dtac Smart Farmer project

dtac Smart Farmer

At dtac, we believe that for the disempowered, mobile internet can be a way out of poverty and the means to better education, health, economic development and security. It's however not enough to simply provide Internet access but to leverage the full benefits of meaningful digital solutions to address social, economic and environmental problems, close the inequality gap, and empower societies which has been undergoing the transformation into Thailand 4.0. In Thailand, about forty percent of Thailand's population work in the agricultural sector. Only 10 percent of the country's GDP is produced by this same sector, reflecting low productivity and inequities that can be improved with access to mobile farming information services. Young generations (under 25 years old) represent lower than 1% of total farming population (approx.13 million) in Thailand. The poor representation of younger generations is threatening the sustainable future of Thailand’s major economic sector. With the vision of empowering the Thai society, we want to strengthen the society’s productivity and competitiveness with our expertise and resources through breadth of partnership schemes. Our commitment to ‘dtac Smart Farmer’ program has been set to deliver on the UN Global Goals (UN SDGs), particularly #10 - 'Reduced Inequalities'. This is a part of our business strategy with sustainability principle at its core. dtac Smart Farmer for positive economic and social impact Since 2013, dtac together with the Sam Nuek Rak Ban Kerd Foundation introduced the first-ever application specifically designed for farmers to increase farming productivity and enhance sale opportunities with insights of market and consumers. The application becomes a platform of knowledge – wisdom sharing and management among farmers in different generations and regions. Thai farmers can gain and share knowledge on the integrated platform, e.g. produce prices, weather conditions, prevention and control of epidemics, tools and techniques for the improvement of the quality and quantity of products, and marketing. This application has been downloaded 200,000 times so far. In 2016-2017, dtac has carried out several initiatives to generate ground breaking impacts to young farmers’ lives on the farm. Details of each initiative are:- 1. Agriculture Online Marketing Training Course – Among top pain points mentioned by smart farmers is how to capitalize opportunities online. dtac in partnership with Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives organizes the training courses nationwide to train farmers to successfully present and sell their products online; ? Background and importance of information and communications technology (ICT) to farmers ? Online marketing for agricultural products: ? Workshop on how to build online store ? Components needed for e-commerce - Product recommendation techniques e.g. writing product description, developing sales promotion, and writing post/reviewing product on online store - Value added product development and packaging ? Financial scams ? Trust protocols ? Workshop on how to develop sales promotion for agricultural products - Techniques for taking product photos with smartphone - Techniques for making product video clips with smartphone - Workshop on how to take and retouch product photos with smartphone so as to boost sales - Advertising on Facebook and ad targeting - Increasing Facebook reach without paying - Online shopping scams prevention 2. IoT solutions for agriculture [Precision Farming] In 2016-2017, dtac has partnered with NECTEC, Thailand's National Electronics and Computer Technology Center and Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE), inventing an IoT solution for agriculture. The device, a sensor based with the capability to monitor five parameters (light, soil humidity, temperature, water, wind), is linked to a router with dtac’s SIM card relaying the information to the cloud. This solution will eventually enable the system to send targeted advisory information to farmers’ based on farm-level granular data. Overall, dtac hopes to help smallholder farmers’ benefit from productivity gains by making the farming process more time efficient. For example, the solution would help monitor and automatically adjust temperature in a storing room depending on the crop’s specificity. In early 2017, thirty sets of devices are installed and trialed by farmers across the country. dtac and NECTEC continue working to enhance other automatic features to make it a completed precision farming. 3. Precise, customized weather forecast and satellite imagery dashboard In 2017 dtac partnered with Ricult who has innovative localized and customized solutions to address farmer problems by using satellite to help analyze yield potential and advise them on how to improve their productivity. dtac and Ricult initiated a pilot project that integrates Ricult’s precise weather data and satellite imagery technology into the existing “FARMER INFO” application. In addition to agricultural news and useful information now available on the app, these additional features will provide Thai farmers with 1) accurate weather data and 2) customized satellite imagery, which allow them to improve their farm management practices, leading to higher productivity and profitability. The project will be divided into two phases: Phase1 - Testing the solution with farmers and will complete by February 2018 Phase2 – Solution launch on June 2018 4. Annual Smart Farmer Award: dtac, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and Rak Baan Kerd Foundation present the award to recognize outstanding efforts of 10 young and smart farmers who applied digital technology to improve farming productivity and promote value proposition. This year, the excellent award goes to a young lady farmer, named Ms.Jirawan Khamsour, a cultivator of organic golden Cordyceps from Chiang Mai province. She shows her great ability to use innovation and research in agricultural planning, covering a whole ecosystem from upstream to downstream. She differentiates traditional farming with market-led strategy, while traditional farmers struck with supply side. Her product is traceable by using quick respond code (QR code), ensuring customers will get genuine products. She also joined forces with members in her community for wealth distribution.

http://www.dtacsmartfarmer.com

National implementation: Thailand

Planned for future from 20/12/2017 to 31/12/2020

- Department of Agricultural Extension under Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperative. - Thailand's National Electronics and Computer Technology Center [NECTEC] - Ricult -Ruam Duay Chuay Kan Sam Nuek Rak Ban Kerd Foundation [non-profit organization and evolving to be a social enterprise]

      * E-agriculture

• Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
• Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
• Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
• Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
• Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
• Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

• Project