Govi Mithuru /Ulavar Thozhan olan (Farmer’s Friend)

Govi Mithuru (Uzhavar Thozhan or Farmer’s Friend)

The ground-breaking Govi Mithuru (in Sinhala) or Uzhavar Thozhan (in Tamil) service, which was launched in 2015, provides customised and timely advice to farmers regarding land preparation, cultivation, crop protection, harvest, and improved family nutrition.

The service was developed with the support of the GSMA mAgri Challenge Fund. Content partners include the Ministry of Agriculture of the Government of Sri Lanka, supported by the Department of Agriculture providing the main agricultural advice.

This service is especially designed to help farmers by sending them the right information at the right time customised to their individual needs, correctly tailored to their crop, location, and stage of cultivation. Currently, over 800,000 farmers around the country use the service.

Govi Mithuru - Voice

Registration Process

Simply dial 616 on your Dialog mobile and follow the instructions to select the language, crop, location, and other details.
How it works

Each farmer will receive customised information according to his/her agro-ecological zone, water source, seed variety, and planting date. Farmers will receive a daily call from advisors. If there is an occasion where the call is missed, the user can then dial the same number and access the missed advisory information and previous information provided, all of which is categorised under major topics.

Examples: Land preparation, pest and disease management, fertiliser management, irrigation, post-harvest, emergency messages, and more.
Charges per day
- Unlimited free calls to 616 where farmers can listen to all messages received to date
- Rs. 1 per day per crop, plus applicable taxes
Deregistration process

Dial 616 and select the deregistration menu to deactivate the service. You can deactivate either crop wise or the whole service.

More information

Govi Mithuru Mobile App

80% of the population in Sri Lanka lives in rural areas and their main livelihood is agriculture. Majority of farmers own a mobile phone which they use primarily for taking voice calls. Lack of access to relevant information has always been a prominent issue in this sector. Govi Mithuru (‘Farmer’s Friend’ or '’Uzhavar Thozhan'’) is a mobile advisory service for farmers under the theme ‘Secure Crop and Family Health’ which has been created to address the information gap in this sector. Farmers who want to move into new cultivations, especially in a time of drastically changing climate conditions, require new information to support their cultivations.

Currently, over 200,000 farmers around the country use the service. The introduction of the Govi Mithuru app will be the next extension of this service. This product will be able to deliver better information in a customised manner, compared to the current IVR product.

Key Features

The app provides push notifications with key information, customised with respect to each farmer’s individual farming practices, and the respective agro-ecological zone each farmer resides in. Another key feature is the disbursal of emergency alerts related to ever-changing agricultural conditions including pest attacks, incidence of disease, and other risks, allowing for early warnings and adequate time to respond.

Data charges not applicable.
Rs. 2 per day per crop, plus applicable taxes for any number of crops.
Highly customised according to each farmer’s location, crop, and water source.
Timely and relevant information at the farmer’s fingertips, where farmers can access the right information when they need it.