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e-AgriKiosk Publication No. 1 Title: A Report on Tribal Farmers Personal and Socio-Economic Information, Communication Pattern and Information Needs Assessment Prepared by: Dr. R. Saravanan, Principal Investigator, e-AgriKiosk Project © 2011 CAU Dr. R. Saravanan Principal Investigator, e-AgriKiosk Project & Associate Professor (Communication) School of Social Sciences College of Post Graduate Studies Central Agricultural University Umiam (Barapani), Meghalaya- 793 103 India e-mail: [email protected] Alternate e-mail: [email protected] Ph.No. (O): 0364-2570615; Fax No. (O): 0364-2570030 (M): 09436054939 Personal URL: www.saravananraj.net Project URL: www.eagrikiosk.in
Note: The NABARD-Rural Innovation Fund (RIF) Sponsored Research Project on “e-AgriKiosk” is a Collaborative Research Project of the College of Horticulture and Forestry, CAU, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh and College of Post Graduate Studies, CAU, Umiam, Barapani, Meghalaya.
Acknowledgement: This Report is Prepared with the Support from the Rural Innovation Fund (RIF), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), RIF Grant Ref. No.: NB.DPD-FS/368/RIF/2008-09; Dated July 15th, 2008.
Disclaimer: The Opinions Expressed are those of the Researcher alone and not necessarily those of the NABARD or Central Agricultural University (CAU).
A Report on
Tribal Farmers Personal and Socio-Economic Information,
Communication Pattern and Information Needs Assessment
Contents
Sl.No. Contents Page No.
i Preface i
ii Summary ii
1. Introduction 1
2. Methodology 2
3. Results and Discussion 4
5. Conclusions 25
References 27
List of Tables
Sl. No. Content Page No.
1. Information on Gender in the Farm Families 5
2. Information on Age of the Farm Family Members 5
3. Information on Education Level of the Farm Family
Members
5
4. Information on Occupation of the Farm Family Members 6
5. Experience of the Farmers in Farming (Family Head Only) 6
6. Income Level of the Farm Families 6
7. Type of the Land Possessed by the Farm Families 7
8. Extension Agency Contact and Information Input Pattern of
the Farmers
9
9. Farmers Information Input Pattern Index and Rank 11
10. Farmers Frequency of Contact Index and Rank 11
11. Farmers Adequacy of Information Index and Rank 12
12. Farmers Usefulness of Information Index and Rank 12
13. Broad Areas of Information Needs of Farmers 13
14. Farmers Crop Specific Information Needs 15
15. Farmers Information Needs in Khasi Mandarin Orange 16
16. Availability of ICTs in the Household 17
17. Purpose of the Visit to the Near by Town (Pasighat /Ruskin
/Itanagar etc.) by the Farmers
19
18. Purpose of the Visit to the Government Offices 19
19. Contact Person for Getting Information on Various
Government Schemes
20
20. Common Problems in the Village 20
21. Contact Person/ Organisation for Getting Solution for the
Community Disputes and Village Common Problems
20
22. Contact Person/Organisation during Natural Disaster 21
23. Common Diseases Faced by Farm Family Members 21
24. Place of Treatment of Health Related Problems 21
25. Common Practice Followed for Child Delivery 22
26. Health Awareness Programme and Information Needs of
Farmers
22
27. Contact Place or Person for First Aid 23
28. Information Related to ‘’Health’’ Need to be Integrated in
the Proposed “e-AgriKiosk” Project
23
29. Reasons for Health Problems in the Village 24
30. Contact Sources for the Health Information 24
Preface
The Arunachal Pradesh State of North-East India is blessed with rich natural
resources. The fertile soil and abundant water resources provide ample scope for
profitable farming. However, inadequate information access on advanced farm
information and technologies, agriculture exhibits lowest productivity and farming
becomes less remunerative. Hence, there is urgent need to assess the farmers’
personal, socio-economic characteristics, communication pattern and information
needs. Based on the assessment, appropriate agricultural information and
knowledge need to be delivered for the overall development of the farming. In this
direction, a study was conducted among 150 farm families in twelve villages of East
Siang District of the Arunachal Pradesh State of North-East India. Based on the
findings, group discussions, demonstrations, training and multimedia shows,
lectures through radio, information through web portal and touch screen kiosks will
be planned and implemented in phased manner through the NABARD’s Rural
Innovation Fund (RIF) sponsored research project titled “Touch Screen Kiosks for
Farm Technology Transfer among Tribal Farmers” at the four selected villages of the
East Siang District of the Arunachal Pradesh.
Further, I sincerely hope that this report will be useful to the extension
personnel, scientists and administrators those who are involved in agricultural
knowledge and innovations facilitation and integration among rural tribal farm
families. Further, it will serve as a reference material to initiate similar studies in
other districts of the Arunachal Pradesh and also other States of North-East India by
different institutions, departments and NGOs involved in the agricultural and rural
development process. I sincerely thank Dr. Ram Singh, Associate Professor (Farm
Management), Dr. Sheikh Mohammad Feroze, Assistant Professor (Economics) and
Ms. Loukham Devarani, Assistant Professor (HRD), School of Social Sciences, CPGS,
CAU, Umiam (Barapani), Meghalaya, for their suggestions to improve the draft
manuscript.
Umiam (Barapani), Meghalaya (R. Saravanan)
March, 2011 Principal Investigator, e-AgriKiosk Project
i
Summary
The economy of Arunachal Pradesh mainly depends on Agriculture and
almost all the population in the rural area practice agriculture as subsistence in
nature. Agriculture exhibits lowest productivity due to limited scientific farm
information and knowledge delivery to the tribal farmers and it makes the farming
become less remunerative and leads to food insecurity, even-though the State is
having lowest population density, richest natural resources and hard working
farmers. In order to provide agricultural advisory services through Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs), especially through the “Touch Screen Kiosks”, a
research project sponsored by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development (NABARD) under the Rural Innovation Fund (RIF), a survey was carried
out with the following objectives; to know the personal, socio-economic
characteristics of the tribal farmers, their communication pattern and information
needs. The study was conducted in 12 randomly selected villages of East Siang
District of Arunachal Pradesh State during 2009 to 2010. Almost, all the rural families
are dependent on agriculture and allied activities. Agriculture is organic in nature by
default. Survey findings indicated that the male and female population was equally
distributed in the farm families and more than one-third of the rural population was
less than 35 years of age. Only 12 per cent of the farm family members were
illiterate. Nearly one-third of farm family members were engaged in farming. Half
proportion of the farmers had more than 20 years of farming experience. Sixty six
per cent of the farm families had low level of the annual income. Twenty per cent of
farmers were regularly receiving farm information from the different sources.
