Internet provider Liquid Telecom Kenya has deployed an Internet of Things (IoT) network in Western Kenya and Nyanza to monitor and protect freshwater fish populations.
The company has connected 10 pilot-phase sensors that monitor water temperature and pH values in ponds.
The sensors send information and feeding instructions to farmers through an Android and iOS app called AquaRech, which has been developed by a Kisumu innovation technology hub LakeHub and developers Pinovate.
The partnership plans to equip 5,000 western Kenyan farmers with the sensors and app by the end of this year, with plans to roll out the programme to 30,000 fish pond farmers across the country.
Currently, there are at least 20,000 fish farmers in western Kenya with an average of two ponds each and around 2,400 fish per pond.
“This is one of a series of partnerships we are developing to increase the country’s food security as part of the government’s big four agenda,” said Sajid Ahmad Khan, COO, Liquid Telecom East Africa.
Using IoT-connected sensors to calculate optimal feeding times was found to reduce fish deaths by 30-40 per cent in a one-year study in Iran by information technology company Afarinesh Samaneh Mehr Engineering.
