News Title : Practical Action and Grameen Intel to provide IT-based agro-services

News Date : 2015-10-08

-Business Desk
Practical Action and Grameen Intel Social Business Ltd joined hands to use IT-based agriculture services for the optimum use of fertilizer for specific crops and reduce the input cost of farm households in some areas of Northern and Southern Bangladesh. To this end, Practical Action and Grameen Intel Social Business Ltd signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday, says a press release. Practical Action will take the lead and initiate piloting with potential farmers through entrepreneurs at Sirajganj and Rajbari district which will be scaled up after the successful completion of the piloting. Pavel Hoq, Chief Operating Officer of Grameen Intel, and Hasin Jahan, Country Director of Practical Action, signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations at Grameen Intel’s head office in the capital. Hasin Jahan said, “Practical Action signs the agreement with a wider aim towards supporting farmers to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers. Farmers will be using required quantity of fertilizer and save money, which will ultimately lead improvement of soil quality over time. Soil testing facilities will be made accessible to the farmers through this new initiative.” Pavel Hoq said, “Ongoing activities of Practical Action are very well aligned with what Grameen Intel products do in agriculture. In this consideration, this is a promising partnership. We are very excited about it.” Practical Action, a UK-based international development organisation, works for technology justice and wellbeing to reduce poverty. In Bangladesh, its focus is on agriculture, extreme poverty, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, access to markets, water, sanitation and waste management and energy.

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