PARWAN, Afghanistan, April 2 /PRNewswire/ — Roshan, the leading mobile operator in Afghanistan, in partnership with Mercy Corps today announced the launch of TradeNet, a price information system to provide farmers, input suppliers, traders, wholesalers and retail outlets with access to pricing information through an SMS delivery system. Mercy Corps and Roshan will pilot the project in Parwan, Afghanistan, the first deployment of TradeNet in Asia.
Farmers will now be able to send an SMS from their Roshan phone to the TradeNet platform; the system will then send an SMS back with up to date/current commodity prices. Through the pilot project, farmers in Parwan province will have access to price information on wheat. Once developed further, the project will expand to other provinces and other commodities, with a focus on reaching difficult areas in Afghanistan. The TradeNet service, which launched in 2007, has already been successful with farmers in several countries of West Africa.
Roshan will provide substantial start up funding and technical support; the project will use Roshan’s telecommunication network infrastructure, working closely with TradeNet to ensure optimal performance of the system and the delivery of price information.
“We believe that mobile telephony is a catalyst for economic growth and social development. Commerce, the lifeblood of a nation’s economy, can only grow as business owners have access to the information needed. Our partnership with TradeNet and Mercy Corps will give farmers in rural areas access to real-time market prices. Subsistence farmers and traders will now be able to secure the best prices possible for their crops,” said Altaf Ladak, chief operating officer for Roshan.
More at the source: http://news.prnewswire.com – http://www.roshan.af
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