Drought Early Warning: From Reactive Crisis to Proactive Herd Management
In collaboration with the Borena Zone Pastoralist Office and a local NGO, Mobile Vet deployed 4,500 RFID-GPS tags and 3 LoRaWAN base stations to test whether satellite-based drought alerts could change farmer behaviour before visible pasture degradation.
28%
Reduction in drought-related mortality vs. control group
14 days
Average early warning lead time
94%
Farmers who acted on SMS alerts
450km
Total herd movement tracked
Working across 18 woredas in Borena Zone, the pilot combined satellite NDVI, CHIRPS rainfall and field reports from veterinary extension workers. Alerts were issued in Afaan Oromo via SMS and USSD, paired with three concrete recommendations per message: where to move, what to sell, and when to vaccinate.
Before Mobile Vet, we only moved when we saw animals dying. Last season, my phone told me to move three weeks earlier than normal. I sold 20 weak animals at good prices and moved my core herd to better grazing. I lost zero animals while my neighbour lost 15.
Want to replicate these outcomes?
We are actively seeking partners for our 2026 pilot expansion. Government agencies, NGOs, insurers, and veterinary organisations are all welcome.