A free voice forum lets Gujarati farmers who can't read record questions and hear expert answers by phone. A randomized trial of 1,200 farmers found 90% used it (22 calls each) and it raised recommended-input adoption by 12.5%, with no measured yield change.
1,200
Households in RCT (2011-2013)
40
Villages in RCT (2011-2013)
90 %
Treatment households calling service at least once
22
Average calls per treated household (over 2 years)
12.5 percentage points
Increase in adoption of recommended seeds/inputs
Details
Maturity
Established
Promoter
Awaaz.De (originally IBM Research India / Development Support Centre)
IBM Research India's Delhi lab and the NGO Development Support Centre launched Avaaj Otalo in Surendranagar district, Gujarat, in 2008: a free interactive voice forum letting any-phone-owning farmers record and browse farming questions and expert answers without needing literacy or a smartphone.
Objectives
The service aimed to deliver agricultural extension advice to illiterate and low-literacy farmers, and was later evaluated to measure its effect on input adoption, yields and profits.
Activities
From January 2010 the spin-out social enterprise Awaaz.De commercialised and extended the IVR model; a 2010 CHI field study documented its growth into a moderated social space, and a 2011-2013 randomized controlled trial by Cole and Fernando gave free access to 1,200 cotton-farming households across 40 villages.
Results
Ninety percent of treatment households called the service at least once (averaging 22 calls each over two years) and were 12.5 percentage points more likely to adopt agronomists' recommended seeds and inputs than the comparison group; the RCT found no measurable effect on yields or profits over its study window.
Conclusions
Avaaj Otalo is one of the more rigorously evaluated ICT4D voice services (peer-reviewed CHI study plus an independent RCT), and it evolved into Awaaz.De, an operating multi-sector IVR company still active as of 2024-2025.
Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Moderate cost: IVR platform development (IBM Research), NGO partnership costs, plus a dedicated RCT evaluation budget (Harvard Business School/Notre Dame researchers).
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — 2008 pilot launch, 2010 commercialisation as Awaaz.De, RCT conducted 2011-2013, still operating as of 2024-2025.
Staffing & skills
IBM Research India (original technical team), Development Support Centre (NGO partner), Awaaz.De (spin-out operating company), agronomist experts answering questions
Conditions for success
toll-free/low-cost IVR access requiring no literacy or smartphone
expert agronomist content and a moderated peer question-and-answer forum
an operating entity (Awaaz.De) to sustain and commercialise the service beyond the research pilot
Common failure modes
no measurable effect on farmer yields or profits found in the RCT despite higher input adoption
dialed/menu input outperformed open voice recording for less-educated users, a design lesson from the CHI study
Where it fits
Governance type
NGO/research pilot transitioning to social enterprise
Scale
district-level pilot, later multi-sector commercial service
Income level
low-income smallholder farmers
Do you run this practice?
Claim it —
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Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
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