savramesh 37 Report post Posted June 13, 2009 (edited) Press Trust of India / Mumbai June 12, 2009, 18:55 IST Leading mobile phone maker Nokia has launched cellphones, which will help farmers get instant information on farm prices in 'mandis'. The company claimed that the new phone could display information in two languages and offer graphically rich user interface. The company will be selling the devices first in Maharashtra and later to other states as also to select countries in Asia and Africa, officials said today. The new devices costing about Rs 2,000 will also help users access education and entertainment services. Agriculture service will contain information on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, market prices and weather. The content will be available for Rs 30 to Rs 60 per month depending upon the information availed. Nokia today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB) at an event here chaired by state Chief Minister Ashok Chavan. MSAMB will provide its expertise in the areas of commodity prices from its network of 291 local 'mandis' or market yards. Nokia India Managing Director D Shivakumar said the company has tied up with Idea Cellular to offer the service and is talking to other mobile operators as well. Edited July 14, 2009 by savramesh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
savramesh 37 Report post Posted July 14, 2009 Now, agricultural info on mobile phones Source PUNE: The state agriculture department is in the final stage of launching a message service to the farmers in the state by which the department will provide them advice and suggestions about agriculture, such as crop, rain, pests and precautions to be taken by farmers. The advice will come through an SMS to the farmers' on their mobile handsets. Speaking to TOI, state agriculture commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh said, "The AMS would serve the purpose of instant information to the farmers using mobile phones. The department has acquired a written consent from around 4,000 farmers in Maharashtra for sending them four messages every month. The messages will be about new pests, initial stages of pests, fertilisers, pesticides and weather forecasts. The messages will be available in Marathi and English scripts and will be sent as per the requirement of the farmer as well as the handset configuration of the user." The department has chosen city-based Microline India Pvt Ltd, an expert in bulk SMS services, to provide infrastructure and technology to the government. The company will receive finalised text messages from the department, which will be sent to farmers in all parts of the state, Deshmukh said. While a single message will cost 14 paise to the government, farmers will get the service free-of-cost. Deshmukh said trials for the service is currently on. The government is planning to extend the service to at least two lakh farmers in the state, who will be prominent personalities of that particular village. "As not all the farmers are literate or use mobile phones, the person receiving the SMS will inform others about the messages," he said. The service has a facility to deliver messages on geography or crop specific information, which will reach directly to the target farmers, Deshmukh added. The state has taken a written consent for starting the service from the Union government. The service could have some agriculture-related commercial messages, which could help in generating income for the department, but earning income is not the main objective, he said. Subhash Bhute, general manager, Microline, told TOI, "The company has provided all the technology, software and infrastructure for the AMS. The company has created accounts for the authorities to generate messages and those will have the right to send it using the provided database and for this, the company has developed special software for the agriculture department." At present, a message of maximum 160 characters in English and 138 characters in Marathi could be sent through the system. Along with the messages, Microline has received ten service numbers, on which farmers can give their feedback, wherever asked by messages "The feedback facility will help the agriculture department to improve its service, which is in the interest of the farmers," said Deshmukh. Some messages will ask farmers to send their feedback about the advice, pest, fertilisers, crop situation, are among others. The questions to be asked will be of basic nature, as not all farmers can type it on phone and send back. “Most of them will be of yes/no type, or ratings type questions,” he added. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
