One of the ideas in my mind was to bridge the gap between farmers and consumers.
When yield is ready, the farmer send a SMS to the repository stating the product, quantity, due date, and other relevant information such as eco- friendliness etc.
When consumers are going around the area, they can get to know (either push or pull) that a farmer is willing to sell his yield.
They can negotiate and the consumer can visit the place and buy the product.
Advantages - 1. Eliminate the middle man 2. Possible to inspect the yield before taking out 3. No need to apply preservatives 4. Farmers can get a higher price and consumers can get fresh
Disadvantages 1. Suitable only for small scale farmers 2. Have to go off the road.
Once a buyer buys a book, the buyer has to send a SMS with the unique number given in the book and the name of the buyer to a given number. Then, the buyer gets a unique user name and password. The system registers the user with name and mobile number. The user name and password can be used to register online. The website gives further information. Additionally, there are some interactive sessions and quizzes (competitions). Probably, discounts for other books.
1. Discourage users to buy pirated books 2. Uniquely identify buyers 3. Since phone number is known, further direct communication is possible. 4. Detecting the access of the website by more than one user is possible.
Water and Pest Management (Science and Technology )
Another problem faced be farmers (big or small) and government officers is water management. What are the possibilities to use SENSORS to monitor water quantity passing from one paddy field to another. Also indicate the presence and absent of water in a paddy land. Aggregating individual information from multiple source, a big picture can be drawn to see the water consumption.
Another issue is pest controlling (not sure whether the term is correct). What about issuing good camera and sound capturing devices to identify the growth of pest at early stages.
Interesting idea, specially because of advantage #1. Some comments/questions:
1) in order to be seen as a useful info system, the available info must be as accurate as possible. What protocol do we use in order to get the farmer updating the available quantities of the products. Suppose the farmer announces the availability of 500Kg of Maize, at USD1 per Kg. I happen to be interested in getting 200Kg at that price. Do I simply make it to the road on my way to his farm (taking the risk of not finding the product, due to the fact that the farmer sold it out during my 2Hour 200Km trip to his farm), or I previously make a reservation (like in air ticket)?
2) Who would pay for the info system to be self-sustainable? Do we charge a fee to the farmers, buyers or both?
Answer to question 1) writing references ( a reputation system ) fulfills this requirement. It works well in systems such as COUCHSURFING.COM. Everyone tries to get good references since then future benefits are based on the number and quality of references. What is important is to convince them the long term of being in the community.
2) A service charge can be obtained from the seller or buyer if the cash transactions are made before the meeting take place. It may difficult to charge money, if the money is given once they meet to exchange goods for cash. The other option is keep the system free for ordinary customers and provide additional services to paid users. The issue is what these additional services are.
Have u seen or can we implement a system where the owner of mobile number can build trust based on his or her mobile number. For example, once I prove that I own a particular mobile number, can I get buy some goods or services on credit.
Adding some:
ReplyDelete-Cashless payment Systems (renting Online Movies, Books, Vouchers for Internet Hostpot);
SMS based system for farmers -
ReplyDeleteOne of the ideas in my mind was to bridge the gap between farmers and consumers.
When yield is ready, the farmer send a SMS to the repository stating the product, quantity, due date, and other relevant information such as eco- friendliness etc.
When consumers are going around the area, they can get to know (either push or pull) that a farmer is willing to sell his yield.
They can negotiate and the consumer can visit the place and buy the product.
Advantages -
1. Eliminate the middle man
2. Possible to inspect the yield before taking out
3. No need to apply preservatives
4. Farmers can get a higher price and consumers can get fresh
Disadvantages
1. Suitable only for small scale farmers
2. Have to go off the road.
SMS based system to protect unauthorized copying
ReplyDeleteOnce a buyer buys a book, the buyer has to send a SMS with the unique number given in the book and the name of the buyer to a given number. Then, the buyer gets a unique user name and password. The system registers the user with name and mobile number. The user name and password can be used to register online. The website gives further information. Additionally, there are some interactive sessions and quizzes (competitions). Probably, discounts for other books.
1. Discourage users to buy pirated books
2. Uniquely identify buyers
3. Since phone number is known, further direct communication is possible.
4. Detecting the access of the website by more than one user is possible.
Disadvantage
1. Still copying is possible
Water and Pest Management (Science and Technology )
ReplyDeleteAnother problem faced be farmers (big or small) and government officers is water management. What are the possibilities to use SENSORS to monitor water quantity passing from one paddy field to another. Also indicate the presence and absent of water in a paddy land. Aggregating individual information from multiple source, a big picture can be drawn to see the water consumption.
Another issue is pest controlling (not sure whether the term is correct). What about issuing good camera and sound capturing devices to identify the growth of pest at early stages.
On ** SMS based system for farmers **
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea, specially because of advantage #1. Some comments/questions:
1) in order to be seen as a useful info system, the available info must be as accurate as possible. What protocol do we use in order to get the farmer updating the available quantities of the products. Suppose the farmer announces the availability of 500Kg of Maize, at USD1 per Kg. I happen to be interested in getting 200Kg at that price. Do I simply make it to the road on my way to his farm (taking the risk of not finding the product, due to the fact that the farmer sold it out during my 2Hour 200Km trip to his farm), or I previously make a reservation (like in air ticket)?
2) Who would pay for the info system to be self-sustainable? Do we charge a fee to the farmers, buyers or both?
Answer to question 1) writing references ( a reputation system ) fulfills this requirement. It works well in systems such as COUCHSURFING.COM. Everyone tries to get good references since then future benefits are based on the number and quality of references. What is important is to convince them the long term of being in the community.
ReplyDelete2) A service charge can be obtained from the seller or buyer if the cash transactions are made before the meeting take place. It may difficult to charge money, if the money is given once they meet to exchange goods for cash. The other option is keep the system free for ordinary customers and provide additional services to paid users. The issue is what these additional services are.
Have u seen or can we implement a system where the owner of mobile number can build trust based on his or her mobile number. For example, once I prove that I own a particular mobile number, can I get buy some goods or services on credit.
ReplyDelete