Abstract
Sugarcane production technologies have been delivered through different media over the years, in countries such as India. In the early years, radio had played a significant role in the transfer of technology process, followed by Television. Farm magazines and newspapers too have played a role throughout. In the 1990s, the Internet arrived and has interconnected the communities to an unimaginable extent. The extension educators in the developed countries had been quick to discover the power of posting information on the web where thousands of people can download and view this information. The commitment of Government of India is that by the end of 2012, every single panchayat will be connected with high-speed broadband access. It is imperative therefore for the sugarcane extension system operating across the states, to shift from being predominantly print-focused, in line with the demands and requirements of the information age. Keeping this in view, the Sugarcane Breeding Institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, has taken the lead and developed a user-centered and database-driven website, CaneInfo (available in www.caneinfo.nic.in) to cater to the needs of the stakeholders in sugarcane farming. The paper describes how CaneInfo was developed systematically, taking into account the information needs of the target audience, and how it was evaluated before hosting. Finally, explaining various features of the website, the paper dwells on the role CaneInfo is expected to play, in disseminating research—based and timely information to the sugarcane growers and sugar factory personnel, in its quest to make sugarcane production more remunerative in the country.
Published Version
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