Seeding the Idea
Mehra, who was earlier in charge of Reuters' new business development and innovation in London, credits the RML idea to his Swedish team member, Mans Olofors (who currently heads the Reuters Search and News team in Geneva). "I still remember the day Mans walked into my office and said, `I need somebody to carry this out,' as he handed a one-page idea letter to me." The Thomson Reuters board approved the idea and Mehra was asked to lead the project.

RML identified two markets to launch its service: India and Africa. In fact, the company first decided to launch its services in Africa, and even went there to study the market. Soon, however, it realised that it was Indian farmers who faced an information crisis. "The only source of information for them was Krishi Darshan on Doordarshan. But that gave them only a macro view of things," says Mehra.
Most farmers relied on intermediaries for local market rates. The latter invariably took them for a ride. Lack of proper information on crop-related technology was also a huge bane.

"Poor farmers never get to know of any government policy decisions," says Manohar, the Sarpanch of Dawadi village. He pulls out his mobile and retrieves a text message on agricultural subsidies announced by the Finance Ministry. He received the message the day the news was announced. "Usually, it takes months to reach us."

Manohar, who cultivates roses for both the export market and domestic ones such as Mumbai, Pune and Delhi, receives messages on prices in all these markets at 4 pm every day. "This helps me to make an estimate of what the likely rates would be the next day and how many bunches I should send to the market. I save almost Rs 1,000 every day. Earlier, I had to call up each and every market and find out the rates," says Manohar. "I was not even sure whether I was getting the right price," he adds. A short, pot-bellied person, Manohar is visibly the friend, guide and philosopher of hundreds of farmers like Dumbre. As he recounts his RML experience at his village office, about half a dozen farmers huddle around him respectfully.

If there was a huge need for information among farmers, there were means to take it to them as well. The mobile phone penetration in villages was more than 30% even in 2006. Around 4-5 million new mobile subscribers are added every month in rural India. "This was an added incentive to launch the service," says Mehra.
The company launched its service in India in April 2007, and five months later, made it a pay service. This is how it works: RML has a team of reporters who track 600 mandis in the country. It also has partnerships with agricultural universities for content sharing. The information thus gathered is sent out to the farmers through tie-ups with mobile service providers. Those who want the service fill an application form, specifying the information they need, the markets they operate in and the crops they grow. The user profile system developed by RML captures the individual farmer's details, mobile number, and preferences. This is connected with the mobile delivery platform, which sends the messages based on the user profiles. "We have a very systematic customer feedback system, which we use periodically to confirm that the messages are going as per individual preferences," says Mehra.

The subscription can be renewed by buying pre-paid cards available at village post-offices, Sarpanch offices and kirana stores. RML offers information on over 150 crop types and covers over 500 markets.

But can Indian farmers actually afford a service such as RML? Krishna Durbha, Head, Value-Added Services (VAS), Reliance Communications, says that the rural consumer purchases as much VAS as the metro consumer. "A mobile screen is like an entertainment screen for villagers. The demand for such services is huge." Bollywood music and caller tunes account for over 60% of VAS consumption in the smaller markets. But will the same consumer spend Rs 600-Rs 800 a year for farm updates? "If the information is credible, they will definitely pay for it, and RML has proved its credibility," says Durbha of Reliance Communications. In fact, Reliance Communications has also launched a service called Mandi Bhav, which provides commodity prices to its customers through SMS.

Give Me More
While most farmers are happy with RML's services, almost all of them have a huge wish-list for the company. Vinay Shinde, Production Manager, Suntek Agro (which exports roses to Europe, as well as to domestic markets), is happy with RML's weather and market alerts. But he feels that crop-related information needs to be more advanced.

"My revenues have gone up by 20% thanks to the weather and market alerts, but I don't find the technology tips all that useful," he says. "We would also like to know the prices at more markets, which could help our expansion plans," says Sarpanch Manohar. Currently, most RML subscribers can choose a maximum of three markets for which they get alerts. Nine out of ten farmers want information on more than three markets.

Mehra of RML admits that the company is aware of the drawbacks in its services and is working towards improving content. "We are partnering with agricultural universities to offer more advanced crop-related information."

The company is also looking at providing other information like updates on power supply. Since electricity supply is erratic in rural India, a load-shedding schedule could help the farmers, says Mehra.