Free information for farmers

The service was introduced in 2008 by the Telenor mobile operator dtac together with the Rak Ban Kerd foundation and the Ruam Duay Chuay Kan Happy Station.

Free agricultural SMS updates

The subscription service is free for Happy and dtac customers. Farmers will receive SMSes to their mobile phones every day, containing updated information on agricultures:

• market trend,

• commercial crops,

• new farming techniques,

• interesting know-how,

• important news update,

• warnings on weather conditions etc

Experts' consultation at help centres

Subscribers of the service may also access the information through our farmers' help centre. The information centre, which can be accessed nationwide, will help them get access to the network of successful farmers and academicians and ask for experts' consultation.

Traditional farming techniques

Although Thailand is an agricultural country with over 60% of population working in this sector, more than 80% of the Thai farmers are still poor and in debt. This is because most of them still base their productivity on natural weather conditions, follow traditional farming techniques which consume

• high production costs,

• no marketing knowledge to sell their product and

• inefficient know-how to improve the farming techniques.

*1677 empowers the farmers with knowledge

Living in remote areas, the Thai farmers are too far away to gain new knowledge on agriculture that though exists but are inaccessible for them. The *1677 Farmer Information Superhighway is thus adopted in order to solve these problems and empower the farmers with knowledge in their hands through the use of mobile phones.

Improve farming skills and techniques

Farmers who subscribe for this service can gain knowledge to improve their farming skills and techniques that help them gain more productivity, reduce costs, increase income while also get maximum benefits from mobile phone usage.

200,000 active subscribers

Since the launch of the service on 12 August 2008, there is now more than 200,000 active subscribers.

Seminars and workshops to establish farmers’ network

Apart from sending info via mobile phones, dtac and partners have also organized seminars and workshops to help the Thai farmers establish “farmers help farmers' network” and learn of agricultural techniques based on “sufficiency economy”. The workshops and seminars have been held in every region and have more than 20,000 farmers from all over the country joining the activities so far. 

Shared value for the society

This initiative of dtac has successfully contributed to the formation of farmers’ network throughout Thailand and enabled them to exchange knowledge, share expertise and help each other by using communication technologies.

“This innovation shows how we successfully integrate the information and telecommunication technologies to create the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity that benefits society as a whole”, said Perapong Klinla-or, vice president for CSR Office of dtac.

CSR awards for doing good deeds

dtac’s “Do Good Deeds Every Day Programme” won the CSR Award from Stock Exchange of Thailand at the SET Awards 2009. Doing good deeds through technology and knowledge uses dtac’s core competence to create shared value for society. This is also the foundation of the Group CR strategy. 

“We congratulate dtac on winning this important award. Initiatives such as dtac’s *1677 Farmer Information Superhighway exemplify the potential we have for contributing to society through innovative uses of communications technology,” says Eric F. Ekern, Vice President Group Corporate Responsibility.

In 2008 *1677 Farmer Information Superhighway service won the Thailand ICT Excellence Awards 2008 in the category for Business Enabler for Service Sector from Thailand Management Association (TMA).