Among the farm information sources, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), East Siang District
ranks first and followed by progressive and fellow farmers and other line
departments. Further, farmers opined that the progressive/ fellow farmers and KVK,
East Siang district provides adequate and useful information compared to other
extension agencies. Ninety three per cent of farmers need the information on
diseases and pest management followed by suitable crop varieties (86 per cent),
farmers’ training programme (85.30 per cent) and market information (82.60 per
cent). Most farm families possess Radio (93 per cent) and TV (69 per cent). Along
with the farm information, farm families’ require variety of e-Governance and health
awareness information.
ii
INTRODUCTION The Arunchal Pradesh, the most fascinating and remote State of Eastern
Himalyas, is the largest State among the North-Eastern Hill region of India. The
economy of Arunachal Pradesh mainly depends on Agriculture and almost all the
population in the rural area practice agriculture as a subsistence nature. Access to
the appropriate information for agriculture and rural development becomes difficult
task for the farmers of Arunachal Pradesh State. Due to limited availability of
scientific farm information and knowledge delivery to the tribal farmers, agriculture
exhibits lowest productivity and makes farming become less remunerative. This also
creates food insecurity problem, even-though the State is having lowest population
density, richest natural resources and hard working farmers. Agriculture is organic in
nature by default. Further, the upliftment of tribal economy mainly relies on the
agricultural production. To increase the farm production, the tribal farmers need to
be informed on recent scientific farm innovations, weather and market information.
The farm information and technology dissemination to the tribal farmers provide
opportunities for their self-development, improve existing knowledge, skills and
enhance their capability and also to facilitate the innovations. In this direction,
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) hold lot of promise to deliver
agricultural knowledge to the tribal farmers (Saravanan, 2009). In order to provide
agricultural extension services through Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs), especially through the “Touch Screen Kiosk Project” sponsored
by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) under the
Rural Innovation Fund (RIF), it is necessary to assess the information needs of the
farmers so as to prepare and deliver specific messages or technologies and also to
develop ICT based information and knowledge modules as per the farmers’
requirements. Hence, a study was carried out with the following objectives;
1. To know the personal, socio-economic characteristics of the tribal farmers
2. To find out communication pattern among the tribal farmers
3. To assess the tribal farmers information needs
1
METHODOLOGY
Locale of the Study: The study was conducted in the randomly selected 12 villages in
the East Siang District, namely; Ayeng, Berung, Sika-Bamin, Sika-Tode, Sille, Detak,
Ngorlung, Mikong, Mirem, Yagrung, Tekang and Kangkong of East Siang District of
Arunachal Pradesh during 2009 to 2010. These villages were selected because;
during 2006-07 onwards focused group discussions and survey work was conducted
by the faculty members of the Department of Extension Education and Rural
Sociology, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Pasighat and Krishi Vigyan Kendra
(KVK) (Farm Science Centre), East Siang District and they indicated that these villages
has the potential to be developed as “model villages” for developing agricultural
sector and they are also easily accessible to other farmers from neighbouring
villages. Based on the findings, the e-Arik (e-Agriculture), e-Village project and
“Village adoption scheme” of the College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central
Agricultural University and KVK’s (East Siang District) extension programmes and
activities were undertaken in these villages. Hence, to sustain and also give
momentum to ongoing agricultural developmental activities, Agri-e-Kiosk project to
be implemented four out of 12 selected villages, based on further village level
focused group discussion and participatory approach.
Selection of farmers: 150 tribal 1farm families were randomly selected from 12
villages for the individual household survey.
Data collection: Data were collected by using pre-tested structured interview
schedule. The interview schedule had three sections, first section deals with the
personal, socio-economic and situational characteristics, secondly, communication
pattern and farmers’ information needs, thirdly, deals with Governance and Health
aspects and also information needed in these two sectors.
2
Figure 1. Map Showing the Study Area
Description of the Study Area: The selected villages are located in the East Siang
District of Arunachal Pradesh State. The 2Adi, is one of the major tribe living in the
eastern Himalayan hills and they are found in the sub-tropical regions within the
districts of East Siang, Upper Siang, West Siang and Dibang Valley Districts of the
Arunachal Pradesh State of North-East India. The literal meaning of Adi is "hill" or
"mountain top". They have well organised traditional village council called 3Kebang.
The average annual rainfall is 440 cm. Generally, rocky sandy loam soil with the pH
ranges from 5 to 6.5 and sub-tropical climate condition favours cultivation of a wide
range of crops. The major cultivated crops are rice, mustard, maize, mandarin
orange, pineapple and vegetables in the foot hill and mid hill areas. The prevalence
of shifting cultivation (“Slash and burning” or “Jhum” agriculture system) also called
as 4Jhum cultivation, which involves slashing and burning of the vegetation on hill
slopes and using the land for cultivation for two or three years. Then farmers move
to new area for doing the same practice. In recent years, the Jhum cycle interval is
reduced to two to three years (Earlier days it was seven to eight years of jhum
cycle), and the farmers return to the same area for doing shifting cultivation
(Saravanan, 2009). Their staple food is rice. Maize and millets also supplement the
food. Hunting, fishing and utilization of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) are part
of their culture. The Barter system was prevalent till few decades ago. People are
3
gradually adopting the modern ways. The Adi tribe is patriarchal and also patrilineal
whereby descent is traced through the males. The Adi tribal community who
worship the Sun and the Moon God, namely Donyi-Polo and Abo-Tani, the original
ancestor for the Adi tribe. Their religious rituals largely coincide with the phases of
agricultural cycles. They worship nature and make animal sacrifices and traditionally
practice Jhumming or Shifting cultivation. The Adi tribe extensively practice irrigated
rice cultivation and have a considerable agricultural economy. Traditional farming
systems, ecological pest and diseases control measures, bio-diversity conservation
and traditional homestead agro-forestry systems are unique to the Adi tribal farmers
(Saravanan, 2010). The Adi tribe is unique in having traditional rights of land, water
and forests within their jurisdiction. The Adi tribe as a community exercises control
over the natural resources within their surroundings. There are no written land
records of ownerships among the Adi tribe. However, traditional boundary
demarcation of land lines between the villages, tribes and clans are maintained
through natural features of streams, hills and other land marks which is honoured by
everyone. Any dispute arising between the clans, villages and tribes, the same is
settled amicably by the village elders through the system of Kebang, village tribal
council among Adi community members (Danggen, 2003; Misra and Dutta, 2003).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of study are presented here under in three sections, first section
deals with the personal, socio-economic and situational characteristics, secondly,
communication pattern and farm information needs, thirdly, deals with e-
Governance and e-Health aspects and also information needed in these two sectors.
