ICT innovation hub at Muni University to curb animal theft
Officials inside the ICT innovation hub at Muni University in Arua City on Friday. PHOTO | CLEMENT ALUMA.
What you need to know:
- For many years, livestock farmers in the West Nile sub-region and other areas of Uganda have been plagued by frequent cases of animal theft, and it has been difficult for security personnel to track down the culprits.
The government has inaugurated an Information Communication Technology (ICT) hub at Muni University aimed at addressing the issue of animal theft.
For many years, livestock farmers in the West Nile sub-region and other areas of Uganda have been plagued by frequent cases of animal theft, and it has been difficult for security personnel to track down the culprits.
However, the new innovation, called "Anim Track," is hoped to provide a digital solution to assist in the apprehension of these thieves and recover some of the stolen animals.
During the hub's launch on Friday evening, Mr Denis Asiku, a graduate student of Computer Science at the University, stated: “Our innovation is called ‘Anim Track,’ it is a digital solution to mitigate animal theft in Uganda. We want to bring a digital solution in order to aid recovery of some of the lost animals that have been stolen.”
Mr Asiku and his colleagues are among the group of students who have received Shs10 million from Muni University research hub to develop the prototype, but they would require more funding to scale it up.
Dr Amina Zzawedde, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information Technology and National Guidance, praised the innovation, saying that without it, communities' livelihoods could not be improved.
"Partnerships are necessary for businesses to be impactful and to assist in addressing the needs of not only the region, but we can even think of exporting the products that we are dealing with. There is a need to create employment opportunities for young people, and ICT is one of the government's priorities," she said.
Dr Robert Kajobe, the Director of Training Research and Innovation at Muni University, stated that the facility has the capacity to serve both Congolese and South Sudanese, given that the region now hosts nearly half of the asylum seekers in the country.
"We must guarantee that this innovation benefits people because of the increasing number of animal theft cases," he said.
Furthermore, as part of the innovation, senior two students from Muni Girls' Secondary School are producing soya milk and soya milk yoghurt from soya beans.
Ms Gloria Macia, a student, explained that they came up with this idea because of the malnutrition problem among their peers and the fact that some people are allergic to milk. She added that soya milk is a lactose-free, infection-free alternative to milk.
The hub can host up to 56 innovators and is open to students and innovators from the region.
