Herders water their goats at a watering point in Mandera. A new app has
been developed to assist herders in identifying and locating watering
points and pastures for their livestock. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Pastoralists in arid and semi-arid areas will now use their
mobile phones to find pasture and water for their livestock following
the launch of a new mobile App.
Afriscout App, that is
set to be launched on Thursday in Kajiado County, provides pastoralists
with satellite-powered maps that show the density of vegetation and
availability of water in their grazing fields.
The
mobile app which was developed by a USA based non-profit organization,
Project Concern International (PCI), uses community defined, custom
grazing maps overlaid with satellite vegetation data that is
continuously updated and accessed via mobile phone.
“Afriscout
mobile App was piloted in three countries; Kenya, Ethiopia, and
Tanzania and the maps have proven to be highly useful for pastoralists
reducing mortality for herds by half, saving time in search of pasture,
as well as improving collective pasture management,” said Brenda
Wandera, National Program Manager AfriScout, Kenya.
The
mobile app-based service will be provided to pastoral households for a
six-month no-cost trial period, after which they will have the option to
sign up for yearly subscription at a nominal fee.
“The
mobile application has registered over 1,600 users with approximately
100 new users each week since Since October 2017 during piloting
period,” she said.
The Mobile App will help pastoralists make better decisions on where to take their livestock to graze.
“The
value of this innovation is derived not simply from technology, but
from working with local pastoralists to fuse indigenous knowledge with
technology to create better and more effective migration decisions,”
said PCI President Carrie Hessler-Radelet.
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