The Challenge

In Bangladesh, the number of veterinarians stands at a mere 8,025 for a staggering 10 million households, encompassing an estimated 25.7 million heads of cattle. Consequently, a significant proportion of farmers find themselves bereft of veterinary services. This vacuum in veterinary care renders cattle diseases an unavoidable and recurring loss for farmers, while also exposing consumers of protein to potential health hazards. Moreover, the majority of veterinarians are situated far away from the rural hinterlands, where cattle rearing predominantly takes place. This geographical disparity makes professional veterinary services both costly and unattainable. For instance, in Naogaon, with its 99 unions and approximately 2,100,000 cattle, a mere 15 veterinarians are available to cater to the needs of the district. To cope with this predicament, unqualified practitioners, such as para-vets or quacks, have emerged, offering their services to farmers despite their limited knowledge and lack of formal training. Consequently, inaccurate diagnoses and prescriptions are prevalent, leaving farmers largely unaware of the latest advancements in disease control, management techniques, and animal husbandry practices. The indiscriminate use of medication, particularly antibiotics, to treat cattle diseases by these untrained individuals poses a grave risk to public health.

The Solution

Shurokkha is a mobile application that provides veterinary services to marginalized farmers, allowing them to access on-demand services from trained veterinarians. Through the use of smartphones and internet connectivity, Livestock Service Providers (LSP) enable farmers to receive expert consultations in a more efficient manner, both in terms of cost and time, as compared to physical visits by veterinarians. LSPs follow a structured process to systematically document specific cattle problems, utilizing photographs and audio records to aid veterinarians in making a comprehensive assessment. The LSPs receive digital prescriptions through app notifications, while the farmers receive a condensed version of the prescription via SMS. The mobile app also stores all treatment records for future reference, organized under the relevant cattle profiles.

During the pilot phase, a total of 921 farmers and 1,465 cattle were registered. Among these, 772 farmers with 1,125 cattle received services. Approximately 11% (119) of the cattle were prescribed medication for various illnesses. Of these cases, around 86% (103) fully recovered, while 15 cattle remained under treatment for chronic diseases. Unfortunately, one calf did not survive.

Considering the existence of a significant number of registered veterinarians nationwide who are willing to offer remote services, Shurokkha has been restructured with the intention of adopting an "Uber-like" model. In this model, any veterinarian in the country has the opportunity to register themselves on the platform, allowing farmers across the nation to access veterinary services remotely. This can be done either by directly selecting a preferred veterinarian or by utilizing the services of a Local Service Provider. To streamline this process, the televet service has been integrated into two pre-existing platforms: Shudokkho and Khamarbondhu. Shudokkho functions as a mobile application that serves as a digital assistant for local service providers, while Khamarbondhu is a mobile application that enables livestock farm owners to maintain comprehensive records of their farming activities, thereby enhancing management efficiency.

Potential to Scale-up

The Shurokkha televet service confers advantages upon various groups of stakeholders, with the foremost beneficiaries being small-scale poor cattle farmers and livestock farm owners. While the implementation of this technology has been successful in Bangladesh, it lacks a registered status as an Intellectual Property Right (IPR), such as a patent, trademark, industrial design, copyright, etc. Consequently, there exists a substantial risk of piracy or theft of the technology. Nevertheless, it remains possible to transfer this technology to member countries facing a similar challenge.

Key Achievements

• 12,000+ Smallholder Cattle Farmers have benefited from the televet service
• 94% of the farmers who received the televet service, were satisfied
• 62% of farm owners had used the service multiple times
• 80% of the served cattle have improved health and production (milk or meat)
• Subscribed Shurokkha local service providers increase their monthly average income by 60%
• A Shurokkha veterinarian can serve 3 times more cases than they can do physically 

Quotes

Farmer’s statement: “One of my calves became very sick a week after it was given the wrong medication by a local quack. Aminul bhai (Mr. Aminul Islam, Paravet) saved my calf with the help of a Doctor (veterinarian) using this mobile system. Within an hour of treatment, the calf started improving and was completely cured after 7 days. I’m grateful to Aminul bhai & this mobile system”: Mrs. Kohinoor from Parvabanipur village under Sherpur upazila of Bogra district, Bangladesh.

Para-vet’s statement: “Now I can serve the farmers timely and with quality. Earlier, it was very difficult for me to reach a veterinarian. Sometimes they were busy and it was difficult to make them understand the animal’s condition over phone calls. If the veterinarian agreed to attend physically it took hours even days. Since I am using the system, I haven’t had to make a single physical veterinarian’s appointment and all my farmers are very pleased with the quality of service.” Mr. Rafiqul Islam, Shibpur village, Sherpur, Bogra.