Photo: Abbie Traylor-Smith/Oxfam A Makerere University postgraduate student, Seth Muhairwe, has designed a mobile application to monitor water levels.
The system will alert farmers of any water shortages and allow ministries like Relief and Disaster Preparedness and Animal Industry quickly respond to any shortage.
"A number of valley dams in Uganda are not monitored to overcome the challenges of drought, climate change, flooding and water shortage and receive updates on water levels in dams", Muhairwe says.
This leads to shortage of milk and meat in the country. The minister of state for Agriculture (Animal Industry), Bright Rwamirama, welcomed the development, saying it is a crucial component in the sector.
"Forecasting weather and warning farmers of any likely danger is a big component in our ministry and any mechanism developed to that effect is a welcome concept", Rwamirama said.
For the app to work on a mobile gadget, a sensor is placed into a valley dam which emits sound waves that determine the water levels. This information is later transmitted to a database via wireless communication over the GSM network for the authorities when fluctuations in the water levels are detected. The system focuses on dams in Kazo, Kiruhura, Mugore, Kachumbiro and Ishagama in Kiruhura district.
"With this innovation, the cattle keepers can receive timely information about available water in valley dams and inform the concerned authorities", Muhairwe said.
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