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| IEC & ICT Specialist Mr. Mallawaarachchi explaining the CSIAP's Digitalization Strategy |
The
Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) discovered its Digitalization Strategy to be implemented by establishing full-pledged ICT unit within each of
the 02 ASCs at Parangiyawadiya of Anuradhapura District and Weerawila of
Hambantota District with trained officials and the necessary equipment to provide
required data related to weather forecast, market, new technology for farmers
living in hot spot areas, where the CSIAP is being implemented, in the Agri
tech vendor forum with BMGF (The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) held
at the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA)
yesterday (10th).
As a pilot project, the CSIAP plans to implement this project in 02 ASCs out of 47 ASCs covering 02 hotspot areas this year. Accordingly, it is expected to extend the implementation of the project in the rest of the ASCs in the 11 hotspot areas gradually within the period of the CSIAP with the lessons learned to develop the ASCs as effective One-stop Service Centers.
The Department of Agrarian Development will implement the ASC Digitalization project with the cooperation of the CSIAP to provide efficient service to the farming community within the project command areas. In this process, the project intends to provide farmers with a better service via the ASC to address issues of neediest and pressing information such as information on weather, crop production technology, market prices of crops, marketing opportunities and marketing links, disaster information which might affect the productivity of farmlands etc. A web-based communication system to provide market and product information, weather information, emergency alerts (early warning), E-Governance data and agriculture-related information, an Online Market Place (OMP) to sell agriculture-related products online, Interactive Digital Smart Board as multimedia, wireless portable sound system, desktops to explore knowledge, and kiosk machine to obtain various services such as allowing users to pay utilities, phone, loan repayments, credit cards or even insurance for beneficiaries will be introduced to ASCs under digitalization said Mr. Samantha Mallawaarachchi, IEC & ICT Specialist of the CSIAP by delivering the presentation on how to execute the ASC Digitalization plan in selected two ASCs in this forum.
BMGF believes that climate change is a major issue facing all of us and focuses on assisting Sri Lanka in the development of Farmer Data Management Systems and Digital Strategy, and ICTA will drive this initiative. The BMGF, a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. The ICTA organized this forum together with the BMGF in Colombo. Representing the BMGF Mr. Siddharth Chaturvedi, top officials of the private sector with senior officials of ICTA led by its Chairman Mr. Oshada Senanayake participated in this forum. Please click Images to see more photos of this programme.
