Grameenphone launched a one-of-a-kind agriculture based service GP Krishisheba 27676 to facilitate informed decision-making by farmers by providing them customized voice consultancy services.

Grameenphone today has launched a unique service named GP KrishiSheba at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel. Using the service, farmers will be able to access pertinent information on farming of crops, vegetables, fisheries, livestock and also nutritional requirements.

GP KrishiSheba will provide customized information to the farmers based on the exact specific crop or livestock or fisheries the farmer wants and also molded according to the region he/she resides. For this the farmer has to register with his/her location and chosen crop/fisheries/vegetables/ livestock. The farmer can choose upto 3 types.

The information will be provided according to the crop calendar and seasons. Therefore, if a farmer from Khulna wants information on Telapia fish based on the climate of his/her region – GP KrishiSheba will provide that tying in the crop-calendar. The information will be based on IVR based contents and also automated voice messages being delivered out to their mobile phones. The service will cost BDT5/week.

Also the farmer will be access to agro-call center where agro-consultants will be available to solve their farm problems for BDT 3/min. Any farmer registering for this service will also be able to make voice calls to any operator for only 1p/sec.

In addition to the above the farmer will be able to validate the originality of the Lal Teer seed pack through the USSD menu of the same port. This will help the farmers to not buy adulterated seeds that hamper productivity. This feature is free for all farmers.

In view of the launch, Yasir Azman, Chief Marketing Officer at Grameenphone, said, ‘Grameenphone always strives to provide the people of Bangladesh with innovative means to make their lives easier. We continually endeavor to cater our services in different forms to people from all walks of life. I believe GP KrishiSheba, the latest addition to our diverse offerings, will add value to the farmers’ lives as well as all associated with it. As an agrarian country Bangladesh needs to use all available technology to increase productivity in this sector.’

The aim of the project is to provide relevant industry experts, agro-extension organizations, and agro-input sellers a unified platform to enhance the efficiency of the agro value chain, making it highly useful to the end users. A pilot phase of the service had been launched, and necessary improvements were incorporated in the latest version. Only during the pilot itself, around 12,000 farmers registered for the service.

GSMA, the global mobile industry body floated a tender calling for proposals in the developing countries and Grameenphone won in Bangladesh. They also provided necessary consultancy in the areas of user-centric designing, content development, marketing, and distribution. WinMiaki Ltd. became content partner for the service and liaised with extension organizations as well as other key agriculture stakeholders. The project is part of Grameenphone’s elaborate effort to serve the needs of 15 million agriculture-dependent households by the use of technology and informative digital platform.