Monash University and Oxfam Bangladesh have collaborated on a 5-year development project worth $3.86 million to help over 20,000 farmers in Bangladesh access to a mobile information system. The project will propel the framers towards economic stability and empowerment. Dr Larry Stillman from the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University has been leading the project delivered through Oxfam Bangladesh.
The goal of the project is “to establish a two-way interactive text/voice system. Not only will the system answer questions, but it could also send targeted notifications of issues such as rising river heights or insect infestations. Given the limited literacy, and the power of the phone as voice device, voice interactivity will be an important part of the project,” Dr Stillman said.
The database system will use topic modeling to group voice and text messages, which can be ranked by importance/urgency. Tools such as computational geometry will determine the location of mobile phones close to a specific event, and will send a notification.
Critical to the project is the community involvement, particularly women in determining their information needs and priority in conjunction with experts, rather than experts deciding what is important.
Snehal V Soneji, Country Director from Oxfam Bangladesh said, the project provides a great opportunity for Oxfam in Bangladesh to explore innovative ways to enhance community information exchange, and support communities in the country to lift themselves out of poverty, with women playing a leading role.
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