Part I. Personal, Socio-Economic and Situational Characteristics of the farm families. Table 1 depict that there are 150 farm families were surveyed and total
population was 1004, male and female members were almost equally distributed.
4
The sex ratio of the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh was at 937 females
(slightly higher than the national average of 933, as per 2001 census) to 1000 males.
(http://eastsiang.nic.in/html/profile-esd.htm;
http://mohfw.nic.in/nrhm/state%20files/arp.htm).
Table 1. Information on Gender in the Farm Families (n=150 farm families)
Sl. No. Category Number Per cent
1. Male 490 48.80 2. Female 514 51.00
Table 2 indicates that more than one third of population were young (18 to
35 years) and only 27.9 per cent were above 36 years old.
Table 2. Information on Age of the Farm Family Members (n=150 farm families)
Sl. No. Age Category Number Per cent 1. 5 years and below 136 13.5 2. 6 to 17 years 300 29.8 3. 18 to 35 years 377 37.5 4. 36 years and above 281 27.9
Rural higher education level is very less, approximately nine per cent had
graduation and above level of education (Table 3). Interestingly, only 12 per cent
of farm family members are illiterate. But, contrary to this finding, Arunachal
Pradesh-Human Recourse Report, 2005 indicated that the East Siang district rural
literacy is 55.70 per cent as per 2001 census (Department of Planning,
Government of Arunachal Pradesh, 2006).
Table 3. Information on Education Level of the Farm Family Members (n=150 farm families)
Sl. No. Education Category Number Per cent 1. Illiterate 123 12.20 2. Primary 173 17.20 3. Middle 161 16.00 4. Secondary 178 17.70 5. Higher secondary 111 11.00 6. Graduate and above 89 8.80
5
From the table 4, it is clear that all the farm families’ men and women mostly
engaged in farming and accounted for approximately one-third of village population.
Only seven per cent of members were engaged in other services (mostly teachers in
the rural schools and other government departments). More than two-fifth of the
population were students in the schools and the colleges.
Table 4. Information on Occupation of the Farm Family Members (n=150 farm families) Sl. No. Occupation Category Number Per cent 1. Farmers 313 31.10 2. Different service holders 71 7.00 3. Students 437 43.50
Majority of the farmers (76.50 per cent) had 11 to 20 years of experience and
50 per cent of the farmers had more than 20 years of the farming experience.
Table 5. Experience of the Farmers in Farming (Family Head Only) (n=150 farmers) Sl. No. Number of Years in Farming Total Per cent 1. Below 5 11 7.33 2. 6-10 20 13.33 3. 11-20 51 76.50 4. 20 and above 75 50.00 Table 6 indicates that only four per cent of farmers had high level of income
and all others had very low and lower middle level of the income.
Table 6. Income Level of the Farm Families (n=150 farm families) Sl. No. Income Level (Rs.) Total Per cent 1. Below 10,000 18 12 2. 11,000-50,000 81 54 3. above 50,000 and Upto 1,44,000 45 33 4. Above 1,44,000 6 4 During the survey, researchers found it difficult to get the exact land holding of
the farmers, due to lack of land records. However, to get an idea, percentage of land
type (wet and dry land) was calculated to get preliminary idea on farming situation.
Interestingly, table 7 indicates that all the farmers possessed both type of lands.
Two-third of land was dry land (62.91 per cent) depends on rain fall and one-third
(37.09 per cent) was wet land, irrigated by rivers and river lets.
6
Table 7. Type of the Land Possessed by the Farm Families (n=150 farm families) Sl. No. Type of the land Size (In ac) Per cent 1. Wet land 826 37.09 2. Dry land 1401 62.91
Part II. Communication Pattern
Communication pattern
The term communication pattern in the present study refers to all such
communication receiving acts of farmers relating to agricultural information which
are systematic and regular rather then random.
To study the communication pattern of the farmers, communication sources
and information-input pattern were studied. The communication input pattern
prevailing among the tribal farmers were collected in three headings; frequency,
adequacy and usefulness of the information.
Information input pattern: This refers to acquisition of information from different
sources by the farmers. To quantify the level of input pattern of the farmers, three
dimensions of utilization of information sources, namely the frequency of contact,
the extent of information obtained and the extent of usefulness of the information
obtained under acquisition of information as perceived by the respondent was
considered.
For each of the clientele the frequency of contact with different information
sources was measured by asking the respondents about a particular source on a
three-point continuum namely, regularly, occasionally, and never with scoring of 2,1
and 0, respectively. The adequacy of information received was operationalised by
asking the respondents to mention the adequacy of information obtained from each
of the source consulted by them on a three point continuum viz., Adequate (A), Less
Adequate (LA) and Not Adequate (NA) with the weightages of 2, 1 and 0,
respectively. The extent of usefulness of information was quantified by questioning
the clientele to indicate the extent of usefulness of information obtained from each
7
of the sources consulted by them on three point continuum viz., Useful, Some What
Useful and Not Useful with weightages of 2, 1 and 0, respectively. Later by summing
up the scores obtained on each source, index and rank was computed for each
information source based on the following formula.
