FEER writes about the initiatives being taken by ITC and other companies to tap into the emerging rural India market. ITC has srt up over 2,000 e-choupals across India at a cost o about Rs 1.5 lakh (USD 3,400) each in villages. It is now adding 5 a day, with plans to cover 100,000 Indian villages in 5 years (India has a total of 600,000 villages).
ITC first aims to help improve farmers’ incomes by:
— Wiring rural communities with computer access to its e-trading platform
— Offering better on-line prices than auctions for produce
— Providing quality seeds and on-line agricultural adviceNext, it aims to help its own business by:
— Growing its commodities business overseas
— Gaining access to rural consumers
— Selling goods and services back to the farmers
e-choupals
