e-Cattle: OPPORTUNITIES IN THE APPLICATION OF WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS (WSN) TO CATTLE HEALTH/BEHAVIORAL MONITORING AND TRACKING FOR FARMERS IN NIGERIA.

Abstract

This paper presents various opportunities in the application of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) to Cattle Health/Behavioral Monitoring and Tracking for Farmers in Nigeria. The untimely losses in many cattle farm had been most of the time as a result of lack of timely and adequate discovery of diseases in the farm. The problem of limited technological solutions in monitoring the well-being of cattle has led to various diseases that reduce the yield in production of cattle farming. Early detection of diseases will help in making further provision for preventive measures and also reduce the overall cost of treatment in cattle farming. The use of WSN is therefore inevitable in other to address the problem usually face by cattle farmers in Nigeria. Various mode of WSN application are discussed and different technological approaches are identified with the aim of suggesting an adoptable solution for effective monitoring and tracking system for cattle farming in Nigeria. In conclusion, the paper discusses proven beneficial effect of adopting and implementing WSN solutions to monitor and track cattle status in Nigeria.