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Commercially Viable Weather and Disaster Forecasting System: M4C project partners with Win Incorporate

Bangladesh
07.05.2024
Poverty is concentrated in hard-to-reach climate-vulnerable char regions. Geographic isolation and natural calamities force char dwellers to relocate, impacting their livelihoods. Testing commercially viable weather forecasting can act as a tool to mitigate disaster risk, and climate change adaptation, enabling proactive measures to safeguard investments and livelihoods, and data-driven insights will empower char producers to optimise resource allocation, and make informed decisions on crop cultivation, management.

Win Incorporate Limited has shown keen interest in entering the char market with their Early Warning Systems (EWS). This is the first private sector-led char-focused initiative. Through the facilitation of the Making Markets Work for the Chars (M4C) project, this platform will pilot EWS services aimed at reducing risks associated with natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, and severe weather events, for char farmers. The service will disseminate timely warnings via mobile SMS and Outbound Dialing (OBD) calls and guide optimal practices to prepare for and mitigate disaster consequences. 

Under a formal partnership, Win Incorporate plans to initially implement this system in 10 Upazilas across Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Kurigram, Rangpur, and Lalmonirhat, targeting 10,000 farmers and 276 market actors. M4C will also assist by providing a database of farmers and crop information and organising orientation workshops to maximise outreach and effectiveness within the agricultural community.

To scale up the outreach, M4C will introduce the system to its existing microfinance institutions to explore avenues for incorporating this solution into the existing financial products in the char region. Additionally, Win Incorporate will conduct orientations for regional service providers (traders, retailers etc.). acquainting them with their services and motivating them to promote these services within their respective farmers' groups. If their business hypothesis proves successful, Win Incorporate will progressively expand their proven solution to other char upazilas within the M4C working areas. Also, M4C aspires to introduce the system to the other development initiatives (e.g., PROVATi3 project) who are simultaneously working to promote and institutionalise the early warning system.

The Making Markets Work for the Chars (M4C) project is jointly funded by the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh and the Government of Bangladesh.

2012 - 2024
Bangladesh
Entrepreneurial ecosystems
Making Markets Work for the Jamuna, Padma and Teesta Chars (M4C)
To reduce vulnerability and increase wellbeing of vulnerable and marginalised char dwellers living in the northern char region of Bangladesh. Chars are riverine land, susceptible to erosion and soil deposition, which remain disconnected from mainland either seasonally or throughout the year. Due to this unique geographical positioning,...
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