16 April 2007

2 minute read

Asia

 IT companies are networking and building applications for the rural community. And more so, there is a serious business model with these applications. The beneficiaries include the rural folks—be it from poultry or dairy or a small time regular farmer. The technologies are much more than extending applications for enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration that would facilitate in achieving greater operational capabilities, improving supply chain and business.

Consider this. Oracle applications and associated Oracle technologies are used by Indian agriculture products-based businesses to manage collection, processing, marketing and distribution of agriculture and food products. These activities include poultry and dairy farming, contract farming, agriculture products processing, food processing and distribution, and marketing of agriculture products. Through dairy, poultry and agriculture products processing companies and co-operatives, Oracle touches over 700,000 farmers every day, in the country. Says Krishan Dhawan, MD, Oracle India, “Oracle is making a difference to the way Indian farmers are interacting with the companies that they supply to, as well as the way farming and agriculture products are being processed and marketed.”

A classic example is about ITC Leaf Tobacco Division (ILTD), the largest buyer, processor and exporter of cigarette tobacco in India. ITC buys nearly 50% of all cigarette type tobacco grown in India. ILTD is using Oracle Applications, along with remote wireless data capturing devices, to effectively track every bale of tobacco from the point of purchase to the point of delivery. Other companies running on Oracle Applications include: Suguna Poultry, Mother Dairy Gandhinagar Plant (a part of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation) and Mehsana District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union (Dudhsagar Dairy).

Source: Financial Express