UoN student develops farm management via SMS technology

Nairobi, Kenya: A UoN student has developed a model that will enable farmers using greenhouses to manage their farms from miles away. The model dubbed Illuminium Greenhouse uses sensor technology to relay information the farmers wherever they are.

A farmer can open and close the irrigation system, as well as query and get alerts on current greenhouse status on such aspects as temperature, humidity and soil moisture at the green house by simply sending an SMS. The system is powered by a 14-watt solar panel and can work in rural areas, where electricity is a challenge.

“Wherever you are, you can know what is happening in your farm,” says Taita Ng’etich, a 5th Year Mechanical Engineering student who is the brain power behind this innovation.

The farmer gets warning text messages on irregular parameters, such as high temperatures inside the greenhouse and, in turn, the system opens the flaps to correct the situation and immediately sends an SMS to the farmer informing about the correction carried out.
This innovation was recently feted as the second best start up in the world at the just concluded Global Entrepreneurship Summit.

Ng’etich came in 2nd at the Global Innovation, through Science and Technology Competition which attracted 792 contestants, and won a cash award of USD15000.