e-Choupal is a web based initiative that provides rural Indian farmers with the products, information and services they need to enhance their productivity. The platform allows farmers to check both global and local future prices before selling; it gives them access to local weather conditions, soil testing techniques and scientific farm practices. Already covering 18,000 villages, the initiative plans to cover 100,000 villages in the next two years that will serve 3.5 million Indian farmers.

It was conceived to allow ITC (the company behind the initiative) to buy directly from farmers, eliminating numerous intermediaries, that not only contribute to increase transaction costs, but keep a high percentage of the margin. Farmers can monitor prevailing soybean prices in several nearby markets and quote an indicative one day crop price based on a sample and then they can decide whether to sell to ITC, in the open market or wait.

In the end, farmers earn higher profits, consumers get food at cheaper prices and the economy as a whole gains from the increase in agricultural productivity.