Mobile App ‘Machhgari’ for fish transporting introduced in BD

Staff Correspondent: An observation meeting on the mobile application ‘Machhgari’ for fish transportation being implemented by Worldfish under the USAID-funded Feed the Future Bangladesh Aquaculture and Nutrition Activity project was held at the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock on Tuesday (May 31, 2022).
Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Dr. Muhammad Yamin Chowdhury presided over the meeting.
The main objective of this project is to achieve growth in the fisheries sector through development of market management.
The meeting was attended by Additional Secretaries of Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Shyamol Chandra Karmakar, Md. Towfiqul Arif, Md. Abdul Quaiyum and S M Ferdous Alam, Joint Secretary Hafsa Begum, Director General (Current Charge) Department of Fisheries Kh. Mahbubul Haque, and other senior officials.
About 25 district fisheries officers from different districts also joined the meeting online.
In his address to the meeting, the Secretary lauded the initiative and said that the addition of the mobile app ‘Machhgari’ (fish car) would play a significant role in the fisheries sector. This mobile application will make a groundbreaking contribution in fish farming, transportation and other fields.
The meeting was conducted by Hafsa Begum, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. The meeting discussed the field level activities of the ‘Machhgari’ project and various aspects.
It is learned that 1,747 trips and 732 metric tons of fish have already been transported from the project area through these apps.
The meeting was attended by, among others, on behalf of USAID-funded Feed the Future Bangladesh Aquaculture and Nutrition Activity, Worldfish, Dr. Manjurul Karim, Chief of Party and Dr. Md. Shamsul Kabir, Deputy Chief of Party.
Farmers will be able to transport fish at low cost through the ‘Machhgari’ application. This will benefit farmers and other stakeholders in fisheries and will save time and money in fish transportation.
Moreover, at the consumer level, fish can be found at affordable prices.
An effective call center has been set up in this transport system considering the farmers who do not have smart phones. Farmers can also avail this service by calling the call center if required.
The ‘Machhgari’ mobile application is being implemented by Worldfish under the Feed the Future Bangladesh Aquaculture and Nutrition Activity funded by USAID and is being operated by M World at the field level.