Obtained score
Index =…………………………………………….. X 100
Maximum possible score
Similar procedure followed to compute index and rank of information on
“frequency of contact”, “adequacy of information” and “information usefulness” as
perceived by the farmers.
Results indicated that more than three-fourth of the farmers was getting the
agriculture related information from the Radio (Table 8). The Farm and Home
programmes regularly broadcasted by the All India Radio (AIR), Pasighat (Table 8).
Only few farmers (5.33 per cent) received information from the agriculture and
horticulture departments due to inadequate technical manpower in the agricultural
developmental departments. Further, land holdings of the tribal farmers are
scattered and located far away from the villages, hence, for extension personnel it is
difficult to visit number of farms. The State developmental departments, generally,
runs with perennial constraints such as; inadequate technical manpower, lack of
standardized location specific technologies, lack of training facilities for extension
personnel, lack of conveyance facilities, lack of essential teaching & communication
equipments (AV aids & ICTs), non-availability of inputs in time and also lack of quality
inputs. Similar findings also reported by Saravanan (2008) in three villages of East
Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), East Siang
district was started during 2006. During the year 2009-2010, it conducted eight
technology assessment and refinement activities, two front line demonstrations, 26
farmers’ training programmes, 13 training programme for rural youth and 172
number of other extension activities including farm advisory services, field visit etc.,
(KVK, East Siang District-Annual report, 2009-10).
8
Table 8. Extension Agency Contact and Information Input Pattern of the Farmers (n=150 farmers)
Note: Sl. No 1-12-Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded (VL-Village Leaders, OF- Other Farmers, EP- Extension Personnel) About 11 per cent of farmers opined that they contact KVK for agriculture
related information. Further, the selected villages were adopted by the e-Arik and e-
Sl. No.
Information Source
Responded YES
No (%)
Frequency of Contact
No (%)
Adequacy of Information
Obtained No (%)
Usefulness of Information
No (%)
Regular No (%)
Occasional No (%)
Adequate
No (%)
Less Adequate No
(%)
Useful No (%)
Less Useful No (%)
1. Progressive Farmer/VL/OF
18 (12.00
)
12 (8.00) 6 (4.00)
10 (6.67)
8 (5.33)
14 (9.33)
4 (2.67)
2. Agri./Hort. Field Officer/ ADO/HDO/ ATMA
8 (5.33)
6 (4.00) 2 (1.33)
6 (4.00)
2 (1.33)
7 (4.67)
1 (0.67)
3. KVK, East Siang District
16 (10.67
)
12 (8.00) 4 (2.67)
10 (6.67)
6 (4.00)
14 (9.33)
2 (1.33)
4. CHF, CAU, Pasighat
10 (6.67)
5 (3.33) 5 (3.33)
4 (2.67)
6 (4.00)
5 (6.67)
5 (6.67)
5. EP Banks 0 NA NA NA NA NA NA 6. EP NGOs 0 NA NA NA NA NA NA 7. EP- Co-op Soc.,
Assoc. 0 NA NA NA NA NA NA
8. EP – Input agencies
0 NA NA NA NA NA NA
9. Ag. Business firms/MNCs
0 NA NA NA NA NA NA
10. Farm magazine/ Journals/ Newspaper
0 NA NA NA NA NA NA
11. Radio 116 (77.00
)
20 (13.33)
15 (10.00
)
6 (4.00)
14 (29.33
)
10 (6.67)
4 (2.67)
12. Television 85 (56)
10 (6.67) 4 (2.67)
2 (1.33)
5(3.33)
5 (3.33)
4 (2.67)
13. Farmer Call Centre
0 NA NA NA NA NA NA
14. Any Source
Regular (at least fortnightly once) 20 per cent Occasional (Monthly/ bi-monthly) 15 per cent
9
Village projects of the College of Horticulture and Forestry and also KVK, East Siang
district. Extension activities were regularly undertaken by the KVK’s Subject Matter
Specialists (SMS) and hence, more than one-fifth of respondents were contacted
regularly and getting adequate and useful information for better farming. However,
these numbers may not be generalized for other villages, because other villages the
number of farmers contacting KVK may be far less. Involvement of the private sector
such as agri-business firms, input dealers, print media and NGOs in agriculture
technology transfer is negligible. Forty and thirty seven per cent of farmers were
regular and occasional listeners of radio, respectively. The radio programme on
“Farm and Home” was regularly broadcasted during 5 pm to 6 pm. Only four per
cent of the listeners were expressed that the farm related programme was adequate
and seven per cent of them expressed that broadcasted information was useful for
them. The radio programmes were broadcasted in Adi tribal dialect, and hence,
three-fourth of the farmers becomes radio listeners (77 per cent). In contrast to this,
only seven and three per cent of the farmers were regular and occasionally viewing
farm related programmes in TV, which is due to the fact that a majority of the tribal
farmers not well acquainted with Hindi language. Further, majority of the farmers
expressed TV based farm programmes are not adequate and not useful to their
farming situations. Similar results also reported by the National Sample Survey
Organisation (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation,
Government of India, in its report entitled, “Situation Assessment Survey of Indian
Farmers: Access to Modern Technologies for Farming,” June 2005, indicated that
only 40 per cent of farmers in the country accessed one or the other source for
getting information related to modern farming. While in Andhra Pradesh and West
Bengal over 60 per cent of the farmers contacted some source for farm related
information only 15 per cent did so in Rajasthan. The most frequently accessed
source was ‘other progressive farmers’ (17 per cent) followed by the ‘dealer
providing inputs’ and ‘radio’ (13 per cent), TV (9 per cent), newspapers (7 per cent)
and extension workers (6 per cent) were some of the other important sources. While
these were the national averages, farmers in different States showed varying
preferences (NASSO, 2005). However, NASSO sampling was done at the randomly
selected study area, but in this present study it (East Siang District, Arunachal
10
Pradesh) was selected purposively and study was conducted in the adopted villages
of the Central Agricultural University. Only after the continuous efforts of research
projects, KVK, College of Horticulture and Forestry, that too in few selected villages
after nearly four years efforts, it is not reached the national average.
Table 9. Farmers Information Input Pattern Index and Rank (n=150 farmers)
Table 10. Farmers Frequency of Contact Index and Rank (n=150 farmers)
Sl. No.
