government of Kerala. The project was formally launched on 2003 and has been providing several dynamic and useful information and advisory services for the farming community in Kerala. In the last two years, the project bagged the Kerala State e-Governance Award, e-India National Award and South Asian Manthan Award.
