Recognizing the significance of information and communication technology (ICT) as a powerful tool for bridging the infrastructure gaps in rural India, EID Parry regarded the Internet as the next logical medium for delivering its farm extension services. Indiagriline is an effort to provide an end-to-end solution addressing the needs of the farming community in South India. EID Parry launched this project in early 2001 by setting up Internet kiosks in 16 villages around its sugar factory in Nellikuppam. These kiosks were called Parry's Corners, named after a famous landmark in Chennai and were intended to be business hubs of their respective villages-a one-stop shop that acted as a storefront for buying farm inputs, a market for selling goods, and an Internet café for communication and information services.

Indiagriline: The Vision

The strategic goal of the Murugappa Group was to ultimately develop the following capabilities: 

• Distribution infrastructure: This infrastructure would be capable of supporting bidirectional distribution of products and services into and out of rural India. Therefore, developing a low-cost channel for rural distribution was a key goal.

• Trading infrastructure: This would serve as the foundation to a platform for trading agricultural commodities and rural industry manufactured goods.

Towards achieving these ends, EID Parry forged and facilitated partnerships among a wide range of organizations, including Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) and its research stations, Tamil Nadu University for Veterinary and Animal Sciences (TANUVAS), National Horticulture Board, AMM Foundation, and Murugappa Chettiar Research Center, to create the agriportal Indiagriline.

www.indiagriline.com was developed by using in-house expertise. It fashioned a franchise-based business model to meet the demand for information and connectivity. These kiosks are owned and operated by franchisees trained to operate the system. Although EID Parry covers the cost of establishing the infrastructure for voice and data connectivity, the franchisee also contributes his portion and attends to the operational expenditure of the kiosk. This cooperative relationship builds a win-win situation for both parties involved. 

Each Kiosk has a corDECT wall set, a PC, printer, telephone, furniture and a power source with a back up. The franchisees can leverage the EID Parry brand name to attract customers to their location for selling products or services. They also benefit from a wealth of knowledge transferred to them by EID Parry on how to successfully manage and operate the Parry's Corners. EID Parry also offers assistance in financing the franchisees through arrangements with third-party lending institutions such as Indian Bank.

In a rural setting where literacy rates are low and fear of and resistance to technology are high, this facility is slowly changing the life of the farmers, who, instead of traveling to the company or other places to get their business done, now walks into the neighborhood for information. Says Arunachalam, a sugar cane grower who runs the village Kiosk in Pagandai, "Farmers, though illiterate or semi literate, now realize the potential of the technology. Slowly, it is trickling down and in the near future we can expect more people using the technology".