Nokia, recently concluded the pilot phase of its Nokia Life Tools (NLT) service in some villages in Maharashtra.
By subscribing to the service, on a trial basis now, farmers can benefit in terms of information on access to weather, news and crop advisory services like information on probable diseases, weather based disruptions and tips for successful harvests.
Talking to Deccan Herald Markand said “Prior to NLT, I had to depend more on my own farming experience for sowing seeds to harvesting. I had to visit market 3-4 times just to get the price for the produce and then had to wait till I get a good price.”
Thanks to NLT, Markand and his ilk can now plan labour, sowing, harvesting and selling their produce better, and with more predictable results than they were able to do earlier. Markand said he has become more popular in this area as more and more farmers have begun to depend on his expertise obtained through Life Tools. Nokia has enabled the NLT service in Nokia 2320 and Nokia 2323 handsets, each costing Rs 3,000. With greater awareness on market conditions, farmers also appreciate time and money saved from not having to make multiple trips to market to get the latest rates.
Handy information
“NLT comes in handy to me supplementing the information I needed to use and enhance my livelihood,” says Datta Shankar Dhonga, another 40-year old farmer in Hadapsar village.
Currently, NLT Agriculture is available for Rs 60 per month in 10 states including Maharashtra, which provides market prices for three crops chosen by the subscriber, besides weather, news, advice and tips. NLT Education is available for Rs 30 per month with three components — Learning English at basic2advanced levels, while the other two are: Exam preparation – which offers students tips and advice for ICSE, CBSE and State Board level exams mapped in the relevant curriculum – and General Knowledge giving useful information they need. Enthused by success, Nokia will expand NLT service to select countries across Asia and Africa later this year.
