Bangladesh has already had success in transforming the country into a digital country. Now it is the time to move toward a smart Bangladesh. The results of digital transformation are the basis for thinking about a Smart Bangladesh.
Furthermore, "smart Bangladesh" refers to a strategic approach to transitioning the country from a developing one to a developed one.
To make this happen, like digitalization; we need to maximize the use of technology. Bangladesh is an agricultural country, so to have a smart Bangladesh and improve our agricultural contribution; we need to make smart use of technology in agriculture. ePolli is one such smart initiative to skill, train, and support farmers to grow and contribute to the economy of the country.
ePolli, the country’s first technology-based agricultural fintech venture with crowdfunding, is a one-stop solution for farmers in Bangladesh, based in Sirajgonj, and has connected a number of farmers with technology in the last two years, making the farmers smart and earning more using technology. However, due to a lack of technological adoption and funding, family farming and local farmer's production are declining.
Founded in 2020, ePolli is an award-winning tech agricultural startup in Bangladesh well known for changing farmers' lives using IOT, machine learning, and satellite remote sensing technologies for improving farm productivity, marketing, and investor linkages for Bangladeshi farmers.
Recently, ePolli has arranged a program titled the Co-Ordination Meeting in Dhaka and launched a specialized ‘Krishi Privilege Card’ service to provide a sort of special service for the farmers with health, shopping and travel facilities. Using this card, a farmer will enjoy up to a 30 percent discount on treatment at Ibn Sina and Shomorita Hospitals in Dhaka, apart from local hospitals' travel from their own area and the purchase of fertilizer or necessary agricultural inputs. The first card was handed over to Md. Dulal Mia, a farmer, by CFO Mohammad Ali, co-founder of ePolli, during the program.
Co-founders Junaed Ahmedand SM Abdus Salam Mamun, e-CAB rural e-commerce Chairman Ibrahim Khalil, e-CAB founding member Mir Shahed Ali, and others were present at this ceremony.
Meanwhile, 13 investors who had invested in the animal husbandry program through crowdsourcing received the dividends against their investment and the cheques were also handed over to them during the same event. They also announced plans to sell Polli food-branded organic products such as rice, oil, and ghee. Anyone will able to purchase these products using mobile apps and also from the website.
In his keynote speech Junaed Ahmed said that ePolli is to support the farmers in mitigating challenges in family farming and adoption of technology and growing. We have built an experimental investment-cultivation-marketing ecosystem in Sirajganj and Savar to empower farmers and connect common people to agriculture by combining technology and innovation.
Having knowledge and experience in the high-tech sector, I envisioned a technology solution that could improve farmer efficiency, reactivate the family farm, establish market links, and eventually increase farmer income.
We provide on-ground farm advisory, training to use modern techniques, sell farm inputs, provide formal credits that we received from investors, and offer market linkages for farmers to sell their harvest produce and livestock. Besides, ePolli supports and encourages family members of the farmer to become agro-enterprises under the family farming project and ensure the supply of safe food and healthy living.
To return the best for the investor, especially in the cow fattening project ePolli is using IOT and machine learning solutions so that the investor can monitor the cows' growth sitting at his home in urban areas. We are planning to build an agro based resort in Shokhipur as an opportunity for the urban people to experience and enjoy the farming and smart agriculture there. – further added by Junaed.
We are losing cultivable land by 1% every year, and the population of Bangladesh will be 250 million by 2050, when food supply will be the key challenge to mention. Therefore, we need to focus on agriculture and encouraging such initiative to be success.
ePolli intends to implement this initiative nationwide in order to address the issue of food security by converting agriculture into digital and smart agriculture.
BDST: 1242 HRS, Aug 4, 2022
MN/SMS
