5G makes animal raising easier in China
Ms G
Livestock production is a hard and messy job. Is it possible to relax in the comfort of your house, with a cup of tea by your side, and simply click on a smart phone to get all those unenviable things done? Yes. 5G technology is making that happen for many farmers in China, putting 5G collars on camels, 5G earphones on sheep, and fish in smart farm.
In northwest China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is home to the country’s largest camel raising industry.
The vast farms there are now fully covered with mobile network which enables a 5G collar to work on every animal of the herds. With this gadget, farmers can instantly find out many things about their animals, such as where they are happily grazing, if they are in good health, how they are moving about, and whether anything suspicious is happening near the fences.
Because camels experience temperature fluctuations when they are about to fall seriously ill, this collar can keep the herdsmen constantly informed about the health of each and every camel by sending in their real time body temperatures.
It is also a good way to improve feeding; as herdsmen can track the weights of every animal and work out tailor-made feeding plans.
In northeast China, the availability of 5G network and gigabit broadband helps farmers monitor their sheep on a real time display system enabled by big data technology.
Like the camels in Xinjiang, the sheep wear a pair of yellow earphones which have smart chips inside that track and collect data about their body temperatures and grazing patterns.
While on the eastern coast, Chinese fish farmers can now see on their smartphone instant images of their fish without getting all wet and dirty.
The APP they use updates the user on statistics about water quality, such as oxygen concentration and pH levels, and enable them to feed the fish and manage the oxygen levels and water temperature with a simple click.
Fish farmers are set free from the demanding routines of physically checking on the fish farm and pumping oxygen around the clock.
With the new smart system, they can carry out these chores while saving more than 20 percent of electricity and 50 percent of human labour every month.
And it’s good for the incomes too. Fish farming with the new technology dramatically increases the chances of small fish surviving their early life. For some farmers, this meant a 30 percent jump in their annual output and 40 percent surge in income.
With Zimbabwe’s ideal conditions in farming and livestock production and a hardworking people, the introduction of new technologies like this will make farming less fussy and more rewarding.
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