Dialog launches ‘SAVIYA’, mobile advisory service for dairy farmers

Friday, 17 January 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, announced the launch of ‘SAVIYA’, a mobile based advisory service for dairy farmers to improve dairy production capacity, quality of milk produced, and health of livestock.

The service is provided in partnership with the International Executive Service Corps (IESC) who aim to advance sustainable growth in Sri Lanka’s dairy sector by supporting farmers and related enterprises through the Market-Oriented Dairy (MOD) Project, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) ‘Food for Progress’ initiative. The service’s technical knowledge content is provided by the subject-matter experts of the MOD Project.

Despite the importance of dairy in the Sri Lankan livestock industry, the country meets only 30-40% of the growing local fresh milk demand. While the MOD Project aims to enhance the capacities of over 5,000 dairy farmers to improve the quantity and quality of locally produced milk, it found that lack of timely access to relevant information continues to be a prominent issue affecting over 332,335 Sri Lanka’s dairy farmers.

SAVIYA addresses this information gap by providing accurate and relevant information on dairy best practices, dairy management, cattle feeding and calf management, sent straight to the farmer’s mobile phone and customised according to the farmer’s individual requirements, animal’s development stages, and other relevant information, such as good nutrition and disease prevention.

This service will complement existing extension efforts by DAPH, Provincial DAPHs and dairy processing companies, enabling a broader reach by providing registered dairy entrepreneurs and farmers with time-sensitive, commercially valuable technical messages via text and voice linked to the lactation cycle of animals from pregnancy to calving.

A soft-launch of the product was carried out at the Market-Oriented Dairy Enterprise Day held in Anuradhapura, which was attended by over 800 dairy farmers.