SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT AND

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
INFORMATION

farmers in Bangladesh
face is that of getting the best possible
f the
challenges such as paddy and
oof
Agricultural produce consists of food crops
for their produce. When the produce
and fruit, and cash crops such as jute.
O heal, along
farmers
with vegetables
have to
wholesale market where
find a
can sell it, as well as
they
and turn a profit.
ensure that

cover their investment

ice ffor it to much
i sh a r v e s t e

price remote areas without

a good
at farmers
get allenges that
The
face are formidable: Most live in
they
most are marginal farmers who
eke out a living on small
to markets,
to transportation

best markets for the produce,

and many
in r e s o u r c e s to find the
cannot invest
traditional hold of
a c c e s s .

fland and information. Furthermore, the

plots unable to access printed local
erate and wholesalers is very strong preventing
farmers from straying from
odenders and local
opportunities.
seek better the subcontinent,
markets to c o m m o n to the nations of
of small and marginal farmers is
The problem and Pakistan. Many small Indian
farmers are suffering from
Bangladesh, Nepal from the
including India, not able to recover the input
costs for their crops
crisSis: Ihey are
a Severe economic
farmer suicides in s o m e regions, and in other
has led to large-scale
revenues they obtain. This moved to cities to work as
labour.
farming and have
reve

farmers have simply given up information and

regions Islam, decided try and use
researcher, Sirajul
When young Bangladeshi he faced
the problems of farmers in Bangladesh,
a
(ICT) to alleviate
communication rechnology how to design it so that farmers
could
what technology to use and
win challenges of identifying learned was that the effort of the
effectively. One of the first things Sirajul
use the technology to farmers was a failure.
The government
government to provide
agricultural commodity prices them on a website. Farmersin
from different markets and posting
was collecting information had scant a c c e s s to the internet,
let alone the ability to navigate
most parts of Bangladesh
information they were interested
in.
through the website to find the with a population density of 1000 per
186 million (in 2010)
Bangladesh has a population of countries in the world. Moreover,
most densely populated
square kilometre, making it one ofthe constitutes 20% of the
where the agricultural sector
72% of the population lives in rural areas,
are said to be
below the national poverty line,
total domestic product. About 50% of farmers
was 55%.
2010 the adult literacy rate
Pegged at an income of USD 1.25 per day. In of how information could
be
a n s w e r to the question
Sirajul found that there was no clear which he could
Oiseminated to the farmers. He then decided to
conduct an extensive study by
comfortable with and
what kind of ICT they
were

5Certain what information farmers wanted, to them. He went to 13 (out of a total of 64) dis-
now the information could be communicated from 50 villages. He also
conducted focus
c t s in
Bangladesh, and surveyed over 400 farmers a discussion
a bunch of
farmers in a village and having
8p discussions, by getting together citizens in the
their needs. He spoke to government officials, district
officials, prominent
crOund wholesalers and retailers of agricultural
products.
n, local politicians and policy makers, and mobile phones have the highest penetration in
d u found that of all the ICT services, as compared
to a
rate of
penetration
penetration was at 45% (in 2010),
Mobile
o 6 .the survey was
that income levels
Or internet. One of the most important findings of the that even the
mobile phone. This
meant
wer gnificant in predicting who would own a
DC This demand for a
mobile phone w a s
owned or had access to a mobile phone.
dete ners and wanted to own mobile,
a as

i n e d by lifestyle issues. as m a n y rural people are young elsewnere.

the need to communicate to family members residing women who rent out phone use.
ladies,
ese Villages also have the village phone' (VP)
and allow residents
or
tneir eg
bo onen are entrepreneurs who acauire a mobile phone has increased of rural residents
access
This
immenselu VD ladieshe phones for a nominal charge. the oftheir services, providing
rental access

to fax c have subsequently increased scope

OTax, computers and also the
Ph internet voice features than
the text-based
Svo

vice T Swere more comfortable with using the levels ofthe population. However
omort had to do, partly, with the low literacy better
Sirajul's study showed that the levels of usag of text services increasing, along with a
P were

ErStanding of how to use the system.

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

still relied extensively

on
relatively prim
His study also showed that the farmers the bullock or ox-cart and hand.ca
tde
of farming and transportation. For instance,
Farming relied heavily onin rural labour, as r e
manual f

quently used for transporting goods.

electric-based machinery (electric power
supply is very poor Bangladesh
to access price information,
markets
They absgladesh)
relied price-boards at local agricultural
on
formulated.
the nature of ICT penetration, Sirajul
Given the state of agriculture and The system relied on the mobile.
Information System (AMIS).
ofan Agricultural Market information. The detailed design of the Svcten
the essential mode of delivery of market
mentioned below. information related to varioue.
would consist of price
The input data to the system information collectors would.

ities and che markets in which they are

being sold. Price sprear
information at different time Ooint
and collect price
all the different markets and yards central server using text messages Th
would send back to a
the day. This information they fferent categories and market heads with the hel c
be aggregated under o
messages would information would then be disseminated to armers
server. The
software package on the central
to the push service by specifying the ored
rodue
basis. Farmers subscribed
on a 'push' and a 'pull'
information and this could be sent to them theo
and markets for which they
wanted the hrough
of the produce, the highest
would consist of the name
ad

SMS. Each broadcast ofinformation was recorded. On the pull sysem

the market at which that price
lowest prices for the day and
and then the server would respond with tte

to the central server,

farmers could text their query
relevant price information.
how it would be aggregared
how data would be collected,
The design of the entire system was based on the requirements that
it would be disseminated
-

how it would be verified and how had to make many design choices
of all stakeholders. He
Sirajul had gathered from his surveys data collection and dissemination,
which were made based on
about the m a n n e r and details of could be exploited. Althouyh
farmers and the possibilities that
the needs and priorities of the
were aware of and used
mobile technologies however they could not articulae,
many farmers
had to be configured. They did clearly articulat
and this was also not expected, how the system is available.
them to a c c e s s any information that
their needs and the r e s o u r c e s available to farmers and expr
which was called PalliNET, for
Sirajul eventually implemented the AMIS, showed that farmers were comfortable
with te
mented with it for about 6 months. The results
data that was SMSed to them.
system and used the market price