Information Source Index (Max. Possible
Index Score 100)
Rank
1. KVK, East Siang District 23.11 I 2. Progressive Farmer/VL/OF 14.20 II 3. Agri./Hort. Field Officer/
ADO/HDO/Instructor-GTC/ATMA 11.78 III
4. Radio 10.55 IV 5. CHF, CAU, Pasighat 9.78 V 6. Television 5.88 VI 7. Extension Personnel (EP) Banks 0 - 8. EP of NGOs 0 - 9. EP of Co-op Soc., Assoc. 0 - 10. EP of Input agencies 0 - 11. Ag. Business firms/MNCs 0 - 12. Farm magazine/ Journals/ Newspaper 0 -
Sl. No.
Information Source Index (Max. Possible
Index Score 100)
Rank
1. Radio 18.33 I 2. Progressive Farmer/VL/OF 10.00 II 3. KVK, East Siang District 9.33 III 4. Television 8.00 IV 5. CHF, CAU, Pasighat 5.00 V 6. Agri./Hort. Field Officer/
ADO/HDO/Instructor-GTC/ATMA 4.67 VI
7. Extension Personnel (EP) of Banks 0 - 8. EP of NGOs 0 - 9. EP of Co-op Soc., Assoc. 0 - 10. EP of Input agencies 0 - 11. Ag. Business firms/MNCs 0 - 12. Farm magazine/ Journals/ Newspaper 0 -
11
Table 11. Farmers Adequacy of Information Index and Rank (n=150 farmers)
Table 12. Farmers Usefulness of Information Index and Rank (n=150 farmers)
Sl. No.
Information Source Index (Max. Possible
Index Score 100)
Rank
1. Progressive Farmer/VL/OF 9.33 I 2. KVK, East Siang District 8.67 II 3. Radio 8.67 II 4. Agri./Hort. Field Officer/
ADO/HDO/Instructor-GTC/ATMA 4.67 IV
5. CHF, CAU, Pasighat 4.67 IV 6. Television 3.00 VI 7. Extension Personnel (EP) of Banks 0 - 8. EP of NGOs 0 - 9. EP of Co-op Soc., Assoc. 0 - 10. EP of Input agencies 0 - 11. Ag. Business firms/MNCs 0 - 12. Farm magazine/ Journals/ Newspaper 0 -
Sl. No.
Information Source Index (Max. Possible
Index Score 100)
Rank
1. Progressive Farmer/VL/OF 10.67 I 2. KVK, East Siang District 10.00 II 3. CHF, CAU, Pasighat 10.00 II 4. Radio 8.00 IV 5. Agri./Hort. Field Officer/
ADO/HDO/Instructor-GTC/ATMA 5.00 V
6. Television 4.67 VI 7. EP Banks 0 - 8. EP NGOs 0 - 9. EP- Co-op Soc., Assoc. 0 - 10. EP – Input agencies 0 - 11. Ag. Business firms/MNCs 0 - 12. Farm magazine/ Journals/ Newspaper 0 -
12
Table 9-12 indicated that among the farm information sources, Krishi
Vigyan Kendra (KVK), East Siang District ranks first and followed by progressive and
fellow farmers and other line departments. Further, farmers opined that the
progressive/ fellow farmers and KVK, East Siang district provides adequate and
useful information compared to other extension agencies.
Table 13, indicates that majority of the farmers expressed that they need
all information related to farming. This is mainly because of inadequate scientific
information and technology dissemination by the agricultural developmental
agencies/ institutions among the tribal farmers, due to inadequate technical
manpower in the agricultural developmental departments, limited budget for field
extension activities (most of the State developmental departments heavily relies on
central sector schemes for its operational budget, that too most part of budget goes
for only salary for the staff members) remoteness of farms, difficult terrain,
inadequate transport (limited availability of public transport to visit rural area and
limited vehicles in the departments makes extension personnel’s mobility became
difficult task) and poor communication facilities in rural areas.
Table 13. Board Areas of Information Needs of Farmers (n=150 farmers) Sl. No.
Areas Number Per cent
1. Suitable crop varieties 129 86.00 2. Package of practices 96 64.00 3. Inputs (seeds, planting materials, fertilizers etc.) 114 76.00 4. Diseases and pest management 139 92.60 5. Fertilizer application 83 55.30 6. Intercultural operations 51 34.00 7. Inter cropping 76 50.60 8. Irrigation 122 81.30 9. Post harvest techniques 88 58.60 10. Market information 124 82.60 11. Weather information 100 66.60 12. Agro forestry methods 83 55.30 13. Farm implements 105 70.00 14. Farm credit 99 66.00 15. Crop insurance 98 65.30 16. Announcements related to the farmers training
programmes 128 85.30
13
17. Government schemes on agriculture, horticulture, processing
123 82.00
18. Organic farming 72 48.00 19. Input dealers address 54 36.00 20. Soil and water conservation 118 78.60 21. Animal husbandry and dairy 105 70.00 22. Piggery 122 81.30 23. Poultry 94 62.60 24. Fishery 60 40.00 25. Integrated farming system 62 41.30 26. Sericulture 37 24.60 27. Apiculture 43 28.60 28. Bio-fertilizer 98 65.30 29. Vermi-compost preparation 83 55.30 30. Mushroom production 85 56.60 32. Medicinal plants 107 71.30 Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded
Further, limited agricultural research institutions and technical manpower
creates lack of location specific research information for the farmers (for example,
entire Arunachal Pradesh State having only two ICAR institutes and one college;
National Resource Centre for Yak, Dirang and ICAR Research Complex for NEH
Region, Basar Centre, and College for Horticulture and Forestry, CAU, Pasighat. All
the three institutions manned by only half strength of the sanctioned scientific
positions like; Scientists/ Professors). Renowned agricultural scientist, Prof. M. S.
Swaminathan (2009) stated that “more than 50 per cent of the scientific posts in the
existing institutions in the field of agricultural research and education are vacant.
Also, many of the positions are held by persons from outside the region, several of
whom do not have a long-term stake in linking science with society in the region”.
