A Service Contract (SC) was signed between the USAID Agricultural Extension Support Activity (Ag Extension Project) and the Practical Action at the Ag Extension Project’s Head Office at Dhaka on November 12, 2015.
The Krishi Call Center (16123) was established in 2011-2012 and currently operates out of the Agriculture Information Service (AIS) premises in Khamarbari, Dhaka. It has been successfully supporting farmers (crop, livestock and fish), entrepreneurs and other associated clients over last 3-4 years. Aiming to provide no cost and low cost information service, the Center so far has reached around 64,000 clients throughout the country since its inception. The center was a joint initiative of Practical Action (a UK-based INGO) and AIS under the Ministry of Agriculture.
The SC between the Ag Extension Project and Practical Action is initiated to address mainly the following operational aspects:
- Expanding the client base and improving the center’s capacity to effectively respond to customer calls by complementing 2 new operators along with the existing pool, procuring needed ICT hardware and by strengthening gender sensitive operation of the call center to give more access to agricultural information to the women clients;
- Improving mobile-based voice content delivery via the call center/ AIS and initiating business model approach for long term sustainability.
This Service Contract (SC) is expressed mutual acceptance between the two parties to strengthen agricultural knowledge information management and operation of the Krishi Cal Center managed by the Agriculture Information Service (AIS) and Practical Action Bangladesh (PAB).
Mr. Bidyuth K. Mahalder, Chief of Party, USAID Ag Extension Project and Ms. Hasin Jahan, Country Director, practical Action, Bangladesh signed the Service Contract from the respective parts. Senior employees of the Project and Practical Action were present at the signing of the Service Contract. Dr. M. Ehsanur Rahman, Executive Director of Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) was also present at the event. The contract will be effective from December 1, 2015.