IDEA Cellular has partnered with Reuters Market Light, part of Thomson Reuters, to launch a product targeted at rural subscribers. ‘Krishi Voucher’, an agricultural information service developed by Reuters Market Light, has been made available for farmers on the IDEA network, in Maharashtra & Goa circle.

India in general and Maharashtra in particular, is heavily dependent on agriculture, which is the most important, and at times, the only source of livelihood for farmers. There is a need to address challenges faced by farmers due to lack of timely, localized, reliable and relevant information on market prices, weather conditions, and other farming best practices. Krishi Voucher is designed to equip farmers with decision critical information that is easy to access and actionable, thus helping them improve both production and marketing of their produce.

This information service, which offers agriculture related information on various crops, pricing, market geographies, and climate/weather conditions and forecast, will be available for over 8 million IDEA subscribers in the state.

Speaking at the launch, Amit Mehra, Managing Director, Reuters Market Light said, “This is a fantastic partnership to expand the unprecedented impact of RML on the farming community. We launched RML in 2007 in India as a business dedicated to address the pain points of farmers. In the process of building this pioneering business, we have continuously improved the service based on customer feedback, however rural distribution and marketing remained a challenge. The IDEA-RML Krishi Voucher, among other advantages, will directly help address this challenge. I look forward to see this expand to many more states in the near future.”

According to Rajat Mukarji, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, IDEA Cellular, “Today, two out of every three new subscribers come from rural India. Our deep-rooted network and strong customer connect in rural India makes us as the preferred network to offer value added services to rural consumers. Maharashtra, as the oldest and largest circle of IDEA, with the deepest penetration in rural parts, and a subscriber base of over 8 million becomes a good starting point for the launch of the Krishi Voucher.”

IDEA subscribers availing this service will get the following information updates:

• Market Prices and Arrivals in 3 markets for each of the 2 crops chosen by the farmer
• 24 hour local weather forecast relevant to the farmer’s Taluka
• Information on best practices of production for 2 crops
• News impacting agricultural marketing and production.

This service is available for a monthly subscription fee of Rs.75 only. The voucher is available at IDEA retail outlets, in Maharashtra & Goa.

Farmers can subscribe to the service by calling on a specially provided Toll Free Number where they would be supported by Marathi speaking customer care representatives to register their preferences such as crops, markets and location. Daily updates will be provided on SMS in two languages - Marathi and English.

Source: India PRwire

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