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Sichuan is one of the poorest provinces in the western region of China with a population of over 80 million. Farmers account for more than 76% of the population. 90% of the Sichuan territory is mountain area. Due to poor communication and transportation infrastructure in the province, Sichuan farmers have long had problems in selling their products, purchasing supplies and getting appropriate technical assistance. Over 25% of their yearly produce had to be dumped in the fields and wasted because they could not be sold in time. Farmers suffered from outdated seeds, expired fertilizers and contagious diseases because they did not have timely access to the relevant information. TianFu Agriculture Information Network is thus developed to solve these problems.
Tianfu Agriculture Information Network is designed, built and managed by the Sichuan Branch of China Unicom. It is a large integrated network application system for the agricultural community. It includes a mobile network, fixed line phone network, Internet, information collection and handling system, information release system, call center and expert hotlines etc. Through the use of multi media contents, the voice and data networks, call center and hotline support , the system bridged communication gaps between people in poor areas with the rest of the world . The project integrated contents of related agricultural web sites all over the world . It has more than 1000 information collection and release sites deployed all over Western China , and is equipped with over 1000 support staff . It provides timely agricultur al related information o n tech nology, business, trade, medical treatment and sanitation, law , disaster prevent ion and reduction, etc . Through an associated call center and expert hotlines, it provides users with professional consultations on specific issues . The system covers 90% of the population and 70% of total area of the Sichuan province of Western China . This platform and innovative business model is now serving over 600 thousand users (including more than ten minority groups such as Tibetan, Yi, etc.). Over 200 million messages have been sent through the network since its inauguration and almost 3 million farmers have benefited directly from them, with their living standard notably improved. As a result, income of this group of users increased by more than 100 million collectively in the past year. Number of subscribers increases by 80 thousand per month on the average. We estimate that the total number will exceed one million by the end of this year. The project demonstrated how technology can be used to benefit people in poor and underdeveloped areas. Even though these people have low education level or have little previous exposure to high-tech products, they can still access time sensitive information they need smoothly through the Network. It shows a direct ion and gives an example on how digital divide can be bridged in other poor areas around the world.
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