Mobile Technology for Addressing Agriculture Challenges

Mridul Chowdhury Founder & CEO

mPower Social Enterprises Ltd.

Jeremy Davis Senior Program Advisor USAID Ag Extension Project

Project Name:

USAID Agricultural Extension Support Activity

(Ag Extension Project) Duration:

5 years (October 2012 – September 2017)

Implementer:

Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) - First project awarded by USAID Bangladesh to a national NGO under the USAID Forward “Local Systems Framework” - Key part of Bangladesh Feed the Future (FtF) initiative

Technical Partners: CARE Bangladesh and mPower

Core Approaches Increased Farmer Access to Improved Extension Services

Establish and Strengthen Farmer Producer Groups • Farmer Producer Group (FPG) formation to give small holder farmers (and women) a collective voice and provide a more attractive platform for extension agents

Improve Capacity of Ag Extension Agents • Capacity building of both public and private extension agents to improve technical knowledge and group facilitation skills; and enhance mobility and communications

Focus on Select Value Chains • Farmer Producer Groups formed around select Value Chain: jute, chili, mung bean, fish, beef fattening, or dairy which represent fisheries, livestock, food and non-food crop; high % women participation

Focus on Information & Communication Technologies • Use of ICT as a core element for improving channels for farmers and extension agents to access ag production and technology information

Access to extension agent is difficult Farmer

Knowledge base of ag extension agent is challenging to update Extension Agent

GOB decision-makers have limited tools to get information on-the-ground situation for timely actions Decision-Maker

farmer’s Difficulty of access to Extension Agents AGRO EXPERT

Farmer Query System

FARMER

PRIVATE EXTENSION AGENT (AICC, UISC)

No Linkage with Expert

EXTENSION AGENT

SELF-EMPLOYED ENTREPRENEUR

SMARTPHONE-BASED QUERY SYSTEM FOR FARMERS

PRIVATE EXTENSION AGENT (AICC, UISC)

QUERIES ABOUT AGRI CHALLENGES

FARMER

REFERS TO EXPERT THROUGH FQS

EXTENSION AGENT

SELF-EMPLOYED ENTREPRENEUR

EXPERT RECOMMENDATION USING PHONE CALL, SMS, VOICE MESSEGE

AGRO EXPERT

Current Status

1412

Key Learnings

ICT leaders are showing significant promise,

agro consultations

76% Farmers applied the recommendation

96.4%

Farmers are

satisfied with the responses

− ICT Leader: 15% − AICC: 59% − Input seller: 1%

Limitations Some issues cannot be solved through a remote consultation.

Recognition Received mBillionth Award 2014, a regional award for recognizing innovative social intervention.

Agro-Knowledge Base

Centralized Web-Portal for Agricultural Knowledge base

Constantly being updated

Agro-Knowledge Centralized in a Web Portal

INNOVATIVE FARMER

Access the portal

Agro-Knowledge

PRIVATE EXTENSION AGENT (AICC, UISC)

VIA MOBILE DEVICES EXTENSION AGENT

Increased Knowledge Base

SELF-EMPLOYED ENTREPRENEUR

Bank

System Map

MOBILE APP CONNECTS TO AGRO KNOWLEDGE PORTAL

TRIAGE BASED MOBILE APP

EXTENSION AGENT

Agro-Knowledge Bank • Usable by a non-agriculture expert • Accessible through web & mobile-phones • Easily updatable by non-ICT expert in the government

Crop Diagnostic application

Insufficient Ground-Level Visibility

Real time Data Digitization & Reporting

Mobile-Based Data Capturing

• •

Govt. Extension Agent

INFREQUENT INSTRUCTION OFTEN > 2 MONTHS OFTEN NOT SPECIFIC AND LOCALIZED ENOUGH

Manually Capturing Field Problems

Aggregate Report After 15 Days

Forward Instructions in RealTime

Govt. Ag Decision-Maker

System Overview

View Web Dash Board

Decision-Maker

• • •

Regional and Local data visualization Real time report generation Specific and localize instruction