FAI  Workshop on
Importance of ICT in the Fertiliser and Agriculture Sectors

8-11 May, 2006
The Kenilworth Beach Resort & Spa, Goa

FAI organised a four day Workshop on “Importance of ICT in the Fertiliser and Agriculture Sectors” during May 8-11, 2006 at The Kenilworth Beach Resort & Spa, Goa. Shri B. K. Saha, Director General, FAI inaugurated the programme. 44 participants (including the Faculty members) from various organisations representing Fertiliser Industry, India Meteorological Department, National Informatics Centre, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance Company Ltd., ITC Ltd., National Commodity Derivatives Exchange Ltd., EMC Data Storage Systems (India) Pvt.Ltd., etc. participated in the Workshop. 

Inaugurating the programme, Shri B. K. Saha highlighted the need for and importance of information and communication technology (ICT) in the fertiliser and agriculture sectors. There are large scale applications of ICT in the various activities of the fertiliser and agriculture sectors, right from production planning to marketing, agricultural extension, etc. The use of ICT has facilitated the handling of massive data for weather forecasting now. However, he clearly mentioned that IT cannot help until the basic system is in place. One cannot have ICT without clarity of mind. A proper system has to be developed before the deployment of ICT in different areas of activities. He suggested making ICT more useful.  He hoped that various issues relating to ICT in the fertiliser and agriculture sectors would emerge during the deliberations in the 4-day workshop. He advised the participants to make full use of the programme. Shri Saha suggested the participants to interact with the speakers to make the sessions interactive. Shri Saha also requested the participants to fill up the feedback forms which would enable FAI in improving further the quality of the programmes in future. 

Earlier, Shri T. K. Chanda, Chief (Statistics & IT), FAI welcomed Shri B. K. Saha, invitees and participants. Shri Chanda mentioned about the objectives and the role of FAI programmes, viz. training programme, group discussion, workshops, etc. in the up gradation of the skills of the professionals in the fertiliser and agriculture sectors. There has been a constant endeavour in FAI to enrich the contents of the programmes in order to cater to the needs of the fertiliser industry and all those who are associated with the progress of agriculture in the country. He mentioned that a number of new topics have been added in the programme. These include use of ICT in weather forecasting, business Intelligence, customer relations management (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM), agricultural extension and integrated nutrient management, rural insurance, etc. He hoped that the participants would be benefited from the deliberations of the programme. 

Four Technical Sessions were held.  

Shri B. K. Saha, Director General – FAI, N. Delhi chaired Session I. One paper was presented. The paper was on Role of ICT in the Fertiliser and Agriculture Sectors and Future Prospects by Shri S. C. Mittal, Executive Director (MSD), IFFCO, New Delhi. 

The Session II was chaired by Shri D. K. Agarwal, Assistant Vice President (IT), Indo Gulf Fertilisers Ltd. 

Four papers were presented in the session. The first paper on Technology Enabled Information Dissemination was presented by Shri Chandra Shekhar, Head-IT, National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd.Mumbai. The second paper on ICT Based Customer Relations Management (CRM) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) was presented by Shri Jignesh Vaidya, Accounts Manager, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Mumbai. The third paper on ICT Enabled Re-engineered Logistics System was presented by by Shri Prem Kumar K, Chief Manager (IT), Zuari Industries Ltd., Goa. The fourth paper on Use of ICT in Business Intelligence for Fertilizer and Agriculture Sectors was presented by Shri Y. D. Sharma, Senior Technical Director, National Informatics Centre, New Delhi. 

The Session III was chaired by Dr. N. Jayanthi, Deputy Director General, India Meteorological Department, Pune. Three papers were presented in the session. The first paper on Use of ICT in Weather Forecasting in India was presented by Dr. N. Jayanthi. The second paper on Use of ICT in Rural Insurance was presented by Shri Anup Dhingra, Assistant Manager, IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd., Gurgaon. The third paper on ICT Enabled Services for Agricultural Extension was presented by Dr. Naresh Prasad, Deputy General Manager (TS), Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd., New Delhi. 

The fourth session was chaired by Dr. D. S. Yadav, Chief Marketing Manager (AS) , Gugarat Narmada Valley Fertilizer Co. Ltd., Bharuch. Two papers were presented in the session. The first paper on Integrated Nutrient Management through ICT was presented by Dr. D. S. Yadav.  The second on Use of ICT on Agri Business: Prospects and Challenges was presented by Shri Sanjiv Sharma, Head-Agri Input, ITC Ltd. Secunderabad. 

The fifth session was chaired by Shri Y. D. Sharma, Senior Technical Director, National Informatics Centre, New Delhi. Two papers were presented in the session. The first paper on Use of ICT in HR for Better Governance was presented by Shri A. K. Gupta,, Senior Manager (Systems), Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd. New Delhi.  The second on IT Security: Business Continuity Plan was presented by Shri Abhijit Potnis, Solution Consultant, EMC Data Storage Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai. 

At the conclusion of the programme, the feedback of the workshop was invited from the participants with suggestions for improvement. The participants appreciated the contents and coverage of the programme and felt that the programme had added value to their knowledge. Among various suggestions given by the participants, a few important are inclusion of more case studies on specific areas, emerging trends in the IT sector, IT Policy regulations, management of IT infrastructure, content management, global trends in the IT sector, best practices, networking, cost of implementation of ICT, etc. Details of various observations and suggestions of the participants were noted for further action. It was suggested that such programmes could be organised twice in a year. 

Shri Kuldeep Sati, Statistical Officer, FAI extended a vote of thanks. 

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