Adaptive Environmental Monitoring Networks for East Africa

A fully functional prototype aimed at revolutionizing bee keeping in Uganda has been in the field since August 2024. We’re happy to report that The first stage of the field testing exercise has been completed. The prototype was deployed at a bee keeper’s backyard in Kawempe, one of the most vibrant suburbs in the capital city of Kampala. Since then, the project has collected invaluable data, shedding light on the potential of using IoT-enabled sensors to monitor and safeguard bee populations.

The Internet of Things (IoT) based hive, designed to provide real-time insights into hive health, has already begun to show promising results. With data collection starting in October 2024, the AdEMNEA Project funded PhD Student, Agatha Turyagyenda has been able to track vital indicators, such as bee health, swarming activities, and the presence of intruders or potential threats to the hive.

“We’ve made significant strides in developing reliable data that will help farmers improve the way they manage their bee colonies,” said the doctoral candidate. “This technology allows us to detect early signs of distress of bees within the hive, such as health problems or presence of external threats, which can be crucial for preventing abscondment of bees and enhancing honey productivity.”

Agatha also revealed that her next plan will be deploying a second prototype at the Nyakyessesa skills incubation centre makerere university in Wakiso District. This will include additional features, such as a battery pack and a solar panel for back-up power, ensuring it can operate independently off the grid in rural areas.

As the data analysis progresses, the team (Agatha and Project Interns, Robert Abaasa & Daniel Bwambale) will be working towards creating valuable insights that will not only help individual farmers but also provide alerts and warnings about the health of the bees and any unusual activities that could threaten their hives.

“This initiative isn’t just about technology, it’s about supporting local farmers with tools they can use to protect and enhance their livelihoods,” as revealed by AdEMNEA Project’s Researcher, Dr Roseline Akol. “Bee health is critical for crop pollination, and the data we’re collecting will help farmers optimize their practices and improve yields.”

Dr. Julianne Sansa Otim, the AdEMNEA project PI gladly reported that Bee Farmers across Uganda are eagerly awaiting the full rollout of the system, hoping it will provide them with a new way to ensure the sustainability of their farms. With the project’s promising potential to increase hive productivity and health, it could well be a turning point in the future of Apiculture in Uganda, where bees are an essential part of the ecosystem. The project regularly engages the farmers through the Uganda National Apiculture Development Organisation (TUNADO) one of the collaborators.

“The ongoing data analysis informs new prototypes, which will soon be rolled out” explained Dr. Mary Nsabagwa one of the supervisos. These Project Outputs stand as a testament to the power of innovation in the Bee Keeping, and how the Internet of Things (IoT) can create lasting change for farmers on the ground.

Protecting our Bee Species

Bees are very Esssential to our Livelihood

MAAIF Collaboration with AdEMNEA Project

Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) – will support the systematic monitoring of fruit fl ies and bee species.

Deputy Vice Chancellor lauds AdEMNEA Initiative

It is a rich project covering a number of areas like Application of ICTs, Agriculture, Beekeeping and the environment in general.

Internet Of Things (IoT)/Sensors

an interconnection via the internet, of computing devices that are embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data. At the heart of IoT are sensors that can measure physical properties.

TUNADO excited about AdEMNEA products

TUNADO supported our poposal writing by giving us a support letter and we hope they will support the monitoring of the species because it is in their core interest. They will also maintain the bee monitoring units during and after the project.

Principal welcomes AdEMNEA Project

The credit from doing a job excellently for five years does not go to an individual, but to the university and the country at large.

Integrated Fruit Control

Most of our farmers are not able to export fruits to Europe and other foreign markets because of the fruit pest that damages over 80% of the crop. The only solution therefore is to have a very strong surveillance program.

RENU pledges to Support the AdEMNEA Project

RENU will provide linkages to similar projects for benchmarking as they are supporting some IoT-based projects and providing connectivity for them

Bee Farming & Honey Production – A Juicy Source of Income/Employment for the Youths.

A TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED FARMING ENVIRONMENT? WE WANT TO BE INVOLVED.

TUNADO, A SAFE HAVEN FOR BEE FARMERS.

AdEMNEA Project Engages Bee Farmers at Apiculture MSP.

THE SMART BEE MONITOR SYSTEM TURNS APICULTURE INTO A MODERN TRADE

‘THE SMART BEE MONITOR SYSTEM MAKES APICULTURE A MODERN TRADE’ SAYS MR. BIRYOMUMAISHO, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – TUNADO.

TECHNOLOGY TO INCREASE YIELDS IN LARGE SCALE BEE FARMS

“TECHNOLOGY WILL MASSIVELY IMPACT LARGE SCALE BEE FARMING AND INCREASE YIELDS IN THE LONG RUN” SAYS MRS. BEATRICE – HEAD OF EXPORTS, MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY.

INTERNET OF THINGS (I.o.Ts) HERE TO ENHANCE BEE MONITORING & FRUIT-FLY CONTROL – Dr. Mary Nsabagwa.

