An Integrated Multi-Function Information System Model for Livestock Stakeholders

Livestock sector has been constrained by various factors including extension services and lack of access to on-farm and off-farm information for decision making by policy makers and other stakeholders. This paper reports how application of ICT was used to solve problems by using the web and mobile technologies which are fast-growing within the livestock value chain in Sub-Saharan Africa. The developed platform provides records keeping features that allow farmers to use their mobile phones to store data into online databases. Posted data are analyzed and easily be used for decision making and project long term benefits to farmers and other decision makers. Moreover, keeping this information for a long time can help identifying risks and predicting the future. Furthermore, this technology is going to assist farmers to access extension services online through mobile phones. By linking farmers with extension workers, the platform has the potential to increase effectiveness in extension services delivery. This does not only include production and livestock information but also information regarding to weather, research findings and the market. The platform has a built-in chatting forum whereby farmers, researches and extension officers can virtually meet and share their views. It allows users to post and comment on posts; hence, increasing their visibility. Currently, farmers, extension officers and buyers can only access the platform by using mobile phones. Researchers and other users such as policy makers can access the platform using a web-based application which has more features. Livestock stakeholders including livestock keepers, researchers and extension officers tested the developed system and validated it to have the capacity to meet users' requirements.