Digital Solution
Tea Leaf Collection Ticket Machine

country Sri Lanka

The Farmer brings the bag of tea to be weighed to the tea collector/driver, and is then issued a ticket (receipt) for their records. The service provider Smart Metro maintains a database of the farmers, and the farmer name appears on the machine for the receipt when punched in. The farmers can produce the receipt to the factory (at the end of the month) after the tea is sold, to obtain their payment or if the farmer has a bank account the payment is transferred. There is also a mobile app, which has all the same details in the ticket machine database, including farmer bank details and fertiliser use/needs etc. Some tea collectors/factories have a SMS system – where the details of the weight of the tea leaves is sent to the farmer’s phone via SMS.

Digital Solution (DS) Category

Digital Agrifood Services

Digital Rural Services

Digital Solution Type (sub-category)

Digital marketing and trading

Digital extension services

Delivery type (format)

Mobile app

Web based platform

SMS services / Voice messaging

DS supplier-user category

Business to consumers

Type of entity (ICT developer-supplier)

Agribusiness / private company

Name of supplier/developer

Panilkanda Tea Factory with Smart Metro (Other Tea factories may also use their own versions)

Primary Users

Agribusiness / private company , Ag input dealers , SMEs / agripreneurs

Digital Solution Development Stage

Commercial stage (limited use)

Number of users or subscribers

Initiative done by Panilkanda Tea Factory for 4 years has now become popular among other Tea Factories. Approx. 200 - 300 farmers are registered with Panilkanda Tea factory through the app, which forms the database for the ticket machine.

Measurable positive impact(s) by Digital Solution (DS) on target users and/or audience

Digital Solution Geographic scope

Ranhotikanda (Thalagahawatte) and Viharahena

Name of Digital village(s), districts, communes where DS is used/deployed

On-line resource links (Web-page links, links to videos, links to reports, etc)

Main DS webpage

Other useful link

DS links to Government programmes, initiatives, and projects

DS Links to FAO, UN and other Development agencies projects, initiatives and programmes