Internet of Things (I.o.Ts) HERE TO ENHANCE BEE MONITORING & FRUIT-FLY CONTROL – Dr. Mary Nsabagwa.

THE SMART BEE MONITOR – AN ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE ANIMAL INDUSTRY & FISHERIES (MAAIF). Dr. Amulen Deborah (Entomologist - MAK).

PHD/ MASTERS STUDENTS EYE THE
PRIZE!!!

WORK PACKAGE ONE (WP1): NETWORKS & RESILIENCE.

Ephrance E Namugenyi

WORK PACKAGE ONE (WP1): NETWORKS & RESILIENCE.

Mr. Erick John Machiwa

Khemis Ben (lubari7@gmail.com)

Mr. David Tugume (tdavidjcl@gmail.com)

Mr. Oswaha Matthew Joseph

WORK PACKAGE TWO (WP2): SENSOR & SIGNAL PROCESSING.

Ms. Agatha Turyagyenda

Ms. Agatha Turyagyenda

Mr. Arnold Muhairwe

Mr. Florence Lello

Pest Control - Mango fruit growers can finally have maximum fruit yields.

By Mr. Peter Alvin Mukisa & Ms. Rebecca Rugyendo (Communications Desk – AdEMNEA Project)

The Smart Bee-Monitor: A silver lining for Uganda’s bee farmers.

Bee farmers will soon acquire a new way of monitoring their hives, check on the swarming activities and keep track of their product (honey) accumulated in the hives.

As the Adaptive Environmental Monitoring Network for East Africa (AdEMNEA) project enters phase two (2), much more emphasis will be put on customizing the monitoring network to the primary stakeholders such as bee farmers and mango fruit growers in East Africa (particularly Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan).

COSTECH ready to lend a hand with customer uptake.

“At COSTECH, we pride in translating research outputs into knowledge products and in turn increase customer acceptance, breaking the research outputs into applicable products, commercializing the end product to promote sustainability for the project’s output and enabling resource utilization,” Mr. Mboma, the tech savvy personnel remarked.

Provide Training and Advisory to the beneficiaries of your research outputs – TARI

The Tanzanian Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) offers advisory to government and promote national policies, laws and regulations in addition to conducting basic, applied and strategic agricultural research.

Inter-Task Integration pivotal to timely outputs

The multi-disciplinary aspect of the AdEMNEA project implies that the research outputs are divided into tasks; work packages (WP1, 2 & 3) from a couple of regimen – Computing, Engineering, Entomology, Crop Science and Meteorology.

Climate-focused innovations to thrive under NEMA supervision.

The AdEMNEA project recently participated in the National Science Week hosted by the STI secretariat under the President’s office in Uganda. The participation was by exhibiting some of the innovations (e.g. the smart bee monitor, the automatic weather station, etc…) that have been developed in the IoT-ra lab at Makerere University.

Private Corporate Funds – a Feasible solution to Uganda’s innovations and start-ups.

Presently, Uganda relies on corporate companies such as National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Standard Bank Group (Stanbic Bank, SBG), Uganda Development Bank (UDB), Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) among others who have taken up the role to offer support to start-ups mainly due to the lack of nationalized incubation business centers.

Pest Control - Mango fruit growers can finally have maximum fruit yields.

Florence Lello a PhD student at the Dar es salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) and part of the AdEMNEA Project under task 2.2 says the research output (E-Trap) focuses on oriental fruit flies (bactrocera dorsalls). “the trap will help in fruit fly detection in relation to weather information – providing a platform for forecasting the occurrence probability and development trends of fruit flies,” the PhD student noted.

The study will be one of those firsts in South Sudan to characterize bee species using molecular methods.

A GLIMMER OF HOPE FOR SOUTH SUDANESE FOOD CROP FARMERS.

Khemis’ technical contribution to the Adaptive Environment monitoring network will lead to more optimised flight paths and data schedules from ground sensors to the drones. This is critical capacity building in drone technology within the East African region.

FRUIT-FLY EXPOSITORY RESEARCH TAKES UGANDA’S HORTICULTURE TO A BRAND NEW LEVEL.

We hope to develop local alternatives for the growing fruit industry in Uganda.

MULTI-PURPOSE APPROACH PIVOTAL TO PRESERVATION OF HONEY BEE SPECIES.

SUSTAINING A TOXIN-FREE ECO-SYSTEM KEY TO PRESERVING UGANDA’S HONEY BEE.

The research mainly focuses on pests, parasites; parasitoids and pathogens while assessing the role of the environment and the in-hive reservoirs of honeybee pathogens.

WEATHER-BASED RESEARCH – A TIMELY APPROACH TO FRUIT FLY CONCENTRATION AND CONTROL.

The on-going process further aims to examine the prevailing Weather patterns and analyse the farmers’ readiness to handling the fruit fly plague.

Sample

The ‘Smart-Hive’ Revolutionizes Bee Keeping: A Game Changer for Apiculture in Uganda

The ‘Smart-Hive’ Revolutionizes Bee Keeping: A Game Changer for Apiculture in Uganda