Similarly, Inadequate technical manpower is a perennial problem in the most of
agricultural and rural developmental departments of Arunachal Pradesh and also in
the entire north-east India. It is mainly because of lack of regular manpower
recruitment policy due to the financial constraints, which creates information and
knowledge poverty among the tribal farmers.
14
From the results, an overwhelming majority of the tribal farmers expressed
desire to have information on diseases and pest management, suitable crop
varieties, market information, government schemes on agriculture, horticulture,
processing, irrigation, piggery, soil and water conservation, inputs (seeds, planting
materials, fertilizers etc.), medicinal plants, animal husbandry and dairy, weather
information etc.
Among the five major crops grown in the East Siang district, farmers were
interested to receive the information on paddy cultivation, because, Paddy is a
foremost economic crop and also a stable food grain crop for the Adi tribe. Hence,
farmers expressed much interest to learn new practices in paddy cultivation (Table
14).
Table 14. Farmers Crop Specific Information Needs (n=150 farmers)
Sl. No
Subject Matter Crop Name Rice Mustard Maize Ginger Black
Gram 1. Varieties 40.00 12.00 11.30 14.60 2.00 3. Seed treatment 30.00 2.60 4.00 11.30 0.60 4. Nursery
management 42.50 NA NA NA NA
5. Planting method 46.60 0.60 14.00 16.00 0.60 6. Irrigation and
water management 53.30 0.00 0.00 1.30 1.30
7. Manures and fertilizer management
30.00 6.00 6.00 7.30 1.30
8. Herbicide application
32.00 0.60 6.60 16.00 0.60
9. Weeding 58.00 4.60 22.60 20.00 1.30 10. Thinning 29.30 4.00 11.30 7.30 0.60 13. Inter cropping 11.30 0.00 3.30 25.00 0.00 14. Mulching 9.30 0.00 3.30 4.60 0.00 15. Pest / Disease
management 76.60 5.30 4.00 12.00 0.00
17. Storage 26.60 18.00 20.60 19.30 2.60 18. Cropping system 28.00 0.60 4.00 9.30 0.00
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded Even though, Paddy was cultivated by the farmers so many years, due to
pest and diseases problem, weeds and occasional water scarcity (if rainfall fails)
15
makes farmers to demand information on pest and diseases management, weeding
methods and irrigation and water management, planting method and nursery
management and other practices like; varieties, herbicide application, seed
treatment, manures and fertilizer, thinning and cropping system. Farmers expressed
need for the storage related information to store mustard, maize and ginger.
Table 15. Farmers Information Needs in Khasi Mandarin Orange
(n=30 Farmers)
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded
Khasi Mandarin (Citrus reticulata) is one of the major fruit crop in East
Siang district. However, in the selected villages most of the farmers cultivating Paddy
Sl. No.
Subject Matter Farmers No. ( Khasi Mandarin Growing Farmers)
Farmers %
1. Propagation methods and Nursery management 24 80.00 2. Planting Method 25 83.33 3. Irrigation and water management 22 73.33 4. Manures & Fertilizer management 24 80.00 5. Herbicide application 11 36.67 6. Weeding 13 43.33 7. Pruning 18 60.00 8. Inter cropping 19 63.33 9. Mulching 16 53.33
10. Pest management 1.Citrus trunk borer 30 100.00 2.Fruit sucking moth 29 96.67 3. Citrus shoot borer 27 90.00
11. Disease management 1. Alternaria fruit rot 27 90.00 2. Citrus canker 24 80.00 3. Citrus sooty mould 23 76.67 4. Pencillium fruit rot 18 60.00
12. Parasite-Loranthus 10 33.33 13. Harvesting 8 26.67 14. Packaging & Processing 24 80.00 15. Rejuvenation 18 60.00
16
and only one-fifth of the farmers were growing mandarin. In East Sinag district,
farmers are harvesting one of finest quality of khasi mandarin fruits that too
organically (Almost all the orchards are by default organic in nature). However, citrus
trunk borer (Anoplophora versteegi) is the major problem, even though farmers use
ecological indigenous –mechanical method (inserting sharp bamboo stick in to the
hole made by citrus trunk borer), the damage caused by trunk borer creates dying of
tress and lot of revenue loss. Similarly, citrus fruit fly and citrus shoot borer cause lot
of economic loss to the farmers. Similarly, Alternaria fruit rot, Citrus canker and
Citrus sooty mould are major diseases in Khasi mandarin and hence, farmers
demanded information on above pest and diseases management measures. The
Khasi mandarin of East Sinag district is having good market demand in Guwahati,
Assam, due to high quality and organic in nature. Hence, farmers expressed that
packaging and processing information are vital for them. Generally, tribal farmers
collect the seeds and raise the seedlings, which create lot of variability and poor
quality. Hence, farmers’ showed willingness to learn advanced propagation and
planting methods. One fourth of the farmers also demanded information on
intercropping in ginger.
Table 16. Availability of ICTs in the House hold (n=150 farm families) Sl.
No. ICTs ICT
Availability (Per cent)
Useful in Getting Farm
Information
****Frequency of Usage in Getting the Farm
information Regular Occasional
1. Radio 93.30 77.00 13.00 10.00 2. TV 69.00 56.00 10.00 4.00 3. Fixed line
telephone 1.30 1.3 0.00 100
4. **Mobile 7.30 7.30 2.00 10.00 5. Computer Nil NA NA NA 6. Internet Nil NA NA NA 7. *Electricity 42.00 NA NA NA
*Electricity is added as a most required facility for functioning of ICTs ** Mobile available with farmer/ farm women is considered and if other family members’ mobile possession was not considered. ****Calculated from the number of farmers responded as Useful are taken as 100 %
17
A large number of farm families’ are possessing (93 per cent) radio, however,
only 13 per cent of them regularly listening farming related broadcasting (Table 16).
Considerable number of farmers possesses television and very few had fixed
telephones (1.3 per cent). In many villages, there is no infrastructure to install fixed
phone lines. Because of hilly terrain, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) is recommended by
the service providers. However, low signal and frequent connectivity failure of WLL
phone lines discourages the villagers to subscribe them. Only 7.30 per cent of farm
families possess cellular phones. Rural villages are very scattered with low
population and hence, other than public sector telephone and mobile service
providers, the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), other private players have not
expanded their services in rural areas and hence, less percentage of individuals are
having mobile cellular phones. Among 150 farm families surveyed, there is no
computer and internet facility available. Fifty eight per cent of the farm households
were not having electricity connection.
