Family Farming Knowledge Platform

SMS for good shepherding: providing information when and where it is needed

Anthra, a non-profit organization working primarily on issues of livestock development in the wider context of sustainable natural resource use, worked with migratory shepherd communities in Maharashtra, India. Access to information on disease occurrence and remedial measures emerged as a constraint for shepherds on the move. Keeping in mind that many shepherds carried with them mobile phones as they migrated with their sheep in search of grazing, Anthra developed an innovative and simple SMS service to disseminate information regarding current diseases and remedial measures, including herbal and ethno-veterinary medicines that shepherds could easily access. Shepherds wishing to receive this information register their mobile numbers at the Anthra office, which thereafter sends fortnightly updates on probable seasonal diseases, symptoms, remedies and precautions that shepherds can take to prevent the out-break and spread of disease amongst their flocks. Information is sent out in the local language, making it easy for shepherds to understand and share the information among their groups.

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Author: South Asia Pro Poor Livestock Policy Program (SAPPLPP)
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Organization: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO TECA
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Year: 2020
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Country/ies: India
Geographical coverage: Asia and the Pacific
Type: Practices
Content language: English
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