Cattle farms can be turned into smart farms using IoT

Hiren Pandit :: IoT or Internet of Things’ is a network for controlling various electronic devices using the Internet. Electronics can be used to control electronics such as lights, fans, ACs, geysers, refrigerators, heaters, water tanks, etc. For this, both smartphones and electronics have to be covered by internet connection. It can be located in any part of the world to see if the electronic devices connected to your smartphone are active, as well as these devices can be turned on and off. Fan or ACO can be controlled.

Now out of the traditional cattle farm thinking in our country, some people are now leaning towards smart farms. These technology based farms are managed through ‘IoT’ or ‘Internet of Things’. Although this service is widely used in the world, many new organizations have come up with this new service in Bangladesh.

In recent times, there has been a growing interest among farmers in the use of modern technology. Developed countries are incorporating smart technology in agriculture. The use of this smart technology has also started in Bangladesh. IoT has now started to be used in dairy and livestock farms in the country. There is a lot of success in using digital and smart technology. Entrepreneurs are much more enthusiastic and optimistic about the use of digital technology. Dutch Dairy Limited, for example, is a state-of-the-art smart dairy farm. Where digital and smart technologies are being used successfully. Presumably, in a few years, our country will start using digital technology effectively in the dairy and meat sector, livestock and poultry sector. This will ensure complete purity of milk or meat, as well as increase production.

Several countries in the world have now revolutionized the use of technology in agriculture. Even though Bangladesh is an agricultural country, the use of any technology in agriculture is not noticeable yet. In the last few years, many young people have come to the livestock sector to meet the demand for milk and meat. In modern meditation, these farms have brought the touch of technology to their farms. Cattle farms have been set up in Bangladesh using Internet of Things or IoT technology. This is the first time that this state-of-the-art technology has been used. All the information of the farm is now available on the mobile phone.

A sensor is used to turn farm cows into smart cows. Basically in this IoT technology a biosensor is placed in the stomach of the cattle. This biosensor is called ‘Bolus’, which will generate data from the animal’s stomach in the process of radio frequency identification and send it to the cloud database. For this, the farm must have internet system. And through the software, the necessary and updated information of the cattle will be sent to the mobile or computer of the farm.

Bolus and accessories technology has been brought in from the Austrian company Smastech. This technology has no side effects. Smastech Bolus will be effective in cattle stomachs for at least five years.

With this new technology, advance information on cattle disease, breed diagnosis and development information will be available on mobile automatically. From the frequency that comes from the sensor or bolas, digital information of the cow is stored, advance information about the exact time to diagnose heat or pregnancy, pregnancy status, probable time of delivery of the cow, movement of the cow, temperature, amount of food and water and instruction of first aid of the cow. Possible.

It costs a little more at first to bring cows under IoT devices. For this one time lump sum of 1000 rupees per cow and one rupees per month costs 500 rupees. Service providers have reported that this is actually an ongoing system. Someone bought a bolas and everything will be done with it, but that is not the case.

The companies also provide various services including SMS, call center services for the information of the bolas starting from the placement in the stomach of the cow. So considering everything, its tax is not too much.

Farmers think it costs more with the naked eye, but when a cow hits and it is not given artificial insemination (artificial insemination) at the right time, it has to wait another month. Then, if we calculate the cost of his food, it becomes the annual cost of this service. The cost is getting a little higher as a result of providing a small amount of service in the beginning. And this is because the devices are import dependent. However, many people think that the cost of this service will come down a lot if the number of subscribers starts increasing.

Livestock service providers will be able to provide IoT devices and services as well as bring livestock under insurance. There is an arrangement to increase the insurance amount of cattle from Rs 50,000 to a maximum of Rs 2.5 lakh. Dairy cows, dairy buffaloes, female calves, bakna calves, breeding bulls etc. can be covered. Each animal on the farm has to be insured separately. This insurance benefit will be given by the organization associated with the animal service or some insurance companies. The annual premium for each animal’s death is 4.5 per cent insured, and the annual premium for theft or loss is 2.5 per cent. If an animal is sick or injured or crippled, the insurance company will bear the entire cost of its treatment. However, if a cow dies while having a sensor, the companies will pay the full amount for it.

The lifespan of each Bolus as IoT device is assumed to be five years. Then it will lose its effectiveness. But it is often seen that the companies have also made arrangements to get the bounce back from the farmers. If Bolus is returned, the farmers will get some money back for it.

The number of cattle farms in the country is now increasing at a significant rate. Since IoT technology is brand new in the country, it takes some time to get interested in it. Slowly but surely the farmers are trying to highlight the positive side, so that the entrepreneurs can make the business profitable. All these institutions are going to the farmers keeping that in mind. There are many benefits to using IoT and the benefits of using it.

Several farms have already started using this state-of-the-art technology in the country. The first to use it was Century Dairy, a farm in Rupganj, Narayanganj. Technology has been used for the first time in those dairy farms. Many benefits from IoT have also been reported from this firm. Farmers have been relieved of many worries, especially about the health of cattle.

IoT has been used in several more farms in different parts of the country. Bangladesh is an agricultural country, so our dream is with modern farmers. Many young people are now choosing to start a farm. Through them, it has to be spread on a larger scale across the country.

Everyone expects this service to spread to all parts of the country. Although many of the devices in IoT are still import dependent, if any organization in Bangladesh can make quality devices then everyone can supply it at low cost and farmers can use it.

Author: Research Fellow, Internet of Things, BNNRC