Thiruvananthapuram : Bhoomika, a geo-tagging project of cattle farmers by the animal husbandry department, is now helping many farmers locate their cattle that either died or got misplaced during the floods.
The present scenario has also brought to focus the need for extending the geo-tagging project to the entire state as it even helps the farmers easily raise claims for losses and also plugs the chances for making any false claims by farmers.
The cattle of about 2.5 lakh farmers in the state were geo-tagged over the last six months. The project developed by the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala at Technopark involved fixing a tag with a ten-digit identification number on the ear of the animal. The GPS location of the farmer as well as other relevant details are collected and stored in AHD's database using the identification number.
"After the floods, many animals were found wandering and many were found dead. It would be difficult to trace the owners of the animals based on the looks and body marks. But in the case of the animals with the geo-tag, it is easy to locate the owner," said AHD Information Technology division nodal officer Dr. Joji Albert.
So far, the AHD received information regarding about 10,000 cattle either dead or missing in the floods, a good number of which were having geo-tagging.
In cases of cattle with geo-tags that were found dead, the AHD advised that before cremating the body, a photograph of the geo-tag may be taken and if possible the tag remo-ved. This would make it easier for the farmers to get the compensation.
The AHD was planning to extend geo-tagging to all cattle and bird farmers in the state as part of the next animal census to be conducted.
