Project Description
The Precision Livestock Farming Technologies Evaluation in Africa (PLF) is a 4-year project (2023 – 2026) funded by the Gates Foundation. The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) in Arusha Tanzania, is the main implementing partner. This project aims to address important production constraints in smallholder dairy farms and pastoral production systems in northern Tanzania through the utilization of adaptive research.
Two leading PLF innovations will be used:
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- SmaXtec bolus: The rumen bolus measures direct values in the reticulum that are transmitted to the smaXtec cloud where they can be always accessed through a phone app.
- Ceres tag: These are satellite-linked ear tags that track the animal’s walking, grazing resting, and ruminating. Real-time data can be accessed 24/7.
These technologies have the potential to allow monitoring and early detection of problems with factors affecting performance like livestock health, feed intake, heat detection as well as optimal resource management through more targeted grazing.