PART III. INFORMATION RELATED TO THE e – GOVERNENCE
Along with the agricultural information needs assessment, framers’ general
purpose of visit to the nearest town, Government offices, source of getting
information related to the Govt. schemes, information on common problem in the
villages, dispute settlement mechanism in village and agency/ person to contact
during the natural disasters were collected to assess the possibility of integrating
other general and e-Governance related services in the e-AgriKiosk project.
18
Table 17. Purpose of Visiting Near by Town (Pasighat /Ruskin /Itanagar etc.) by the Farmers
(n=150 farmers) Sl.
No. Purpose for Visit No Per cent
1. Medical 146 97.30 2. Passport photograph 107 71.33 3. For Photocopying 85 56.60 4. For Banking 74 49.30 5. Typing and printing documents 74 49.30 6. For information regarding Govt. schemes 64 42.60 7. For Education 52 34.60 8. Postal 30 20.00 9. For STD/ISD call 26 17.30
10. Internet 14 9.30 Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded Study results indicated that the farmers are visiting nearby town for getting
medical treatment, passport size photograph, photocopying documents, banking and
other purposes.
Table 18. Purpose of Visit to the Government Offices*
(n=150 farmers) Sl.
No. Purpose of Visit No Per cent
1. Ration Card Renewal 139 92.60 2. ST Certificate 128 85.30 3. Birth Certificate 122 81.30 4. Inner Line Permit 90 60.00 5. Certificate Attestation 80 53.30 6. Driving License 46 30.60 7. Challan Form 37 24.60
(*Circle Office/Block Development Office/Sub-Divisional Office/ Deputy Commissioner Office) Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded Farmers visiting the Government offices mainly for getting ration card/
renewal, Scheduled Tribe certificate, birth certificate, and inner line permit for those
non-tribals visiting to their home/ farm labourers etc.,).
19
Table 19. Contact Person for Getting Information on Various Govt. Schemes (n=150 farmers)
Sl. No.
Information Sources No Per cent
1. Anchal Samithi Members 96 64.00 2. Gram Panchayat Members 76 50.60 3. BDO 46 30.60 4. ZPM 19 12.60 5. AFA 7 4.60 6. NGO’s 2 1.30
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded Table 19 indicates that Anchal Samithi members (ASM) and Panchayat
members are contacted for getting information on Government schemes.
Table 20. Common Problems in the Village (n=150 farmers)
Sl.No. Problems No Per cent 1. Safe drinking water 126 84.00 2. Medical facility 100 66.60 3. Transportation 89 59.30 4. Electricity 87 58.00 5. Road conditions 70 46.60 6. Phone connectivity 60 40.00 7. Education 22 14.60
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded Farmers expressed that Safe drinking water, medical facility, electricity,
transportation, road conditions, phone connectivity are common problems in the
villages (Table 20).
Table 21. Contact Person/ Organisation for Getting Solution for the Community Disputes and Village Common Problems
(n=150 farmers) Sl.
No. Organisation/ Office Number Per cent
1. Local Kebang 148 98.60 2. Sub Divisional Office 28 18.60 3. Deputy Commissioner Office 14 9.30 4. Police station 10 6.60
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded
20
In solving community disputes, village Kebang (Traditional Tribal Council),
plays predominant role (Table 21). Because, since, time immemorial, community
disputes are amicably resolved by the village elders, those who are the integral part
of the Kebang.
Table 22. Contact Person/ Organisation during Natural Disaster (n=150 farmers)
Sl. No. Person/ Organisation Number Per cent 1. Village meeting 84 56.00 2. Contact local leaders 75 50.00 3. Contact Govt. administrator 40 26.60 4. V.D.P 1 0.60
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded During natural disasters, village meeting (Kebang, Gram Panchayat members
and villagers) will be held and decisions will be taken to mitigate the effects of the
natural disasters (Table 22).
PART IV. INFORMATION RELATED TO e-HEALTH
Table 23. Common Diseases Faced by the Farm Family Members (n=150 farmers)
Sl.No. Diseases Number Per cent 1. Malaria 117 78.00 2. Diarrhea 51 34.00 3. Cough 40 26.60 4. Eye diseases 32 21.30 5. Typhoid 20 13.30 6. Jaundice 15 10.00 7. T.B 2 1.30
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded Malaria is the major problem in the villages of East Siang district as Malaria is
an endemic disease in the East Siang district of the Arunachal Pradesh (Table 23).
Table 24. Place of Treatment of Health Related Problems (n=150 farmers)
Sl. No.
Place for Treatment Number Per cent
1. Primary Health Centre (PHC) 107 71.30 2. General hospital 54 36.00 3. CHC (Community Health Centre) 50 33.30 4. Private clinic 16 10.60
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded
21
Nearly three-fourth of farm family members were visited Primary Health
Centre (PHC) for the medical treatment (Table 24). Because, PHC is located at village
itself or in near by villages. Hence, it is convenient to visit the PHC compared to
visiting Government Hospitals, which are generally located in the near by town.
Table 25. Common Practice Followed for Child Delivery
(n=150 farmers) Sl.
No. Place of Delivery Number Per cent
1. Home 122 81.30 2. Hospital 36 24.00
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded
Nearly, four-fifth of the farm family opined that the child births are at village
itself, taken care by the local midwives and only 24 per cent of farm family opined
that they visit hospitals for taking medical test related to pregnancy and child birth
(Table 25).
