Agriculture Call Centre
A number a farmer can ring and get an answer from someone who knows the crop, the district and the season.
A question that waits for the next training is usually too late.
Trouble in a field keeps its own schedule. The call centre lets a farmer describe what they are actually looking at — a leaf that has changed colour, a shed that smells wrong, a crop that has simply stopped growing — and get an answer the same day from an extension technician, in Nepali or Maithili.
Straightforward questions are answered on the call. Anything that has to be seen is moved on rather than guessed at: a photograph asked for over the messaging channel, a visit arranged through the nearest agriculture knowledge centre, or a sample brought in to the laboratory. Where the question belongs to a subject department, the call is referred there.
Every call is logged — crop, district, question, and what was advised. Read together, that log is the most honest account there is of what the province is struggling with in a given season, and it goes to the Directorate of Research when the next programme is drawn up.
What the call centre handles
- 01Pest and disease identification, from a description or a photograph
- 02Fertiliser and nutrient advice, read against a soil test result
- 03Variety choice and where to source quality seed
- 04Irrigation, drainage and weather-related decisions
- 05Livestock, poultry and fish health questions
- 06Post-harvest handling, storage and market information
- 07Referral to the nearest knowledge centre, laboratory or veterinary hospital
- 08Where and when the university's next training will be held