Press release: For immediate publication

SUGARCANE BREEDING INSTITUTE

(IND IAN COUNC IL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH)
CO IMBATORE 641 007

Dr. N.Vijayan Nair

Director

CaneInfo website – a gateway for information resources on sugarcane

C
aneInfo , developed by Sugarcane Breeding Institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research, is an interactive and user‐centered website that provides a platform for sugarcane
growers, cane development personnel, scientists and students to share information and
knowledge on sugarcane. This is a pioneering initiative by any public‐funded sugarcane research
institution in the country.

“CaneInfo is a gift from a nearly 100‐year old research institution to the country,” says Dr.N.Vijayan
Nair, Director of Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, which was established way back in 1912.
‘This website is the culmination of a two‐year research project executed by the institute with the
support of the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt.
of India under the Technology Information Facilitation programme’, he added. This free‐to‐access site
has been developed after taking in to account the information needs of the target audience. “CaneInfo is
unique in that it is completely user‐centered. We recognized that only by bringing the user in to the
development process can the utility of the website be maximized”, Dr.Nair said.

The website is to be launched by Dr K.Jayakumar ,IAS., Joint Secretary, Department of Scientific &

Industrial Research/Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) on 9.7.2010 (Friday) around

2.30 pm at Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore. A demonstration on using CaneInfo has

been arranged at the institute’s auditorium. After the launch, the site will be available at

http://caneinfo.nic.in

more..

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How CaneInfo was developed?
Recognizing that only by bringing the user in to the development process could the utility of the
website be maximized, a series of Focus Groups were conducted among the target audience to identify
their information needs systematically. This unique feature makes CaneInfo stand apart from other
websites. Before designing the website, the CaneInfo team explored the users’ expectations from the
proposed website, their attitude towards internet, their computer usage, the problems they experience
in obtaining digital information and their content priorities in sugarcane production. A prototype of the
website was created with this information and was demonstrated to the target audience for evaluation.
All these efforts culminated in the dynamic and demand driven website CaneInfo.

What CaneInfo offers?

CaneInfo has a blend of both static and dynamic information. It will be constantly developing and
evolving.

Index page of CaneInfo (http://caneinfo.nic.in)

A few modules available in CaneInfo are:
• Ask a Specialist – You can post your questions under different categories and get an answer
from Sugarcane experts. Facility to attach photos provided.
• OFAS (Online Fertilizer Advisory Service)
• Discussion forum – a facility to encourage sharing of information through open discussions on
various sugarcane related issues.
• Suggest a variety ‐ Provides a list of suitable varieties based on user inputs such as zone, state,
tolerance/resistance to various factors such as red rot, soil conditions etc.,
• Publications [English, Hindi & Tamil] /Bibliographic database
• Multimedia gallery
• Success Stories
• What’s available? – Timely information on input/labour/machinery availability.
Contact Information:
Dr.D.Puthira Prathap,
Senior Scientist & Principal Investigator, Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore – 641 007;
caneinfo@gmail.com ; Phone: 0422‐2472621 Extn: 238; FAX: 91‐422‐2472923