Leveraging Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure of Dairy Cooperative Network: An ex-ante Analysis of Potential Institutional Innovation^§

The penetration of information and communication technology (ICT) is low in the rural areas due to several infrastructural bottlenecks. In this context, the institution of dairy cooperatives — with its ICT framework in the form of supplier-related data base — has enormous potential in bridging the information gap. Scant research attention has been given on ascertaining potential feasibility of launching information dissemination module by leveraging the ICT infrastructure of the dairy cooperative network. This study has attempted to bridge this information gap. It is based on the information gathered through structured interviews from a sample of 80 farming households, equitably distributed in Haldwani (plains) and Bhimtal (hills) blocks of Nainital district of Uttarakhand. In the sample, 44 were dairy cooperative society members and the remaining 36 were non-members for control. The study has revealed that that television and mobile phones are the principal ICT tools used in the study area. The major constraints to information accessibility have been identified as ‘respondents’ capacity related constraint in using modern ICT tools’, ‘network and mobile use related constraints’ and ‘accessibility to ICT services constraints’, and these were common in both plains and hills. The contingent valuation exercise has shown that there is scope for fee-based delivery of information via internet. It thus becomes important that the potential offered by the ICT infrastructure of the dairy cooperative network in the country be adequately exploited.