Chicken farming in Uganda has evolved in a way that has seen thousands of farmers rely on it as sole income. Local chicken have been the main product due to their nature that allows them survive and reproduce with minimal or no management at all.
However, some farmers are discouraged by diseases such as Newcastle that usually kill them in large number.
For instance in a Daily monitor story dated October 28 2015,
“Tom Bizimana hates keeping chickens because of the negative experience he has about them. He lost approximately 100 chickens to Newcastle disease in less than a fortnight. Since then, he has never tried again to invest in poultry. Like Bizimana, many have had similar experiences and have resorted to rearing goats, cows and other animals.”
One app developer set off from this background and came up with a solution. Together with a team of 5 other software developers, Lebron Brian Ssekalegga crafted Echicken. Echicken is a mobile application that avails household farmers with relevant information on how to manage their poultry farms for example information about various diseases that affect poultry (chicken), the medication, When and how to vaccinate, how to feed and where to buy the medications, vaccines and also feeds with or without an internet connection.
The App is an award winning app for Best Innovative Mobile App in National Youth Talent Expo Awards 2015 that were organized by Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development
Echicken Playstore link : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jazime.echickenOr manually search: “Echicken” from your Google play Store
Objectives met by the app
Echicken provides information to farmers about various .
- Diseases & Symptoms
- Feeds & Feed stores
- Drugs & Drug stores
- Vaccination
- Market
- Growth Plan
- Poultry Tips
Special Features of the Echicken App
- No need of an internet connection but connection is only required when synchronizing new information.
- The user can use the app to request for information, updates on information and make calls to the doctor.
On the production team
Echicken is brain child of Lebron Brian Ssekalegga and 5 other developers.
- Mugyenyi Christian
- Taliika Moses Howard
- Tumusiime John
- Nassuuna Gloria
- Kuteesakwe David
Further Development
There are further developments and functionalities that we hope to include in the application given better resources, for example:
- Enabling farmers to chat with other farmers regarding incidents and best practices
- Enable farmers to take and share photos of symptoms for clear view and diagnosis by experts.
- Enable farmers to listen to information in audio format as opposed to reading.
- Translating Echicken to local Languages like Luganda.