Application of IoT in Zambia’s FRA Grain Traceability Process

Abstract

with advancement in technology, many sectors have seen growth and improvement in service delivery. Today, many areas such as health, transport and logistics, retailing among others have adopted the use of IoT. Agricultural sector has not been left out on the use of IoT.  IoT is defined as a network of interconnected devices which can transfer data efficiently without human involvement. In agriculture, IoT can play a big role in increasing productivity and efficient storage management. Other applications include security, real-time object tracking and monitoring. In Zambia however, the agricultural sector through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) while still underdeveloped, faces many challenges that range from spoilage, infestations, theft at site, spillage and storage among others. As the national food security agency, FRA has for many years been grappling with these challenges. In order to help curb theft problems, this study proposes the adoption of IoT and related technologies. The proposed IoT technologies will be a prototype model that will employ the use of GPS, RFID, PIR, Wireless radio communication module and the GSM technologies. The GPS will be used to monitor and track the location of the vehicle in transit using mobile and web applications. To curb theft of grain at stationary points, the system will use motion sensing through the use of PIR sensors, wireless radio communication module and the GSM/GPRS technologies. Lastly, RFID combined with GPRS and Arduino microcontroller will be responsible for grain bags tallying. �