Table 26. Health Awareness Programme and Information Needs of the Framers
(n=150 farmers) Sl.No. Diseases Number Per cent
1. Malaria 115 76.60 2. Diarrhoa 57 38.00 3. AIDS 52 34.60 4. Jaundice 40 26.60 5. Typhoid 37 24.60 6. Common cough 34 22.60 7. T.B 15 10.00 8. Hepatitis 1 0.60
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded . Nearly, one third of farm family expressed the need for awareness
programmes and information related to endemic Malaria diseases followed by
diarrhea (38 per cent) (Table 26). High number farmers preference for having
22
malaria awareness programmes is due to the fact that during 2009 , in the Pasighat
general hospital 512 number of Plasmodium falciparum (more dangerous) positive
cases were reported and 324 number of Plasmodium falciparum (more dangerous)
positive cases were reported upto October, 2010 (Personal communication from the
general hospital and verified by the e-Village Staff). Further, 2009 there were eight
deaths were officially recorded due to Malaria in East Siang district.
Table 27. Contact Place or Person for First Aid (n=150 farmers)
Sl.No. Places or Persons Number Per cent 1. Doctor 112 74.60 2. Traditional Practitioner 50 33.30 3. ASHA/ Private 42 28.00 4. Sub centre/ PHC 16 10.60 5. Pharmacist 4 2.60 6. Nurse 1 0.60
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded
In connection with the first aid, nearly three-fourth of farm family indicated
that they visit the doctors in PHCs or Government Hospitals.
Table 28. Information Related to ‘’Health’’ Need to be Integrated in the Proposed “e-
AgriKiosk” Project
(n=150 farmers) Sl.No. Services Number Per cent
1. Information on Malaria 79 52.60 2. Information on any other Common Diseases 35 23.30
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded Majority of the farm family opined that information on malaria need to be
incorporated in the proposed e-AgriKiosk project ( Table 28).
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Table 29. Reasons for Health Problems in the Village
(n=150 farmers) Sl.No. Reasons for Health Problems Number Per cent
1. Lack of awareness programme related to health 95 63.30 2. Financial Problem 62 41.30 3. Illiteracy 60 40.00 4. Lack of adequate medical facilities 49 32.60 5. Lack of communication 41 27.30
Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded Majority of farmers were opined that lack of awareness is the main reason
for the health problems in the villages, followed by inadequate financial position to
treat well in advance or to take precautionary measures (Table 29).
Table 30. Contact Sources for the Health Information (n=150 farmers)
Sl. No.
Information Source
Responded YES
No (%)
Frequency of Contact
Adequacy of Information
Obtained
Usefulness of Information
Regular No (%)
Occasional
No (%)
Adequate No (%)
Less Adequate
No (%)
Useful No (%)
Less Useful No (%)
1. Radio 128 (85.30)
120 (80.00)
8 (5.33)
66 (44.00)
62 (41.33)
65 (43.33)
63 (42.00)
2. PHC 91 (60.60)
47 (31.33)
44 (29.33)
35 (23.33)
56 (37.33)
34 (22.66)
57 (38.00)
3. Govt. hospital
89 (59.30)
59 (39.33)
30 (20.00)
55 (36.66)
34 (22.66)
55 (36.66)
34 (22.66)
4. TV 81 (54.00)
25 (16.66)
56 (37.33)
10 (6.66)
71 (47.33)
10 (6.66)
71 (47.33)
5. News paper/ Magazine
23 (15.60)
11 (7.33) 12 (8.00)
1 (0.66)
22 (14.66)
1 (0.66)
22 (14.66)
6. Internet 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7. Mobile 20
(13.33) 0 20
(13.33) 5
(3.33) 15
(10.00) 10
(6.66) 10
(6.66) Note: Multiple responses of the farmers were recorded Radio, Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Governmental hospitals are
important sources of health related information for the farmers (Table 30). All India
Radio, Pasighat regularly broadcasted “Apka Swathaya” at 7.15 pm for 5 minutes in
Adi dialect and also in Hindi language.
24
CONCLUSIONS Survey findings indicated that most farmers are literate and had many years
of the farming experience. However, they had less annual income. Further, there is a
large information gap in the farm information requirements and provisions.
Similarly, information input pattern index score indicated that there is a gap of
nearly 75 to 90 per cent in information source contact, frequency, adequacy and
usefulness of farm information. Along with the farm information, farm families’
require variety of e-Governance and health awareness information.
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End Note: 1Farm Family: A family, which having some cultivable land [owned or taken on lease or otherwise possessed] and is engaged in the agricultural activities as a primary occupation called as a “farm family”. This operational definition is based on the definition of the National Sample Survey Organisation [NSSO], which is quoted in the forth report of the National Commission on Farmers titled “Serving Farmers and Saving Farming, Jai Kisan: A Draft National Policy for Farmers, 2006. 2Adi: The Adi, is one of the major tribe living in the eastern Himalayan hills and they are found in the sub-tropical regions within the districts of East Siang, Upper Siang, West Siang and Dibang Valley Districts of the Arunachal Pradesh State of North-East India. The literal meaning of Adi is "hill" or "mountain top" (Saravanan, 2010). 3Kebang: The well organised village council of the Adi tribes is called Kebang, which administers the village affairs, manages and conducts day-to-day problems of the village. Regulates, formulates laws and issue ordinances for the well-being of the society. The Kebang was formed naturally. The village elders become naturally become village Kebang members. The Kebang is a Democratic institution and Adi tribals are traditionally republican democratic and socialists in aspiration. The Kebang does not rule out capitalistic economy, however, at the same time, they attach importance to the sociologistic ideology. Equality in distribution of wealth and oppourtunities are on their cards (Danggen, 2003). 4Jhum Cultivation: It is a tribal traditional cultivation system involves slashing and burning of the vegetation on hill slopes and using the land for cultivation for two or three years. Then farmers move to new area for doing the same practice. In recent years, the Jhum cycle interval is reduced to two to three years (Earlier days it was seven to eight years of Jhum cycle), the farmers return to the same area for doing shifting cultivation (Saravanan, 2009).
26
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Himalayan Publishers, New Delhi. Department of Planning, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, 2006. Arunachal
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Saravanan, R. and Indra Devi, T., 2008. e-Arik: Using ICTs for Agricultural
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Shanta Meitei, L., and Purnima Devi, Ph., 2009. Farmers Information Needs in Rural Manipur: An Assessment. Annals of Library and Information Studies, 56(1): 35-40. http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/4165/1/ALIS%2056(1)%2035-40.pdf (Accessed on 14th November, 2010)
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