IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Fall 2013 - 12

Research on site-specific nutrient management
has found that farmers use more fertilizer than necessary (primarily it appears because there is the belief
that more fertilizer results in higher yields [4]). This
results in added costs but not necessarily in better production. The excess fertilizer costs on average an extra
Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) 5025 ($61 USD) per hectare, without the result of more profit for the farmer
[5]. Artificial fertilizer is a component of the "green
revolution" that requires new/different practices from
farmers. It is a common phenomenon worldwide that
the transition from traditional (subsistence) to commercial farming is a challenging task.

ICT and Telecommunications in Bangladesh
Internet Access
In June 1996 the first very small aperture terminal
(VSAT)-based data circuit in the country was commissioned and the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone
Board (BTTB) granted licenses to two Internet Service
Providers (ISPs). In subsequent years more liberal government policies led to a rapid expansion of the Internet industry, resulting in over 180 registered ISP's by
2005. The number of Internet subscriptions in Bangladesh grew from 186 000 in 2000 to 617 300 in 2009.
However, only 0.4% of the country's population used
the Internet in 2009 giving Bangladesh one of the lowest usage percentages in the world [16]. The telecom
voice market in Bangladesh is dominated by the mobile
phone sub-sector (97%) while land phones (PSTN) are
3%. Thus Bangladeshis' first experience with the Internet is likely to be via mobile services [7]. An estimated
90% of Bangladesh's Internet users got their access
using mobile services in 2010 [8]. Call charges are
among the lowest in the world. Low income groups can
now afford mobile phone services across the country.
Out of the six mobile operators, only one of them
currently offers 3G services [9]. The Internet is still
an urban privilege since telephone connections are
more concentrated in urban areas, particularly in and
around Dhaka [10].
By 2011 however, the number of Internet users in
Bangladesh (overwhelmingly in urban areas) had seen
phenomenal growth of over 900% bringing the total
number of users to 5 501 609 (3.5% of the total population) mainly due to the wide availability of mobile
Internet access. This figure is increasing at the rate of
15-16% a year [11].
Telecenters
The government has declared a national ICT policy in
2008 with the aim of creating "Digital Bangladesh."
One of the big challenges for Digital Bangladesh is
ICT development in the rural areas. Since most people in the rural areas are unlikely to be in a position
12

in the near future to own a personal computer or a
handheld device, international aid agencies, NGOs,
and governments have taken initiatives to promote
community Internet access sites (telecenters) to support rural development. Telecenters in Bangladesh
such as Grameenphone (GP)'s Community Information Centers (GPCIC), D.NET, Alokitogram, YPSA's
Youth Community Multimedia Center, and Grameen
Bank's Digital centers all contribute to bringing the
benefits of new technologies to people in rural areas.
They provide updated information from a variety
of domains, such as health, education, agriculture,
environment, jobs, etc. as well as other information
related services to rural populations [12].

Managing Farm Inputs
by Bangladesh's Farmers
Agriculture is Bangladesh's most important sector for sustaining growth and reducing poverty.
However, a lack of adequate nutrient supply, the
depletion of organic matter in soils, and soil erosion are major obstacles to sustainable improvements in agricultural production. Statistics show
that the total amount of fertilizer used in Bangladesh increased by about 1.55 million tons between
1994-1995 and 2006-2007, (from a base of 2 million metric tons [13]).With intensified crop production, high-yielding crop varieties, and an over
dependency on chemical inputs, soil fertility has
thus been decreasing. The balanced application of
fertilizer-defined as a ratio of macro, micro, and
organically-derived nutrients-could replenish the
diminishing organic and micro-nutrient content of
the soil, prevent the stagnation and decline of land
productivity, and haltrising spending on subsidized
chemical fertilizers at the farmlevel. Balanced fertilizer usage can lower production costs and should
result in improved soil health, which can ultimately
lead to sustainable growth in output due to increased
yields (10-20% [14] for maize and vegetables) and
an overall increase in profitability.
This significant consumption of chemical fertilizers applied to 7.32 million hectares of cultivated land
represents an overuse of agro-chemicals and a waste
of foreigncurrency reserves, as the country imports
most of the applied agro-chemicals, except for ureafertilizers [15]. During the same period agriculture
production increased at a rate of approximately 3.2%
a year from 16.2 million metric tons in 1994-1995 to
24.54 million tons in 2005-2006 [16].

Rationale for Katalyst Intervention
Katalyst's Approach
More conventional development initiatives support
the poor by providing them directly with knowledge,
IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

fALL 2013

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