This document will give you an insight about the Strategic Development of Agro-Meteorological Advisory Service. This would guide you to understand about the context of Bangladesh,which departments are mandated to provide what information and how our service can be a bridge between citizens and government departments though which citizens can respond to certain disaster shocks.

1. Towards Strategic Development of Agro-
Meteorological Service in Bangladesh
Syed Mahmud Hasan
ICT Specialist
Dr. Faruk Ul Islam
Head of Business Development & Quality Assurance

2. Context
• An effective agro-meteorological information and advisory service is
based on input from meteorology coupled with agricultural information,
hydrology, agricultural extension and ICT.
• The erratic weather patterns created a challenge for farmers to make
both day to day/weekly (tactical) and strategic agricultural farming
decisions
• Climate induced variability in crop productivity accounts for about two-
third while other factors including soil, pest and nutrients management
account for one-third of the productivity (Reddy and Reddy, 2007)
• Forecast of rainfall and temperature distributions can substantially
contribute to increase agricultural productivity and thereby improve
farmer’s livelihood (Jones et al., 2000; Meinke and Hammer, 2000)

3. Our ICT Infrastructure Investment
• Farmer Database 234,000
• 3 servers (1 for BMD)
• One local weather station for BMD
• 56 digital weatherboard in 7 districts
• One National Call Center with MoA
• Total voice message disseminated
to 162000 clients in 18 months
• 6000 client survey: 90% benefited,
10% had trouble, 86% reduced
crop damage

4. Some good initiatives by the DAE, BMD, BWDB, donors, Practical
Action, RIMES, mPower, CIMMYT, Winmiaki, GEOPOTATO, Research
Institutes focused on – more localized forecast, flood forecasting, online
Met-Bulletin, quality of forecast, crop modelling, content development,
problem specific interpretation of forecast, local weather & farming
observation, delivery channel, weekly/ten days forecast, early warning
and creating problem specific advisory service channels.

5. Key issues at national level
Weather data localization
Local data interpretation,
Agro-met content
Sending to end users
Central Portal
64 District Agro-
met Centre
487 Upazila
4500 Union
Display Board
Other users
Framer

6. Specific concerns
1. Expert pool , Content creation, validation and quality control
2. Evaluating forecast performance, Ten days, Short/long term and
seasonal forecast for farming?
3. Delivery channels? Cost ? Faster ?
4. BMD,DAE,BWDB, DLS, DoF, AIS develop a SOP,
5. Private companies, research institutes, universities, specialised
INGOs
6. Agro-met Bulletin online of BMD
7. Utilise Specialized Expert System for Agro-Meteorological Early-
Warning (SESAME) developed by RIMES?
8. Local weather data/Station

7. RIMES
(weather/forecast
data processing)
Practical Action
(interpretation,
delivery)

9. How we did?
• The Specialized Expert System for Agro-meteorological Early-
Warning (SESAME) developed by RIMES and Practical Action under
the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) project utilized multiple
numerical weather prediction models to provide localized weather
forecasts
• In addition, an automated weather station was installed in
‘Shyamnagar’ and integrated with the National observational network
in order to minimize the gap in availability of observation data
• The voice message has been used, the weather information boards
have been installed to provide AV-Audio Visual messages and real time
information

10. Our approach was :
• As SESAME requires the input of local crop information for
generating advisories currently the UAO-Upazila Agricultural
Offices have been capacitated to utilize the SESAME system and
provide advisory to the farmers
• AIS/DAE in attached with Call Centre is supporting at the National
level in providing adhoc basis advisory
• For interpreting the crop-weather relationship, in cases where the
information is unknown, RIMES determined the normal values for
different weather parameters at the local level and utilized this data to
overcome the gap

12. Application
development TK
1,30,000
18%
Voice broadcast
Server
(Router,UPS,
peripherals)Tk.
187000
25%Weather
localisation server
Tk.145000
20%
Farmer database
(10,000)Tk. 100000
13%
Validated content
(2000) database Tk
180000
24%
FIXED COST AGRO-MET SERVICE 10000
CLIENTS MODEL
Application development TK 1,30,000
Voice broadcast Server (Router,UPS, peripherals)Tk.
187000
Weather localisation server Tk.145000
Farmer database (10,000)Tk. 100000

13. 29%
8%
44%
13%
6%
Agro-met Service 10000 clients: Operational cost one year break up
Content interpretation validation(62) Tk. 217000
Voice content creation (62) Tk. 62000
Sending voice message (@.54 Tk)Tk. 334800
Shared Call Centre Agent (#3)Tk. 99360
Space, repair, electricity etc. Tk.48000

14.  Installing server, creating farmer database and base content
development are the key fixed cost covers around 7.5 lac BDT,
 Main variable costs are - voice broadcast, content creation,
interpretation and salaries of live agent under call centre covers
around 7.5 lac BDT.
 If we start to serve a client base of 10000 farmers, per client
calculated cost would be 150 BDT for such service.
 Such agro-met service can start independently if each client pays
100 BDT per year for a registration for problem specific
interventions.

15. Strategic recommendations:
 Strong integrated coordination between key state agencies - BMD, DAE, BWDB
is urgent in terms of data sharing, developing content. Capacity of local,
national expert pool need to be enhanced first to build capacity at district and
union level. University teachers and field level scientists specialised agencies
need to be engaged.
 Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be developed by the state agencies -
BMD, DAE, BWDB.
 Role of AIS, DLS, DoF, research institutes, private sector, specialist agencies
can be defined as complementary or main on specific service based
 Delivery channels - Web, media, Call Centre, Radio, mobile phone based Voice
message, Digital Weather board at Union Council, Agricultural local hubs, local
agricultural agents
 Private sector and specialised agencies, research institutes ICT firms can be
engaged in problem specific agro-met advisory services, local agricultural data
collection, farmer database preparation, forecast performance monitoring and
capacity building
 The SESAME can be improved and used by BMD, DAE and other relevant
agencies

16. Questions
1. How can we strengthen capacity of expert pool at different level to create,
validate and quality control of agro-met contents and a advisory service?
2. How can we better use /improve SESAME for BMD? What are the diverse
delivery channels? What about cost and investment needed?
3. How can we evaluate forecast performance ? How can we go for long term and
medium term and seasonal forecast for farming and what are the faster ways
of dissimilation?
4. How can we strengthen coordination, sharing between BMD, DAE, BWDB?
How they can develop a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)? How to bring
DLS and DoF in more strong engagement for agro-met service?
5. How can we improve the current agro-meteorology online bulletin of the Agro-
meteorology Division of Meteorological Department?
6. How do the private companies, research institutes, universities, specialised
INGOs can play better role in the process?
7. How to build capacity of DAE, DoF, DLS, DoF, WDB, BMD on giving better
agro-met service and communities on crop weather relationship?